Top Tips For A New Career in a Different Industry

As we begin to see increased movement in the jobs market, more people are starting to think about the direction they want their career to take. In an ideal world you would know from day one what route you wanted to take, but that isn’t always the case. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to run my own business, but I didn’t know it would be in recruitment. That was something I fell into, and many people may not discover their true calling until their second, third, or even tenth job.

If you are somebody who has recently decided to change careers, it can be slightly daunting – from an obvious experience point of view you may feel like you are at a disadvantage. But it is all about how you market yourself. Everything from your CV, to your covering letter, right through to the things you say in interviews are opportunities for you to push yourself to the forefront of an employer’s mind.

The most important thing you need to focus on are your transferable skills. Every job, in every sector, has skills that can be applied anywhere. Many people make the mistake of almost airbrushing their previous jobs; but all this does is make it difficult for you to talk about any experiences. Find the skills that can match up with the job you are applying for – remember that companies advertise a job because they have a need or a problem, so every skill you discuss should help market you as the solution.

A few years ago I was looking for someone to join my investment team. One of the applications was from somebody who had a great background in marketing, which nine times out of ten would have no relevance to this role. However the way he presented his application piqued my interest, and when I had further discussions with him I realised he could actually be a good fit. A key part of being on the investment team is originating deals, which means being able to sell the qualities of the business – something he was highly skilled at. I probably wouldn’t even have thought of this if he hadn’t presented himself in this way. He looked at the job advert and matched himself as closely as possible, despite coming from another industry.

What can also help market you in the right manner is training. If you are serious about going into another industry, having some relevant courses or qualifications to put on your CV can be a great help. This also shows companies how committed you are to your new path, and that is something which always goes down well. To this end, your research on the industry and company should be even more polished than usual. Hiring managers will naturally push you a bit harder if you are coming from outside of the industry, but if you can show how much you have immersed yourself within it, you will get a definite tick in the box.

Of course there are some people who want to move careers but aren’t entirely sure what they want their new challenge to be. At the end of the day, this will come down to your passions and your strengths.

I was once mentoring a lady who used to work in a travel agency. She had been made redundant and had come to the realisation that she didn’t actually want to go back to that particular type of job. However she had spent most of her career there so naturally she was worried about what to do next. Her passions were clear – she loved working with a variety of people and wanted to take more ownership of projects. What I then made her do was carefully analyse her strengths– believe it or not this was more about having a good mental attitude than anything else. Rather than worrying about how you’ll get a job, think positively about what you’re good at.

We came to the conclusion that she was great at customer service and also highly organised with meticulous attention to detail. Immediately you can see that these are not skills exclusive to a travel agent! She ended up applying for a senior management role in a hotel – and did her lack of hotel experience count against her? Not at all, because she was able to demonstrate how her skill set matched up to the job.