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SittingXlegged

Corporate recruitment: what works and what doesn't plus other musings.

Your Career Change and Transferable Skills follow this blog post

posted by on Oct. 4, 2009

Don't do it! Yes, that's right, don't do it! You may hate your current job or there may be a declining demand or zero demand for your skills in our current job market. But does that mean that you should throw the baby out with the bathwater? I think not. Now, there are lots of career counselors, resume writing experts, life coaches, and other well meaning folks who will help you figure out what skills you have that are transferable to new careers. But is that the best approach? Read on to find out how I think you should do it.

Here's the challenge. Let's say you rewrite your resume to highlight all the really neat stuff that you can do that is transferable to your chosen new career. You find a suitable position and apply online. What happens? If someone like me sees your resume you're not going to go anywhere. You see I look for people who have been doing recently what I want them to do in a similar environment. That simple little sentence is the basis or should be the basis of what corporate recruiters do.

Now I'm not saying that people don't or shouldn't make career changes. I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is that going cold turkey on your current career is a mistake. It's a big mistake. Assuming that you already have a job, you should keep it. It may not be the greatest job but it is a job. Find ways to add value where you are, learn new things, and expand your resume. When was the last time you volunteered for more work rather than complaining about the work that you already have? If you're lucky, there will be work just lying around waiting for someone to pick it up and that work may actually expand what you know how to do.

Let's say you don't currently have a job. What are you absolutely best at? What have you got the most experience doing? Target those areas. Maybe you'll need to take a slightly lower level position than you had in past but that's quite OK. Get to work and start expanding your skills and making yourself more valuable.

Now that you're working, adding value, expanding your skill-set, and being a productive employee you can start thinking about that career change. My bet is that over 50% of people who follow this path will discover that they actually love their chosen career and will give up thoughts of making a change. But perhaps you're really good at what you do and just want to do something else? Go take some classes, volunteer in your spare time, network your butt off with people in that new area. Join societies, user groups and get out and meet some people. Create a really punchy elevator speech and share it with anyone who'll listen. Don't just talk about it, do something!

And another thing, is your job really that bad? Check out my favorite Dirty Jobs episode in which a Las Vegas pig farmer recycles waste from the casino buffets. Enjoy!

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14 comments

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  • 1 point 27 days ago

    Hi Simon, Thank you for your follow-up. Sometimes the declines sneak up on people and in my specialty (print management) there's great controversy about what the future of the field will hold. There's growing agreement that it is changing, but into what, nobody's quite sure, which makes the retooling question an interesting one. It's quite controversial. As you suggest, I've been developing some new skills and it's time to accelerate the pace of those efforts. I agree with you that hunkering down to hang onto your job while you add to your skill set is wise--as long as that remains a viable, sane option! 

  • 1 point 27 days ago

    Thank you Stephanie for getting back to Nani P with solid advice. Nani P, it isn't always easy to make a career transition. It's probably small comfort now but everybody, and I do mean everybody, should be paying attention to the market for their skills. If you find yourself in a career that is in decline, you must make plans to transition to something else. That could look like retooling your skills, networking outside of your current field, and a whole lot more. Almost every career will have ups and downs. My recommendation is not to bail during the downs because most careers will turn around. Sometimes you just have to suck it up. I wish you well in your search. It's great that you have a job coach!  

  • 1 point 29 days ago

    Your article does not take into account the reality for many who are not working in their field because their field is evidently in serious decline, on top of suffering from the current economic depression. 

    So what are people in this boat supposed to do? Your advice would have us beating our heads against the same old wall with senior-level, impressive resumes chock-full of skills folks aren't hiring for. 

    And yeah, my last job WAS that bad.

  • 1 point 28 days ago

    I think my response would be to get outplacement help from a professional who has worked with that scenario before. You can't rely on trying to just rework your resume and applying for things that interest you, you'll need serious career and skills training advice from a professional, which I am admittedly not. 

    I wish you luck.

    Stephanie

  • 1 point 27 days ago

    Thank you for the suggestion, Stephanie. I've been working with a great job coach, and will talk more with her about next steps. It would be helpful if I knew what that other thing would be, since I've been so passionate about my perhaps-now-previous field and don't have the same excitement about the alternatives I've considered to date.

  • 1 point 45 days ago

    Hi Tiya,

    That's great to hear. Persistence paid off for you.

    Cheers!

    Simon

  • 1 point 45 days ago

    Simon:

    Great blog. I have to add that I was able to successfully change careers. I had been in recruitment advertising for over 12 years, but after becoming certified as a Life Coach, I wanted a career in the non-profit industry. It took about a year to do, but I was finally able to land the position I was hoping for.  It can be challenging and will take time, but it can be done. We have to make sure we have other means of income in the mean time.

  • 1 point 45 days ago

    YES!!!

    I am having a hard time convincing candidates that it's the worst possible time to change career focus. I say "You are competing with candidates who actually have...you know..um..QUALIFICATIONS..in that field." 

    Then there is the compensation discussion. I can't tell you how many times (without boring you) that I've had a candidate in a leadership position want to change the world and start over, buuuuuut still at their same salary. Uh..does not compute. Gimme a break. It's rare that you'll get hired for a job well below your experience, and almost impossible to do that and maintain your income. 

    Simon, thank for continuing to shine a light on this problem. I don't see it going away anytime soon.

  • 1 point 45 days ago

    Hi Stephanie,

    You're welcome! If you're good the money will come. Taking a step back is not the end of the world. I had to do that after 9/11 and it really didn't take long.

    Cheers!


    Simon

  • 1 point 46 days ago

    Hi Kelly,

    You sure can write! Thanks for taking the time. Much appreciated. I've noticed that just about everybody thinks that they can be a technical writer or a program manager. How hard can it be?

    Cheers!


    Simon

  • 1 point 46 days ago

    Simon: interesting point of view on this growing phenomenon. I think there are many people out there right now latching onto the career-change bandwagon out of desperation. And, it shows!!!

    Due to the few and far between opportunities in their current/past profession, they decide to expand into new territory as if it is a simple transition from one to the other. In reality, this is tough obstacle even in the best of job markets.

    As you indicated, the problem with this strategy is that they are now not only competing with all of the other job seekers - like they were before in their own realm - but, now they are have become the least experienced/qualified of the bunch.

    Your comment about wanting to view candidates who are currently or were recently performing in that type of capacity is exactly what they conveniently overlook. It is not as simple as saying "if I did this, then I can do that." The resume recipient isn't going to read between the lines to help identify whether or not you are versatile enough to do so.

    As for resume writing, I have over the years had many folks with divergent or inconsistent career-paths who needed to effectively market toward their "current" target. While this is something that I do with a reasonable amount of ease and finesse, the average job seeker is sorely mistaken if they believe they can just slap together some "transferable" skills on their existing resume and expect people like yourself to recognize the relevance of their background to something in an entirely new arena.

    As the other poster mentioned, a resume is a critical part of the process. While I don't necessarily want to give false hope to those attempting to market themselves for a new occupation, if done well, it is possible to formulate a compelling career-marketing package in support of that type of goal. It just not something that most people understand well enough to handle on their own - nor do they have the creativity or writing ability to pull it off.

    KB

    http://www.talenttalks.com

  • 1 point 46 days ago

    I received a resume from the Sr. Vice President of an $8B a year Fortune 500 company. Now, I've seen thousands, maybe tens of thousands of resumes in my career, and never had I seen a candidate with a more impressive list of achievements. This man had a history of turning around every company he's ever worked for. At his most recent company, he quadrupled their online sales, yet for OVER A YEAR, he was unable to land a new position.
    I was stunned. Here was an Executive who'd probably made a cumulative profit in the Billions for the companies he was with. Any Hiring Professional who'd read his resume should have called him IMMEDIATELY and made him an offer. The only reason I could conceive of for this man going a YEAR without being snapped-up is this: No one ever actually READ his resume.

    I convinced him to let me re-engineer his resume. He's now the CEO of a growing company, and quite happy in his new career. YOUR RESUME IS CRITICAL. Period.

    Jim Bradshaw
    Leap Career

  • 2 points 46 days ago

    Hi Deborah or is it Jim?

    Either way, I understand that you did some great work on your client's resume but did they make a career change or did they just get another job?

    Cheers!


    Simon

  • 1 point 45 days ago

    We have had a Surgeon who transferred into research, a Director of Cheerleader Sales into Pharmaceuticals Sales.   This is just to name two, of our successful cases.   We will be on a nationwide Radio station in the next month to stress to people who are seeking a new opportunity in the same industry or new industry that your resume is the most important document.

    We have even helped out other recruitment firms who have been falling short of placements.  We give them 25% of what Resume Services bills.   After we reengineer the resume the candidate is then sent to the potential client, then an interview is secured.   We are trying to reach out there so that we are able to help America get back to work!   In recruitment we are all reaching for the same goal.  Making money and getting people into a successful career so the client calls on our services again.

    Great article! Thanks for your comments.

    Deborah and Jim

    Leap Career