How to Switch Careers Without Having To Start All Over

Welcome to roadmap to the executive suite podcast, a place where we talk about accelerating your careers all tailored to the ambitious woman. We're here to have fun, feel empowered and get actionable steps to get you closer to your dream job and salary, no matter where you are in your career. I'm your host, Claudia Miller, Athena, career coach and corporate trainer who helps ambitious women get the jobs they want, almost getting them up to $100,000 in salary increases. I've been featured in Forbes MSNBC, and Business Insider put me there Top Global list of top innovative career coaches, and the creative 90 day job offer program where I teach career driven women like you my proprietary strategy on how to land a job you love in less than 90 days, all while getting 30 to$100,000 in salary increases, no matter if you're just starting in your career, or you're ready to pivot into the executive suite. My clients have been able to move to the next step in their careers successfully pivoted into new industries without having to take a pay cut and broke it into management without any prior experience. I'm coming to you with a new episode every week on Thursdays with mindset job search, interview skills, answer negotiation advice with actionable strategies you can implement today to help you get ahead in your career. Now let's get started with this week's episode. Hi, I'm excited to talk about today's topic. And it's how to switch careers without having to start all over. So I've been getting a lot of messages and people wanting to connect with get on a call because they're either looking to maybe pivoted to tech, or maybe switch careers overall. But they're not sure how to get started. And they're not sure even if they should. So there are many myths and misconceptions when it comes to switching careers. So I'll share with you why they're hurting you. And the six steps you can easily follow to switch your career successfully without having to take a pay cut or starting from scratch. And I'll be sharing with you the six steps towards the end. So that way makes it easy for you if you are thinking or contemplating on switching your careers, I'll give you the six steps you need to do in order to do it successfully. But before if you don't know me, my name is Claudia Miller. And I'm a career coach and I help career driven women, you know, get land and fulfilling jobs in less than 90 days while getting paid what they deserve. On average, my clients get a 56% in salary increases in my clients I received anywhere between 30 and even up to $120,000 in additional earned income. And this episode is really all about helping you land the job. So if you're looking to switch careers, this is a perfect episode for you. Because I'll walk through some myths and misconceptions. And then the six steps to help you make that pivot and change successfully without having to take a pay cut or having to start from scratch. So here's the myths. When it comes to switching your careers, usually people think you're going to have to start from scratch, probably going to start at an entry level role. Maybe you've already been in the industry for quite some time, and you're not looking to go back into the entry level role. So you feel like now you're stuck in this industry role that you're currently in. Or that you need to take a pay cut your use of this specific lifestyle, and you don't want to have to take a 2030, even 50k salary cut in order to help you start from scratch because you're looking to switch in your career. So maybe you're kind of postponing or really thinking of switching your career. Or that you can't do it because of your specific niche. And now you've pigeon holed yourself to this specific field or industry. And now you feel like you just can't get out of it because you've been doing it for so long. So there's just no way for you to make that switch in your career. Or you also need to go back to school or get certifications in order to make that switch in your career. And you just don't have the time or really have the funds to go back and get that certification or get that master's degree that you feel like you need in order to make that switch. So there's many myths and misconceptions when it comes to rounded. And here's what I've seen when I worked with my clients. So my clients have been able to switch careers and I've had clients from higher ed, some of them are just teachers like not higher ed like university by like at grammar school or high school. I've also had people coming from finance as well as marketing, sales. I mean, you name it. I've been worked with engineers, mechanical engineers, the beauty and health industries. So I've had clients coming from all different types of backgrounds, and now they're looking to pivot and switch to a different type of industry. But they switch careers while getting salaries. And you heard that right. They got a salary increase, even though they switch their career. And I actually had a client recently that earlier this year was able to make the pivot and they received a 64% in salary increase. While they were already making six figures. I think they were making around 120 130,000 And they got a 64% salary increase, even though there was switching careers. And again, I'll show you the six steps on how you can do this yourself as well. But I kind of wanted to set make sure that we manage expectations correctly. And we demystify some of these misconceptions. Because we just assume we assume that we can do it, we assume that it's not going to be successful, we assume that it's not going to work out for us, but I'm here to tell you, it can. And it will, if you follow the steps that I'm about to share with you. I've had clients land