Pivot plan: Four tips for launching your career second act

Let’s say that your lifelong dream of becoming an ornamental-grass lawn-care influencer isn’t panning out, or maybe Fort McMurray wasn’t, in fact, the ideal place to launch your touring Shakespeare company. Or perhaps, more plausibly, you’re worried that your job is vulnerable to AI. Whatever the motivation, you need to pivot careers, posthaste. Studies suggest that a well-considered switch, even one that means a temporary pay cut, can dramatically improve both your earnings and job satisfaction long term. The hitch is knowing how to pull off a smart pivot. We asked Charina Cruz, a career coach in Vancouver, to share some concrete tips for navigating a successful career transition.

Figure out what you’re actually good at

A good pivot is based on skills from your actual life. If you spent summers coaching Little League baseball and loved it, that’s great supporting data that you’d make a great teacher. On the flip side, if you want to be the next MrBeast but you’ve never even considered locking five people in a freight container for four months (much less paying them to do it and filming the whole thing), then you might reconsider.

Make yourself an irresistible hire

Your Excel wizardry probably won’t move you to the top of the pile when you’re applying to be a stevedore. (The beanie helps.) Supplement your experience with courses, volunteer work, and passion projects. If you don’t know where to begin, try a class from Udemy, Coursera, or even LinkedIn Learning. But fair warning: switching your function/role and your industry at the same time can be tough. Consider doing it in two steps: first change functions at your current employer, then, once you’ve mastered new skills, carry them to a different industry.

Network, network, and, uh, network

Nearly half of job-seekers report getting hired thanks to personal connections. If you have none in your new field, join industry associations, reach out to possible mentors, and attend meetups. This is your ticket in (and sometimes you get free snacks). “Despite all the internet stuff, we still live in a world where employers want referrals,” Cruz says.

Just get started

Do a few small things each week that inch you ahead, whether that’s updating your résumé or showing up to an industry cocktail hour. Once you’re in motion, treat your career like a living thing that needs maintenance: periodically check in on connections, work on résumé-boosting side projects, etc. Landing a new job is a short-term goal, but building a sturdy career is a long-term project.

Written By

Dan Xin Huang

Dan Xin Huang is an independent journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter.