There were a couple of roles I used to interview people for that it was common to see people pivoting their careers, whether they are doing something different from their last job, revisiting something that they were successful at before and now coming back to because they know it works or trying something completely new. Maybe they felt like they. Found their calling and were diving in no matter what, pivoting your career, whether it's trying a new type of job duties, things like that, or a whole new industry can be really smart. It's strategic. I think doing that is better for your career. You gain exposure to different ways of doing things, different types of people and so many other things, but it's also something you need to know how to. Communicate with an employer, you would wanna do it delicately and strategically, and the reasons you share should not always be the reasons that are top of mind for you, right? If you think an industry is failing, that should not be the reason you are getting into their industry, because then it just looks like you're jumping ship. It needs to be more, way more. What can you do for them? What skills did you learn? In your industry that this company can leverage to excel in theirs. Welcome to the job interview experience. I'm a former executive recruiter, search firm owner, director of talent acquisition, talent acquisition leader today, interview coach, and of course, your host of the job interview experience. It's no secret. That the traditional career ladder is looking more like a jungle gym. These days. I've been looking at statistics that show nearly half of all professionals, a whopping 49%, which isn't half, it's nearly half according to LinkedIn, will make a significant career pivot at least once in their career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us the average person will change careers, not jobs, careers five to seven times in their working life. For employers, for the people on the other side of the table that are looking at your resume or interviewing you. This might sound like a challenge. Someone hiring someone switching fields can feel like a risk. But I am here to tell you that embracing career pivoting isn't just a nice to have. It's actually could be a strategic advantage in my eyes. And it depends on the employer. I. And the job. A study from McKinsey shows that diverse teams are 35% more likely to outperform their peers. Career pivots, like I said earlier, they bring diversity in spades. In this episode, I'm gonna flip the script and look at career pivoting from the employer's perspective so you can know what to do, how to act, how to speak. So we're gonna talk about understanding employer mindsets. Are companies stuck in old ways of hiring or are they waking up the potential of pivoters? What employers really value? So beyond direct experience, what skills and qualities make a career? Someone that's pivoting careers in the moment, attractive. Of course, some success stories because I've seen a lot advice for employers. I'm gonna share a little bit some practical steps to create a hiring process that welcomes and supports pivot pivots, and of course advice for you, the candidate, because understanding the employer's viewpoint is a key. To success. Let me make a couple notes. Some. Some roles aren't so easy to pivot into. If you wanna be a CPA and you are currently in sales or something like that, it's not like you can have a, even if you have the best story in the world and the best motivations, you can't just show up and say, Hey, I'm gonna be a CPA, now I'm gonna apply to your firm a bunch of others. Someone's gonna hire me. Obviously there are things that you need, training background, you need to work your way up into. However standard skill sets applying your skill sets what you're good at, into a new role, that's much less complicated, right? You can't pivot from being a ski instructor to a doctor just by showing up for the interview and communicating. Just I wanna make that clear to you, which I know, but I also want to say that out loud so you don't think that, I think just a couple magic words can get you anywhere because that's not the case. Let's start by getting into the minds of recruiters and hiring managers. For years, the traditional approach has been to look for candidates with a linear career path. Someone who's climbed the ladder in a single industry with very specific experience, pivoters with their more winding routes might have been seen as more risky bets. Things are changing. The modern workplace demands adaptability. Fresh thinking is at a premium and broader skill sets are helpful. According to LinkedIn, again, 60% of employers report being more open to hiring people who are cri pivoting. Since the pandemic, smaller and medium sized companies often are more agile and innovative by nature, and they tend to lead the way by this flexible approach. One of the company, as I was director of talent acquisition of it was much smaller. Maybe a hundred, I think 150 people, but that lends the way where I can easily talk to the hiring manager of that role, the owners of the company and be like, Hey, this person hasn't done this exact job, but they have this and this and this. Say that we are a building company and we need someone to do sales. I could say, Hey, look, they haven't done sales, but they worked at a lumber supplier. So they actually know exactly what the sales side is. They know the exactly what goes on from the other side of this experience. So I've found that the smaller companies tend to be much more flexible and open-minded, and sometimes it's just a benefit to them to consider pivoters because maybe the salary is not at a premium for that person. Think about a tech startup, for example. They hired someone who had pivoted from education into software development. Initially, some were hesitant, but this pivot brought in incredible problem solving skills, a knack for explaining complex ideas clearly, which teachers are always amazing at, and a completely different perspective on user needs. What do you think the result would be? Of course, it's a more innovative product and a more round, well-rounded team that understands the end user better. If employers are becoming more open, what exactly are they looking for? When they evaluate career pivots, it boils down. To two or three things, I would say. The first is commitment. Employers wanna see that the pivot isn't just on a whim. This is something that I worried about. I was looking for clear communication of career goals and concrete steps the candidate has taken to commit to the change. Things like coursework, networking, getting up to speed on certifications. And things like that. What we don't want to be is an experiment for someone who's flighty. We don't want to be them trying 12 different flavors of ice cream, and we're number three, that they're gonna try one each month for a whole year. There are people like that, but there are also people who have specific