fulfilling jobs without having to go back to school or getting certifications as they originally thought, they felt guilt or shame that they, you know, they didn't get the specific certification, even though it might have been free or not, or that they didn't go back and get their masters or their MBA degree. And they feel like they should, but they just can't, and it just feels stuck. And they just can't make that pivot and change. I've had clients that also moved into senior level roles successfully, even though they've never worked in that industry before. Maybe they were director at this specific industry. And now they want to pivot. But you know, they're gonna have to start at an entry level role right now, they actually have been able to pivot to senior director level, I actually had a client that was in consulting and finance. And she wanted to move and pivot into the health and wellness, specifically become Chief of Staff and manage a lot of their product manager or their products that evolved within that specific beauty care line, she was able to do successfully, while still getting a sound increase got the chief of staff role, and then she was able to start leading her product management development team, even though she came from finance. So these are just some quick examples that I wanted to share with you to show you that it is possible. And my clients have also been easily been able to transition into industries are passionate about without even prior experience. I've had clients pivot into gaming, like PlayStation or health and wellness, like big companies, some of them are huge Disney fans. And if you are, I've had clients, you know, break into like supply chain logistics management into companies working like Netflix, Spotify, Disney, you name it. So it is possible. And I'm here to tell you that. So the six steps that you need to take in order to make that transition, if you really are looking to make a switch in your career, and you want to know how to do it without having to start from scratch without having to take a pay cut. How do you do it? Here are the six steps that I'll be sharing with you. So you want to make a list of all the tools systems and vendors of your industry or something related to your industry. So for example, if you're in the restaurant industry, you would make a list of like the POS system, do you use Aloha? Or whatever system they have out there? What about the cashiers? What about maybe OpenTable for reservations, what other systems are they using? Where do you track timesheets? Do you use workday, started looking into all these different systems that you may be working with already in your industry, to start making a list who are also the vendors. If you're in a restaurant, then vendors maybe will be Pepsi, maybe companies like Diageo products that are all liquor and beverage, maybe they are also events management, maybe you are part of this wedding industry. And you use Wedding Wire as your website and you manage a lot of them. Whatever that is start making a list of all these tools, resources vendors that you work with. And even if you don't necessarily work with them directly, you can look up, you know, vendors for restaurants, and then you have another list. And you could put technology for restaurants. And now you have a long list. So now you want to make a list of all those different types of companies, systems and everything. And now you have a good place to start. Because these are all companies that work closely with restaurant industries, which something you have a background in. And because of it, you want to look into sites of it. And why this is very important is because you might either be in the client or on the provider side. So if you're a restaurant, you're probably a customer of a POS system, or you're a customer of Pepsi, but maybe your clients are, you know, something like Wedding Wire or these other organizations. So you have intel from the other side that we can use to our leverage. And that's going to be our competitive advantage against all the other candidates. So how do you compete with other let's just say managers or directors, or people who have been in this industry who have done these roles before? How do you compete with them by finding that competitive advantage? And this is exactly how you start figuring it out. So you make a list of all of them. Then you want to go to the company sites and look for job postings and you want to merge any questions you may have. Just because let's just say your restaurant, maybe your server, well then you can go on the customer service side for some of these vendors and service other restaurants. Now they become your clients and you have that experience. You can also look at other job postings like let's just say you're a project manager in manufacturing, but you want to become a project manager at a tech company. Well then now you can start looking In a project management job descriptions for that specific industry, and then you can start marking questions or concerns you have it says PMP certification don't really have that. Is that really necessary? Maybe it says that you need to have worked with technical teams. Okay. Why is that important? What do you mean by technical teams? Can you give me an example. So writing down those questions based on that job posting in that specific industry, then you want to go on LinkedIn, and look for people in these roles, or that are already within these companies and just reach out to them. So let's just say that workday, does the timesheets at your company. And that's where you log in your PTO, that's when you log in your hours. And that's how you get paid out? Well, then I will reach out to workday, look at the company profile, look at job postings, maybe I