This is for the people who are considering a career move that is different from their current role (vs. a promotion in the same discipline).
It could be that you're adding breadth to your career by moving laterally e.g. deploying your client experience in a project role or something more radical e.g. quitting the law to be a day trader or quitting banking to be a florist.
When you apply for a new job, people look at your previous role and make a snap judgement about whether it ‘makes sense’ that you’ve applied, or not. Sad but true. So when I’m career coaching, we invest time in telling the story of how your past experiences and accomplishments make you a great fit for this different opportunity.
In order to do that, you need to be an ‘AND’ person.
We can be guilty of being quite one dimensional at work. We box people off based on their jobs - lawyer, banker, accountant, risk. And assume these professions attract a certain ‘type of person’. These stereotypes (or biases) happen. We reduce people back to this one identity. But the truth is that we’re all multidimensional. And it's our points of difference that become our USP when we're making a career move outside our current field.
If they want a risk professional that thinks and acts like their current risk professionals, then it's a tougher interview (still possible - reach out). In reality most firms are talking about diversity and inclusion now more than ever. They are seeking difference. This is where the 'and' part comes in.
Consider different parts of your identity:
- What roles do you have outside of work e.g. Trustee, Committee member, Scout leader etc?
- What are some key aspects of your personality?
- What have you experienced in life that's interesting and relevant to this new area of expertise you want to build?
- How have you learned on the job in previous roles?
- Where do you choose to invest most of your time?
This is just a handful of questions to get you started. You have a unique combination of skills and experiences. So what can you bring to this next role that no one else can?
Working out your additional value-add is a key component of a successful career change. Whilst the UK job market is currently slow - this is exactly the type of prep work you can start now.
Cheers to a successful next move!
P.S. I'm often asked if it's possible to switch careers and avoid a demotion when moving into a new field. The answer is yes. But it requires effort and skill - the above is a helpful step towards this outcome.
P.P.S. There's 2 ways you can currently work with me: 1) a 2 hour breakthrough NLP session or 2) a 4 session coaching programme over 2 months. All phone based. When you're ready, hit reply and we'll agree which approach best serves your goal.