The 4 Tips You Need To Consider | Making a Career or Industry Change

I recently reviewed a resume for a colleague who was trying to pivot into a new career from patient-facing Healthcare to Marketing. She had a great background and even a year of experience within marketing.

As we talked further, she mentioned that she had received countless rejections from applications, but was confident she could add a lot of value to an organization if she could just get an opportunity to speak with them.

What I noticed first was that there was no indication in her resume or cover letter as to why she was trying to make a career change and what value she brings in a marketing role.

I realized that I see resumes like hers every day, so why do I reject them?

The truth is many of the best hires I've recruited in my career came from completely different career fields or industries.

1. DO understand that recruiters do not have time to call every candidate that applies for a role

The average recruiters usually reject all applicants that have no experience in the area they're applying for because there are only so many minutes in the day and recruiters are perpetually busy. Only in rare cases do recruiters call people to try and determine why they're making a career change.

So, if you have a background as a kindergarten teacher, a rocket scientist, or a fast-food cook, please simply tell us why you're applying to this particular role and why you feel it's appropriate for you at the TOP of your resume or cover letter

2. DO understand your ACTUAL market value

Your market value is not what Glassdoor says, or what a TikTok influencer says, it's a direct reflection of your value to the company and the correlated risk of hiring you.

Wherever you are hired, you are an investment and a risky investment at that.

As an example, on average companies invests tens of thousands, and often hundreds of thousands of dollars into the first year of an employees' training and development. All that into someone who hasn't yet created a nickel of value to the company. This is why the cost of replacing and retraining employees is costing American companies over $1 trillion dollars annually.

If you ask for a high salary/bonus structure you better bring the experience and track record to back it up or you're more than likely going to find yourself looking for a new job when you can't live up to the high expectations they are looking for you to achieve.

3. DO recognize the value of experience as a form of compensation

You may need to take a job to get the experience for the job you really want, and you may need to take a monetary pay cut to do so. However, as you may have realized in the process of applying for countless "entry-level" roles that ask for 2-5 years of experience in X, that experience is highly valuable and is an additional form of compensation.

A close friend of mine took a leap from HR to marketing 3 years ago. He took a pay cut from 100k to 55k. He just got promoted last week to a role with a 165k base and a 250k OTE, and he loves what he does.

If you don't have any experience in the role you're interviewing for, ask the company what they have budgeted for the role and tell them you're willing to take the lower end of the range because you recognize the value of the experience and development you will be getting.

This doesn't just apply for this first role, it goes for each role you apply for in the future that stretches your experience, your market value is not what Glassdoor says, or what a TikTok says, it's a direct reflection of your value to the company and the relative risk of hiring you.

4. DO consider whether working remotely is best for your career

Prior to Covid-19, remote work was reserved for senior employees or individuals who weren't necessarily needed to be in an office. Post-Covid we're seeing nearly every role from entry-level to c-level being posted with a remote option.

1. Most companies do not have a strong remote learning and development infrastructure in place or perhaps more importantly leaders equipped to manage and develop remotely.
2. For someone going into a new field: learning through osmosis, from your office peers, and most importantly development from your manager is key.

If you must work remotely, you should understand that it can stunt your career growth, limit your opportunities, and prevent you from

you should do your homework on the training & development programs at that company.