10 steps that will help you make a career transition

“It is common to believe that holding on makes you stronger, but sometimes it is letting go” (Hermann Hesse)

Nearly 60% of people have seriously considered or made a career change since graduation and only 20% of people end up working in the field that they studied. So career pivots are not that uncommon…

Recently, I was the guest speaker in an online meet-up called Thrive on the topic of Career pivots. I was invited to share why and how 3 years ago I made my professional pivot from being a management consultant to education entrepreneur – the steps I took, how I built my network, and the road blocks I encountered. Several know-how and do-how tips on making a career switch that I shared seemed to resonate with the meet-up attendees, and, as the numbers show, many more people out there seem to have this topic on their mind. Therefore, I share here what I shared with the group so that perhaps more aspirant career switchers can benefit.

As I learned during the Thrive meet-up, the challenges and questions that people have on the topic of making a career change can be summarised in four main themes:

A.     Is entrepreneurship for me?

B.     How do I find my purpose and passion?

C.     Where can I find platforms for support and validation?

D.     Which concrete steps can I take to start my pivot?

Before we address these four topics, let’s look into WHY people end up in the situation that they are aspiring a career pivot.

Why pivot?

Here are some quotes that were shared as to why people are looking to make a change in their career:

“I had a career and then life happened on me [Covid, changes in personal or professional circumstances]. I had to pivot”

“I am looking to do something that I am passionate about, instead of what I am good at/ have been doing for X years”

“I have tried different paths, but I am still not sure whether what I’m doing is “it””

“I choose my current job because it was convenient to get into and makes reasonable money (e.g. food delivery) but if I want to invest in myself and my career, I will need to change my path. I just don’t know where to start.”

Sounds familiar?

I ended up changing my career for the second reason mentioned above. I spent 15+ years in the financial sector with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and as a director with Deutsche Bank, and although I liked my job most days, I did not passionately care about the impact of the result of my work.

My career pivot was triggered unintentionally, at a conference about technology in education, held at a secondary private school in Frankfurt, Germany. I attended the conference out of a curiosity to explore the future of education, which interested me being a mum of 2 young boys. At that conference, I was shocked to see how digitally behind our conventional school system is and how much still ‘one-size-fits-all’, with grades as the single measure of success. How is this system preparing our kids to meet the demands of their highly digital future? This conference hit an emotional cord and this was the start of my entrepreneurs-journey into tech & education. The modern education system and coding school “42” came on my path as they opened a campus in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I was intrigued by the concept. Fast forward one year, I had acquired the rights to bring “42” to Germany. With the support of an incredible team of volunteers, eight months later we had raised the funds to set up not one but two campuses of school “42”. 42 Heilbronn and 42 Wolfsburg successfully launched 1 Feb 2021. I had reached my objective, in stereo.

Four common themes

Which elements of my pivot experience I can transfer to others who are looking to change career? The four common themes that emerged from the meet-up are very recognisable to me and in fact lend a perfect guide.

A.     Is Entrepreneurship for me?

Many of us who are going through a career pivot, consider entrepreneurship. Perhaps it is the need for more flexibility, for instance to juggle work and family, or you don’t see yourself any longer in a big corporate, or you have an idea that you want to turn into a business.

I tried to answer the question for myself whether entrepreneurship was for me by asking my friends who already run a business. Besides the fact that I felt a bit na?ve asking this question (should entrepreneurs not be the bold type and either just know it or just do it?), I also did not get any real answer.

Knowing what I know now, I would recommend doing a simple test: ask yourself the question: “Is your fear of missing an opportunity bigger than your fear to fail?” If the answer is yes, I would say you will be just fine being an entrepreneur. Failure, in an entrepreneur’s view, is never final.

Failure is never final.

B.     How do I find my purpose or passion?

Your purpose or passion can manifest itself in many shapes or forms. It helps to be aware of your own set of values and beliefs, and then formulate in a positive sense what type environment or work you are looking for. This exercise will increase your ability to “grab an opportunity by the forelock”. I.e. our mind will be open to what you are looking for and when an opportunity arises, you will be able to identify it as such.

