Originally published to LinkedIn on January 18, 2018
I was on the phone yesterday with a good friend of mine, an attorney with a financial services firm, and he was telling me that the industry was wearing him down, and he was a bit tired of working for and with people that were taking too much of a short-term view of things. He had lost his passion for the work he was doing, and he certainly was no longer being challenged in any meaningful way.
He was concerned that as much as he wanted to leave his company, he feared that he would be unable to find a new job in a different industry, and felt like was riding the hamster wheel, running fast but not getting anywhere. He was also concerned that he would be competing against other attorneys who had top law school degrees and sterling resumes filled with experience in the field he wanted to move into.
Have you ever felt this way? If so, have you already made a transition into a new career, or have you remained in the same one because you share the same concerns he does?
Switching careers can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
The first thing to do is to have a clearer picture of what that dream job / career / industry is that you would like to switch into. If you have an interest in sports, or music, or the outdoors, why not consider taking your specific expertise to a sports franchise, a record label, or a company like Patagonia, Expedia, or a local museum?
Yes, you may think there are some limitations to what the new industry will pay you vs. your current compensation, but if you are coming from a legal, financial, athletic, advertising, marketing, business development, or almost any other background, a big percentage of your skill set is transferable, and equally as valuable to your new company. All that is really holding you back is your ability to establish a strong professional relationship with the hiring managers at those companies.
And that, my friend, is where you will rise above your competition, because you will learn how to leverage and expand your network, reach out to new connections by using highly personalized messaging, and establish a strong rapport with these key influencers and decision-makers who will put you in front of the hiring managers in the jobs that you truly want to be in.
I have helped hundreds of professionals land new jobs over the course of my career, and I can safely say that the majority of them compared less favorably to their competition, but they were able to demonstrate during the interview process that they were the clear choice for the job. You’ve heard it before, but it truly is all about the “fit”, and you can and should be the person that is chosen to receive an offer to be in the job in 2018 that you had only dreamed of being in just a short time ago!
Yes, you can switch careers in 2018, it’s simply a matter of learning and becoming comfortable with a few fairly simple networking and messaging strategies that virtually all of your competition is not using!
You can also get the full spectrum of career advice that will help you transition from the playing field to the boardroom in my new book, WIN AGAIN! The Job Search Playbook.It's filled with over 150 pages of easy to learn and use tips and strategies, where you’ll discover how to define your ideal job and work towards it. You’ll turn strangers into allies and grow your network as you position yourself for interviews, negotiate offers, and anticipate your prospective employer’s needs. Yes, there’s competition in the corporate world, but you’re used to competing. You’ve already got an edge!!
You can join the WIN AGAIN social media pages, my LinkedIn Group, Facebook page and follow on Twitter to be able to access exclusive content just for you.
I’d be thrilled if you share this with 3 of your connections, fellow group members, and on your other social media platforms. This is exactly how I pick up great tips and ideas from some of the other thought leaders here on LinkedIn, and I'd greatly appreciate any efforts you make to do the same.