No Need to Ask | How to Change Careers from One Industry to Another

Welcome to the very first episode of No Need to Ask podcast. I am your host - Amani Duncan.

On today's show, I will be discussing way to change careers from one industry to another. Either you will feel this message is right on time or you will think "what is she thinking?!?".

Either way, I invite you to tune in with an open mind, a notebook and a pen. You never know what you may learn. You may even decide it is time for YOU to explore changing careers and industries.

I am excited to offer this week free executive coaching! Head to www.clarity.fm/amaniduncan and use VIP code: NoNeedToAskFree. This code will be valid until Friday, June 12th.

Thank you for joining and feel free to contact me at girlfriendnoneedtoask@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram @girlfriend_noneedtoask.

And if you are inspired, please leave a review on Apple. https://apple.co/3drgU57

See you at the table! 

Transcript

 OPENING:

Welcome to another edition of No Need To Ask. I am Amani Duncan.
On this episode, I will be discussing How to Change Careers from One Industry to Another.

We are all aware of the current economic situation. 35M people have applied for unemployment benefits. Layoffs and furloughs are abundant.
According to Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, the unemployment rate may hit nearly 16% by July – higher than at any point since the Great Depression.
The Department of Labor issued a statement on May 28th, reporting on the week of May 9th the highest insured unemployment rates were in
Washington (31.2),
Nevada (26.7),
Florida (25.0), Hawaii (23.4), Michigan (23.1), California (20.6), New York (19.9), Rhode Island (18.8), Vermont (18.2), Connecticut (18.0) Georgia (18.0).
I have been asked recently how does one go from working in one industry to another? With the above information, I can imagine some of you are thinking “change industry? You need to play it safe and stay in the industry you are in since competition is at al all time high with the marketplace flooded with potential candidates”.
I can understand that point of view but I challenge it. Why not use this time to reposition yourself? To seek out the industry or role you have always wanted?
(Inserte quote)
I have tenure in various industries - music, manufacturing, media and agencies.

 But let me be honest - it was not easy.
If you are young in your career, transitioning is easier as you are just starting out and could take an entry level position to continue to learn and excel.
If you have already have tenure in an industry, it may be a bit challenging. Change can be scary and most of us have to make calculated risks because we may have “golden handcuffs” on. Meaning a mortgage, children, college tuitions, car payments, - well you get the picture.
______________________________________________
MAIN:
I was destined to go to law school - or so I thought because it was the narrative my parents told me from my earliest childhood. So I excelled at school, went to university graduating with a degree in Political Science with a minor in International Relations, was recruited by the FBI (that’s another story for another day) and got into law school. Then my well planned life was flipped upside down.
I will save you from the unpleasant details of a young adult not knowing what to do next and fast forward to me not going to law school and deciding to work in the music industry. Big sweeping change right?
While interning at Def Jam’s West Coast office, an opportunity was presented to me to work at Def Jam in New York City, I packed my bags on Saturday and was on the red eye flight to JFK International Airport on Sunday. It was the winter of 1994.
I stayed in the music industry for 15 years before I decided I wanted and needed a change. At that point I was a Senior Vice President, Marketing, recently married with two young stepsons so I was also wearing the “golden handcuffs”. But I knew it was time to move on from the industry and my passion was to go into the advertising and branding industry.
For the second time in my life, I was at the crossroad.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
One of my favorite poems is “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.
1. I have trained myself to read the tea leaves. Meaning I will likely know 6

1.
 months to a year that it is time to move on. It is much easier to transition to another company or industry when you are currently employed. Circumstances may not always allow you to be in that position.
I am currently no longer with my company. But I had made the decision to move on last year based on a myriad of reasons. I also believe that one should always stay current in the employment landscape even when you are happy at your current job. If someone is interested in you, take the meeting. See what the market will bear. You are in business for yourself, regardless of where you are currently employed. Knowledge is power and in this ever changing employment landscape you want to remain a few steps ahead.
2. First step for me was to create a targeted list of companies I would like to be with. I use this as a guiding post but always allow flexibility as an opportunity may arise that I was not even thinking of.
3. Once I had my list, I worked the companies from the inside out. I would contact people through LinkedIn or get introduced by friends and ask for an informational meeting.
4. From these informational meetings, I was able to update my resume with Key words that would resonate to a hiring manager. When I applied I also pulled words from the JD and incorporated them. It is an age old strategy but very effective.
Once I was able to secure meetings with hiring managers, I realized very quickly that I had to change my dialogue. What they saw across the table was an executive who spent years hanging out with artists. The perception of the industry I worked in for years was quite different to those who had little knowledge of how the music business worked.
I had to learn how to present correlations between my current skillset to what the position required.
For example, I stressed the similarities of marketing an artists to marketing a product having to gain the trust and consensus from an artist and their management as it is selling in a proposal to a potential client.
There were a lot of trials and errors along the way but with each attempt I slowly improved. I also did my best to not get discouraged. Hearing a lot of “no’s” can have an impact on even the most positive person but I forced myself to view each encounter as a teachable lesson.

 Remember I said earlier to have you top 5 companies list? But to also remain open to opportunities you may not have considered?
It was around the end of 2007 and I was a busy beaver, well into my plan of changing industries. I received a phone call from Sean Combs. He had called my new iPhone so I thought it was a crank call. How did he even have that number since I only gave it out to a few people. He called again and again.
One day I casually mentioned to my husband that someone is calling me saying he’s Puff. Sean Combs my husband replied. Yeah, I said. He goes on to ask if I took the call. I said no way - it can’t be him. My husband then replied “well what if it is him?” Silence.
Turns out it was indeed Sean and one thing lead to another and I was offered the position of Chief Marketing Officer. It was a combination of everything I was looking for - agency, marketing, branding - overseeing his entire portfolio of brands. WOW!
So all the work that I was doing to prepare myself for a role within an agency was actually preparation for something even bigger. I was ready - so ready! _____________________________________________
CLOSING:
“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar” - Raymond Lindquist
I am a firm believer in changing your mind, will change your life. My Baba would say -“View the unknown as friendly”. Try not to be discouraged simply because the task at hand may not be easy. Challenge does NOT mean impossible.
No Need to Ask Tips:
● Prepare to update and even rewrite your resume
● Make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated
● Research - read and immerse yourself in the culture.
● Network (join groups, attending mixers, connect with people on social especially Linked in)
● Have informational meetings with people currently in your target industry.
● Change your narrative - focus on how this new career direction is you’re

●
 calling. Be able to articulate your intentions for making the change, your goals and what you can contribute to this new field.
● Retain an industry-specific recruiter
● Last but most important tip - believe it will happen!
You can contact me at girlfriendnoneedtoask@gmail.com and follow @girlfirend_noneedtoask on Instagram.
See you again at the table on Wednesday, June 17th at 12noon/EST.