In my case, a hidden passion manifested itself at this EdTech conference in Frankfurt. I knew this feeling had to do with passion and purpose because I was emotionally moved during the conference, and this feeling did not give way once back in ordinary daily life – it stuck with me. I saw an opportunity to take action on the matter, using the transferable skills I gained during my management consulting time, such as problem solving skills, network building, people management, and presentation skills. I started building a business plan to address the issue that I saw and that had shaken my core. I could do the type work that I had always enjoyed, yet, this time for a purpose that truly motivated me. This is how passion and opportunity came together in my case.

C.      Where can I find platforms for support and validation?

To have a support network is critical if you plan to make a pivot, especially a bolder one (e.g. a transition of geography, industry or role, or a combination). It will be a very difficult journey if the people closest to you do not believe in your next move – as there will be tough times.

Note – if the people closest to you do not believe in your next step, don’t be offended, and instead try find out why. You may learn a thing or two about yourself which may not be what you want to hear, but taking it to heart and being flexible enough to do something with this information will help you finetune your next step, increasing your chances of success. A good book to read in this context is “The mom test” by Rob Fitzpatrick; it gives very useful tips that will help you validate if your ideas and thoughts are actually good, and not only in your mind.

Outside of your home or immediate surroundings, try find a group where you experience psychological safety. This does not necessarily need to be a group that is already formed and in existence and therefore you can go look for it, but can be a group of people that is coming together with a same objective in mind. Certain traits of groups enhance psychological safety in a group – such as limited size or same gender – and this helps for people to speak more freely, and as a result, for everyone to get more out of the conversation.

The Thrive meet-up is a good example of such a group: the group-size is limited to 14 people and only women with a career are invited. The women are very open, and the very candid information shared – recognisable to many other attendees – created the support and validation that the attendees were in need of. Knowing they are not alone, gave them the courage and strength to continue on their path.

D.     How do you change career? 10 practical tips

And now onto the big question: “where to start?” What steps can you take if you are looking to do something else in your working life? Let me share a list of 10 steps that you can take to actually start making the shift.

First, do the necessary self-reflection:

1.      Articulate your values

Describe what “makes you tick” in life? What drives you? What needs to be present for you to be ‘in your element’?

2.      Articulate your objectives

Describe what you hope to do next or what you are looking for. This can be a professional pivot or some other opportunity. IMPORTANT: you don’t need to make a big change! Small-step changes are as useful – you can reach your objective in a few iterations.

However big or small your steps doesn't matter. You can reach your goal in several iterations.

3.      Make a cost/benefit analysis

Write down what the expected costs of reaching your objective are, and the anticipated benefits. For example:

• Example costs: salary decrease, giving up independence for a while, time investment, cost to build a network (e.g. for attending conferences, joining certain communities), steep learning curve, long hours of unpaid work (for research, networking), feelings of insecurity “why am I doing this”, challenged to establish credibility in a new industry/sector
• Example benefits: working in the field of your passion, gaining new knowledge, contributing to a greater good, more flexibility, being your own boss (for aspiring entrepreneurs), no more big company politics, the reward for stepping out of your comfort zone.

Keep in mind that every journey is personal, and the cost/benefit factors unique to you. 

4.      Know your own risk tolerance

Are you naturally inclined to try out new things, or do you naturally try to avoid uncertainty? And looking at the expected costs, what is the maximum potential risk you can bear?

How comfortable are you outside of your comfort zone?

5.      Consider your support network

Support from home as well as few people who join you on the path is indispensable. Your support network gives you wings in good times, and pulls you through the difficult times. They can be spouses, family, close friends, or people following you on your journey. They can even be strangers on the same path as you – like the women joining the Thrive meet-up. Your support network is there to call on for sound boarding, candid questions and feedback.

For me, apart from my husband, the volunteer team was my support back bone as we advocated “42” in Germany. They were my sanity check that I was not crazy for pursuing this path in times when I doubted myself.

6.      Consider your drive

Are you motivated enough to do what you want to do to also overcome the hard times? How badly do you want to realise your objectives, or, how badly do you want to get out of where you are right now? Making a career switch is a matter of endurance, there will be very little instant gratification, and there will be hard times. Therefore, a high drive and stamina will help you pull through this journey.

Second, get to know your new environment:

7.      Learn about the environment you are interested in

First, do research. What are influencing factors – societal, environmental, geographical? Who are the clients or beneficiaries and what is important to them? What also helped me was to learn a few interesting facts or statistics by heart, to have readily available in conversations – it helps you gain credibility in your new environment, and it may spark a conversation that you will again be able to learn from.

