Changing careers in 2019? You're far from alone

Welcome readers to the final Hello Monday of the year. Have a career-related question you want answered by our expert community? Let me know in the comments below using #HelloMonday and I’ll see you back here in mid-January.

Wake Up Call

Your dose of Monday morning inspiration

As we approach the end of the year, the job market is full of dichotomies: Unemployment is at an all-time low, yet headlines everywhere threaten that many jobs will soon disappear. Employers are speaking out against a shortage of workers with specialized tech skills like artificial intelligence, and yet the soft skill of communication remains the number one talent demanded across the United States.

It’s inconsistent messages like these that breed uncertainty amongst workers across industries. It’s an uncertainty that I got a front row seat to last week when this column drove more than 300 members to share their stories on career transitions.

“I constantly worry about losing jobs. In my mind there's no safe job in this world,” wrote Certified Public Accountant Renee Guo. “One day I can still be a star in the office, and the next day, my whole department can be eliminated, or replaced by AI. So my approach is to constantly learning new skills. skills considered more advanced for your current position, or skills that may seem not relevant now, but useful in other departments."

While there is much talk of how we can all prepare ourselves for the jobs of the future, the reality is no one knows what the New Year will bring. In an effort to embrace that reality, I want to leave you with a few (lightly edited) comments from members who went through something challenging in their career and came out on the other end victorious. In a period of widespread doubt, I hope they will similarly inspire you to take on whatever your next Monday at work will bring:

Ocie Anderson, Director of Consulting Services at Navigator Management Partners: “I transitioned out of the automotive industry 20 years ago. It was at a time when the writing was on the wall with regards to business moving to Mexico and elsewhere. As a young engineer I wanted to make sure I was at a place with lots of growth and leadership opportunities…. First I went to grad school. I saw that as a means to facilitate a fresh start. But I also wanted to make sure that I was utilizing what I had learned while working for General Motors and Delphi Automotive. So I went into supply chain management. I would suggest that anyone looking to transition out of automotive first take an inventory of what skills they have, and determine if those skills are transferable to another industry or if they need to retool/retrain. Skills such as program and project management, business process analysis and improvement, systems management, HR and Financials management, etc. are transferable to almost any industry. There are other automotive industry skills that fit well with other manufacturing environments.”

Vincent Chau, Technical Sourcer at Indeed: “I changed careers from engineering to technical recruiting and it was the best decision of my life. When someone changes careers, whether by choice or by circumstance, it's going to take a lot of hard-work working your way up the ladder again, flexibility to take on an entry-level job or a lower salary than you may be used to, and sacrifices that might include putting your hobbies & social life on hold. I know it's easier said than done for most people but it's not impossible.”

Johnnie Thayer, Learning Development Coordinator at Sun Communities: “When I turned 40, I took a real look at my career. I had "fallen" into the legal field 20 years prior and didn't feel that I was really happy there, although I was very good at my job. I took a hard look at what was really driving me - what aspects of the job I liked, and didn't. I went back to school, going part-time while working. 10 years later, I received my Bachelor’s Degree in HR, with a concentration in Training and Development. I don't regret a bit of it, although I will admit that being older than anyone in the classroom wasn't always easy. And joining the workforce in a field new to me at my age has required that I put aside some ego in order to succeed, but I think that's an essential need for everyone! It's not easy to give up your comfort zone, but find people who will help you and see your vision for yourself because it's so worth it!”

Michael Cheney, Customer Analyst at Thames Water: “Having changed careers after a very long time in the pub[lication] trade into working in an office environment, I can agree that there is a lot to be concerned about. However, the tenacity to apply yourself is all you need. Providing you are happy to learn and push yourself every day, you will reap what you sow. I never imagined that I would do anything else but run a pub, but now after 2 promotions, I'm in a role I truly love. What’s more, if I find tomorrow that I am out of work, or being replaced, I'll look at it with the same eager anticipation. You never know what the future holds, but you will always know how hard you are willing to work to make it right for you.”

Annalisa Adams-Qualtiere, Human Resources Director at Bridge Housing: “This time of crisis is a temporary opportunity for a permanent gift!... In essence, adversity leads to growth and in many cases the highest forms of growth—only if we respond rightly. It may sound cliché but “the only way out is through”. Time of crisis can help you create deep roots!... Time of crisis can help you develop (or reset) your philosophy. What is your philosophy when it comes to work, money, community, family, and so on. Unfortunately, I see that far too often errors in philosophy when repeated over-time could lead to disaster. Here’s a little advice from Jim Rohn. 'The major question to ask on the job is not what am I getting here, the major question to ask on the job is what am I becoming here.' Your work is not you! So launch out into your next phase, keep this time in where it belongs in the rear view mirror. Learn from it and lean through it.”

What’s Working

Highlighting people and companies moving the business world forward

Company culture beyond jargon. Research shows that companies with a “strong company culture” — defined as employees saying that managers live the values they preach — leads to better business performance. Some 70% of respondents in a recent survey said they would turn down a job offer at a leading company if they knew the culture was bad, which means good things for how companies prioritize workplace dynamics moving forward. [Quartz]

"We have to be exceptional." Responding to the myth that there aren’t enough Black women working in Hollywood, the Hollywood Reporter put together it’s largest photoshoot ever to depict 62 women working across the industry. [Hollywood Reporter]

Obama leans out. In a refreshingly candid conversation last week, former First Lady Michelle Obama discussed how Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s rallying cry to women in business to “lean in” doesn’t always work. “It ain’t equal,” she said. “I tell women that whole ‘you can have it all’—mmm, nope. Not at the same time—that’s a lie.” [Vanity Fair]

What’s Wrong?

Answering member questions on concerns their having at work

A few weeks ago, we partnered with SurveyMonkey to figure out what the top concern is for Hello Monday readers on the topic of asking questions at work. Here are the results:

• 47% of readers don’t ask questions because they felt like they never get real answers
• 42% don't out of fear that they would look stupid in the workplace
• 18% of Hello Monday readers believe that there are no barriers to asking question in the workplace

What’s most interesting to me, however, is the disconnect that emerged in our poll between individual contributors and managers. Individual contributors are more likely to say that they don’t know where to go to ask questions whereas managers simply feel like they hardly ever get real answers.

This divide reveals a communication barrier between leaders and employees on how exactly to speak out at work.

“The leaders always think they are doing more and the individual contributors always think they are not doing enough,” said SurveyMonkey Director of Research Sarah Cho.

While the poll results are not surprising, I predict that in 2019 we will see a shift in this sentiment. Toward the end of this year, we’ve watched as prominent companies like Facebook and Google have had to respond to public criticism from their employee base. With leaders increasingly seeing their employees speak out, fostering a culture that nurtures curiosity and freedom of expression will be even more important.

One More Thing…

Agreeing to disagree with Elon: Tesla founder and space enthusiast Elon Musk said last week that in order to accomplish anything, leaders need to work 80-hour weeks. More than 2,000 LinkedIn members (somewhat) respectfully disagreed with him:

What's your take on this week’s stories? Share your thoughts in the comments, using the hashtag #HelloMonday