Career vs. Job Transition

  I define career transition as moving from one job type in one industry into another job type in a  different industry. Compared to job transition – moving from one job to another in the same or similar industry – career transition is far more difficult. This is because most people screening applicants are looking for people who have done the job before and they are not looking at all the people who can do the job. This is a result of all the applications a company receives for any given job posting. It makes sense  to screen out as many resumes as possible to get to a manageable number. Later we’ll discuss how to overcome this fact of life.

If we agree that it is harder to transition careers vs. transitioning jobs, why change careers? Let’s look at two examples of why someone would want to change careers. I work with a lot of folks who are over 45 years old. Some of these men and women have been on the same job, with the same company for twenty, twenty-five, even thirty years. Some of these people are really tired, they are burned out, or they are sick of the job and need a change. Some folks are in an industry that cherishes youth and the job’s demands are set up for younger professionals. For example, one fellow was a steel worker who worked building high rise buildings. At 49 he’s considered an old man even though he’s still young to many of us. The saying, “It’s a young man’s game!” really makes the point.  


When I work with clients who decide to change careers the first thing to do is outline the client’s transferable skills as part of a skills assessment. These are the skills that transcend any specific job description but are essential for many different careers and job roles. My favorite one “Interpersonal Relationship Skills” is part of many job descriptions. Often there are parts of our job that we love doing that we don’t realize are completely transferable to several different career arenas.


After we identify the client’s transferable skills, I then shift to discover their key or core competency. This is what the client does best and in many instances what they love doing most. I had a person tell me recently that without a job coach it took her almost two years to discover her core competency in order to shift her career to the job she now has and loves.


With an understanding of my core competency and transferable skills in line, you can now start appraising different job descriptions and careers to move into.  It’s important to realize that letting go of your past to move on to your future career is probably the hardest part of career transition.  There is some effort required to start seeing yourself in the new career. This is important if you are ever going to sell yourself to a hiring manager.  


Next time we’ll look at what it takes to get noticed in a new industry or field.