want to become a software engineer there, then I will look at the job postings and see like, Oh, need help background and payroll in payments, maybe that's something they really asking for. So once I already addressed that, then I want to go on to LinkedIn, and then start looking at people who are already in the role. So software engineers already that are working at workday. I want to identify them, I want to reach out to them and then connect with them. I want to ask them, Hey, is it really necessary to know payroll? I don't have a background in payroll, I have a background in health and wellness or I'm in the restaurant industry? Can you tell me a little bit more about that? Do you have this PMP certification? Is that really necessary? What is most important in this role? What is your role look like? And then based on your findings, you want to be able to start leveraging that information. I would also recommend for you to reach out to those potential hiring managers, maybe a director of software engineers, if you're applying to a software engineer role. Now what asked him questions like what are the hardest skills to hire for? What do you typically look for in a software Junior department? What are some top three skills that you highly value? Start asking those questions and based on what you get on those responses, now you can start updating your resume your cover letter, your LinkedIn profile to match what you just found out through that research. So that's how you start tailoring it to that specific industry. And then you'll start identifying your transferable skills, you'll start learning, you know, what is most important to them? Why do they think that? And then, you know, is it truly necessary to, you know, have these specific certifications? And if not, how can I go around it. And the reason why this works is because you're coming from an adjacent industry. Like I said, you might be if you're currently submit your timesheets through workday, and you apply to workday, because you want to work at a tech company. Well, now you can say, you know, I've come from a manufacturing industry. So I want to work in the software engineering department specifically tailored to manufacturing industries, because I do have the expertise as a user. And I'd be an asset to the organization because I can walk you through every step of the process, some of the challenges and obstacles we've dealt with as an art department. And I'll be able to really prove that user experience overflow when it comes to workday, specifically within manufacturing companies. So now, you have this competitive advantage over everyone else that just has software engineer experience and other payroll companies. And then it also means that you also have insights into that specific industry you're coming from, especially if you're going to the other side, servicing them. You have insights into their technology, their process, workflow, their hierarchy, what's important to these departments are at that level at that specific industry. And again, we use that as the leverage and we use that as our competitive advantage. When you review job postings, you want to write down any questions or concerns you have that you want an answer to. No more assuming no more guessing, no more guessing that you need to go back to school. No more guessing that you need to get that certification, no more guessing that you're never qualified, never guessing that you've never had experience in this industry. So don't do it. I rather get it from people to tell me, Hey, unless it's something like a doctor, you're not board certified you to go to medical school. That's an obvious but for most roles out there that are don't require that type of licenses. You can make the transition, I've been able to transition from finance, to education, to health care, hospital setting to health care corporate setting seamlessly while still getting 30k salary increases, and sometimes mean that knowing something became my asset. And that probably sounds crazy to you, but just know that it is possible. And when you connect with people in the role you're interested in, you're getting a better overview of the role in the industry and expectations. Does this sound like something you enjoy? Does this sound something like sounds exciting, or does it sound horrendous? Boring, and you'd never want to do it? And if that's the case, great. Now, you know, you don't want that type of role or you don't want to work at that company or industry. And let's look at other options as opposed to you, let's just say you do get a job in that role or company, then you find out, you absolutely hate it and you test it, you want to figure that out before you actually are in the role. And the other reason why you want to get a better overview of the company, and the role in itself is because you want to hear from the people. There's a stat actually, that showed that according to a study, over 72% of employees, actually said that what they do does not match what was displayed in the job posting. And then I can ask you, if you were to look at a job posting, based on the role you're in right now, or your current company? How closely will it match? I know my previous roles, it did not match at all whatsoever, maybe 20 30%. That's about it, but like verbatim not at all. Or maybe you're already overcrowded that job posting. So that's why I like to use job descriptions more as a compass. Does it sound like does it involve a lot of travel? You know, does it involve a lot of speaking with clients, if you're an introvert may not want to do that. But if you're an extrovert, does it sound like you know, something that you're going to be stuck in a cubicle not talking to anyone that's like, every extroverts worst nightmare. So use