Second, a key one: get into a course, an internship or side job in the field of your interest and learn. This is a great way to grow your network and gain skills and knowledge relevant to your new environment. Keep in mind that you have to be willing to incur cost or decrease your income for a while, for the benefit of learning and growing your network.

During my pivot, I taught Robotics in the afterschool programme at the international school in Frankfurt – I figured I needed to find out whether I like working with youngsters and tech at all, before I would end my job at Deutsche Bank. The head of the school kindly allowed me, and this way I learned about whether my new path was really for me.

Third, express yourself:

8.      Write a narrative (a must)

Articulate the motivation for the transitions you’re planning to make. What are the common themes that connect your previous experience with your future aspirations? Make sure people understand that it is still “you” – try to be authentic (you can refer to your values). The result should be a convincing and credible story that is relevant to reaching your objectives and that you can tell in less than 2 minutes.

A good guide on how to craft your story can be found in this article by Maura Connell Lightfoot: So, tell me about yourself...

9.      Talk to people (and be willing to be proven wrong)

Once you have your narrative set up, get out of your bubble. Talk to people – both people close to you as well as people in the field of your interest – about your plans, make them known. Also: be willing to be proven wrong – see above the note on the book “the Mom test” – and stay flexible. Learn from others in this stage, and make an iteration if that leads to an improved chance at a successful pivot, instead of trying to convince them.

10.  Ask

People like clarity, and are generally willing to help. Dare to be clear to others what you want to achieve and how they can potentially help – it may feel uncomfortable at first, but I found that people like clarity. As long as you make sure you ask for what you want in a pleasant way, they understand what you are trying to do, and most people simply like to help. They may have particular knowledge or may introduce you to someone who can help. They can always choose to not help you for whatever reason.

Final considerations

Making a career switch is a process of endurance, don’t expect immediate result – which may be a challenge in the current times where we are used to receiving instant gratification.

Keep in mind that small step changes are sufficient – your next step does not have to be a huge. A smaller step will bring you closer to your ultimate goal. For instance, before changing industry, you may look into getting into a company in the same industry, but with a culture that has a better fit to your personal values.

Consider timing – is now a good time to make a switch? The current COVID-19 market is an employers’ market and therefore not the best market to make a move. However, there are actual steps that you can take now, that will help to position you stronger when the recession following the Covid-19 pandemic resides.

Flexibility is key: be open to new ideas and changes. Talk to people about your goals, and take input to heart. Dare to be proven wrong and stay open to new ideas.

It helps if you keep in mind that you do this for yourself, and not for others. Try to not mind too much how others see you. People may not understand what you are doing at first, and why you are doing it. You only need a few people to believe in you to pull you through the hard times, besides your own drive. Be patient and persistent, you will be able to show result over time.

For reference and further reading:

“The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers and Learn If Your Business is a Good Idea when Everyone is Lying to You” by Rob Fitzpatrick.

“Transition through Tumult”, a series on career transitions by Maura Connell Lightfoot:

• Transition Through Tumult: How to Set Yourself Up for a Career Transition Amidst a Global Pandemic
• So, tell me about yourself…
• I thought I knew what a career change was, but there’s more to it than that
• What they’re not telling you about managing your network
• Is a career change really worth it?

What's next?

As I am writing this, I am again on the brink of a pivot. Not as drastically as before but the steps I am taking are the same.

I am continuing my path in EdTech, as my passionate belief that we need to modernise education for the benefit of talent and the future of learning – which is more personalised, more contextualised, more autonomous, more purposeful, and accessible for a wider range of types of talent than only academic talent – remains unchanged. This time however, I am setting of on a new path from Singapore, where we moved to from Germany, end 2020. My objective is to go into a new sector, Venture Capital, from where I can help great companies that modernise education grow, through adding value by applying my skills and knowledge gained in my time as management consultant, driven by my passion for modernising education for the future of learning and talent.

I find myself again writing my narrative and building my network. I started a course to fill knowledge gaps, and perhaps I get the opportunity to learn in-house again, like I learned at the international school in Frankfurt 3 years ago, teaching Robotics. A positive mindset and support from people around me I again experience as indispensable. I am adapting again, and to a certain extent reinventing myself again, but important, most of all to myself, is to know: it is still me.