The Art Of The (Career) Pivot

In the time of the coronavirus crisis, for many of us, furloughs and layoffs, a looming recession and the state of the current crisis have gotten us thinking even more so than before about making changes to our current careers. 

As a recruiter who has heard hundreds of stories of how candidates have found their way into the jobs that they held throughout their careers, and as a career coach whose greatest passion is helping people make successful transitions into new careers, I’m here to share with you the steps you need to take in order to make that exact same transition yourself. 

I call it The Art of the Pivot. 

For starters, when I talk about the pivot in career terms, I’m talking about making an intentional shift in a new direction. 

While there are those who stumble into the jobs that they have or have had, having a strategic plan in place that you can execute is the best way to move forward. 

Step 1. The first thing you have to ask yourself is “Why do you want AND need to pivot?” 

Notice I said ‘want AND need’. While I know that certain circumstances beyond our control can force us to reconsider our career path, thus the NEED part, I also know that if your heart isn’t in it, you’re going to have a problem with mindset if you aren’t doing something that you WANT to do either, so you also need to WANT to be going in the direction you intend to go. 

When I conduct job interviews, one of the very first questions that I ask candidates is what’s your reason for looking? Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself the exact same question. 

It could be that you want and need to make a pivot because you’re hitting a plateau in life, or in work, and no matter how you convince yourself that the pay, the seniority and the success you’re enjoying is worth it, you can’t really, truly say that you feel content or fulfilled. Or it could be that you’re feeling and seeing that your current job is not sustainable. 

How you know whether it’s time to make a pivot is best summed up in what I like to call the Sunday Stomache.

You know that feeling. You wake up on Sunday morning with that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach knowing that you’re going to have to go in to work the next day, and it gets stronger and stronger as the day goes by and it’s always there in the back of your mind. 

And then when you are at work, you feel so ‘whatever’. You can’t wait for the day to end. You can’t wait for the workweek to end.  

So now that you know why you want to pivot, the next question is..

2. “How do I pivot?” 

Again, like I said, you have to be intentional and strategic. You have to have a plan in place in order to do it the right way. 

Your first step in how to make a pivot starts out with a Self Assessment. While you could do this on your own, I strongly recommend that you reach out to a career coach or recruiter who can help guide you the process. What would make you happier and more fulfilled? What are your strengths and skills, given the fact that strengths and skills that you have honed over the course of your career and overall life experiences are always transferable. 

After that, take a look at your career options. 

Do you want to stay in the same industry but move into a different role? Or do you want to switch to a whole new role and industry altogether? 

Once you have the answer to that, identify your skills gaps and weak spots. What do I need to work on? What do I need in order to take the next step? 

3. The next step is to put together a Plan of Action.

?Make a list of things you’d like to and need to learn and things you need to do (ex. learn a skill that’s required in this new career or role, do research on the industry, speak to industry insiders, read trade publications, join LinkedIn groups and network with key leaders for and within that industry, attend meetups and conferences for that industry, update your resume, LinkedIn profile, businesscards, tell people within your network that you’re looking. 

Once you have your list of things to do, prioritize and break them all down into an executable plan, week by week, month by month. Set a goal for yourself that includes key performance indicators ( KPI’s) and benchmarks. 

It's also helpful to use the acronym SMART as a guide when you’re creating these goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. 

4. After you’ve done your self-assessment, determined which career direction you want to take, have a plan of action that you can implement, the final step is to just do it. I’ve always loved the Indiana Jones franchise and I always go back to the scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where Indiana has to cross the chasm. As his father told him, you must believe. It will be scary, yes, but you have a plan, and that plan is that bridge that will get you to where you want and need to be.