job descriptions as a compass, not as you know, set in stone. And that's when you want to connect with employees that are already in that role. You want to be in at that specific industry and role so that we can get a true visual and a true understanding of that role in itself, what it entails, and what does that look like? Because this job description won't always do justice. And then, you know, when you connect with hiring managers, the other thing is you're establishing a relationship. And you can also still ask additional questions. Like I mentioned, if you're connected with the hiring manager, what is the hardest skills to hire for? What do you feel like is missing in your team that will really make your team successful? You know, have you have someone in your team that currently has a background in whatever industry you're in? And how big of your portfolio or clients or work does it involve in that specific industry? And if they were to say, oh, you know, manufacturers, our biggest industry actually, like 60% of our issues or projects involved in that industry. So even one of our team members had that it would make things so much easier for the team members. Great. Now, you know, subject to leverage. Now you know, specifically what to go after when it comes to the interview when it comes to your resume and cover letter, because you're aligning it with what the industry wants, not based on assumption, or based on a, you know, outdated job description. And then you want to use the Intel to make you stand out from the competition. switching careers sometimes feels like, Well, how am I supposed to compete with people who have been in this industry and I have never been in this industry who have done this job before. And I'm looking to get, you know, become a first time manager become a first time director in an industry I've never worked with, how do I even compete with that? Easily, I just told you how we find a competitive advantage. We use your background as an asset. And we use the Intel to promote that across our resume cover letter, our LinkedIn profile, and then we set up our interviewing Questions and Answers according to what the market wants, not based on our assumptions, or what we think they want. So if you're still not sure how this applies to your specific background and experience, you're like, Claudia, it sounds great. But my experience is a little bit more specific. Or I should tell you, like my career has not been linear at all. I don't know what to do. I actually just had someone tell me, you know, they have over 20 years of teaching experience, but they want to move to program management. They feel like they're going to need to have to start from scratch. They're not, it's easily we just package it. We like I said, Follow the steps I just mentioned. And then we repurpose everything the branding is on point, the interviewing the weight, the questions, they ask the research, they do that at the end of the day, they will be able to help beat other candidates who have been in that industry who have been in those roles easily just based on how we prepare for those roles. So if you're interested in switching careers, and if you're like, This sounds great. How do I get started, I need a little bit more help. Obviously, I invite you to hop on a complimentary call with me on a career strategy call with me. That way we can talk a little bit more about what you want, what you're looking for and how I can help you get there. Like I said, this is a strategy that's been proven. On average my clients get 56% in salary increases even though they're switching careers. I actually had a client who was I forget what they did, they're probably like in tech, so bring me like software engineering, making around their director of software, Jeremy can one ad and then afterwards they wanted to become director of di so never really had experience in it. But we were able to transform her experience that she had on her coaching business, any volunteer experience all the trainings that she did on the side, where we took package it and she got a director of di role while getting 300 The $1,000 out. Now she's being recruited for head of director of head of di, for a role paid around 400 to 450,000, depending on the compensation package. So like I said, it's truly possible there, it just takes a specific strategy in order for you to do so successfully without having to take a step back with a habit, Tinker pickup. And as you know, this is all part of something I discussed. There's actually nine strategies in total, to help you make that pivot successfully. And I have this all in my proprietary program called 90 day job offer where I show you step by step strategy on how you can find that fulfilling job for you at a really great company that's going to help you thrive while still getting a salary increase. Feel free to get on a call with me, there's no obligation, and I'll share with you how you can make that switch and what is your competitive advantage, depending on the industry you want to go in. So let me know if you have any other questions. And like I said, I'll see you next week. And go ahead and apply and go and focus on switching your career successfully and just know that you're able to do so successfully. There's no reason why you can't do it. You know, I have started 100% free Facebook group dedicated to making job searching easy for career driven women and help them master their interviewing, networking and start negotiation skills. And we're doing free weekly trainings, covering everything from how to sell yourself to increasing your salary by 30% minimum. Plus, you'll be in there with a network of other ambitious women. So make sure to join us by texting us the word join 28449951523 And we'll see you there