skills that also jump jobs. Speaking of skills, obviously, number two. Second thing would be skills. Pivots need to articulate their transferable skills. These are the abilities. To learn maybe on the field, on the job, and be able to apply them to one another. So for project management, communication, customer service, analytical skills, highlighting, certifications, or any formal training in the new field is crucial. So being able to say exact no. Being able to say that, exactly what you need makes a really big difference. You've jumped into this. You aren't expecting the company to do all the footwork to figure this stuff out. On top of that, what stood out the most to me is people that are willing to change and learn. So if you come in and you say, I know how to do these things because of my past, I've seen the other side of the coin, or, the skills I have as an educator will make me really good at that. That's maybe part of the equation how. Communicating, saying out loud that you are ready, willing, and eager to learn the company's best. Practice their system for doing something. Any certifications you need, any long online courses, whatever it is, say I want to learn your pattern for success. I wanna learn your system that's made so many. Others successful. I want to master that and lead the way for your company as opposed to saying, yeah, I think there's probably a couple things that I need to be good at. If you guys have anything like that'd be cool. I'll take a look. More than anything, it's fit even more so for pivots. Employers want to see a passion for the new field. For specifically that company and what they're doing, and of course, cultural alignment. You can have all the skills and align with the job description perfectly, but if you don't fit with their culture, what they do, if you don't seem like you're gonna get along naturally with the people there, that's not gonna work. So they want to know why this pivot makes sense for you and why you are excited about their company. What are some red flags? Negative language about previous employers or careers is a big one. Something I heard a lot is someone would talk about their industry, right? And it's oh, you can't make any money there. It's just a waste of time. This is a dead end industry. This is, industry isn't going anywhere, no one's succeeding in it. Things like that. Those were always big red flags because I knew on the other hand. People were very successful in those industries. So maybe it's just that person, a lack of clarity about career goals is another one. And a failure to demonstrate how past experience would connect to the new role. That would raise some really big doubts from the employer side. Interview techniques are adapting, so instead of just saying, tell me about your experience, a smart hiring manager might ask, why? Why are you pivoting? Or How does your previous experience apply to this job? They're listening for enthusiasm, preparation and a well. Articulated narrative, if you, another thing I've heard a lot, it never went well for them, Mrs. Kind. I don't know. It just didn't seem to be working. I didn't seem to be getting anywhere. I don't know. I thought I'd try this. That is not enough. The company is taking a certain level of risk on you. They are taking on some uncertainty, so don't bring even more with you. Speaking of project managers, I remember we interviewed someone who had been a high school teacher for 10 years. Another teacher story on paper. It seemed like a stretch, but during the interview, I don't remember exactly why I called, but she blew it away on her interview. So she talked about managing classrooms, planning curriculum, and dealing with stakeholders, the parents, the students, the administrators. This is probably making a ton of sense to any teachers out there. And she made it click for me. And those are all project management skills, which I knew very well, and she was really, really good. I don't know what she's doing now. This was. Probably nine years ago, 10 years ago. But she brought on a really well organized and collaborative approach to the team, and she improved the team dynamic. She was hungry. That was a big part of it too. She was hungry. She wanted to succeed like she was, I. Dead set on succeeding and it worked determined. So it's a great example. She just connected the dots for me. And it's not just anecdotal companies with diverse teams, including those with career pivots, are seeing the financial benefits I looked up. And Boston Consulting Group found that companies with more diverse management teams have a 20% higher revenue, have 20% higher revenue compared to less diverse companies. One of the things I constantly coach on is being able to say out loud, my exposure to this area we can leverage my exposure to this area to bring more of this, right? This is, you don't wanna say that their team has blind spots, but you wanna show that without your perspective. The team does have a blind spot. So for anyone here that hires, whether you act as a hiring manager or you're in hr. Do you wanna tap into, into this pool of talent? Because it, if you don't, you're losing out. So first off, create a, make it clear what you're willing to do and not do in your hiring process. Because whether, no matter how long you're at the company, no matter how long you're at the company. That will you want this to carry on on the long run, right? You don't want this to just be your attitude. That means training recruiters to look beyond traditional experience, evaluate transferable skills, use behavioral interview questions to explore problem solving, adaptability, learning agility. Second would be supporting career pivots. Once you hire them, it's not gonna be exactly the same. So offer targeted training and mentorship to help them ramp up, get up to speed on new roles. It, the way some people might calculate this is, yes, there might be a little more cost to doing things this way. Why the recruiters might. Interview more people, 'cause they're open to talking to more people. They, that will take more time, more hours that you pay them or a longer time to hire for these roles. So for the, for the listeners who are the pivoters, you can see how this is a little more work, a little bit harder to do it this way. However I think that adding diverse perspective to the team, the payoff there can be much higher once. One company that I was researching a couple weeks ago, they implemented a pivot friendly onboarding program. So they paired career changers with mentors with different backgrounds in the company, and they saw a improvement in retention rates for these employees. So they investing in pivots paid off for them. So for those of you that are listening that are career pivots, let's get to it. The, those of you that are looking to move up, maybe within your company, make a move to a different department or section, or you're looking for a different job, what's your takeaway from all of this? I. The key of everything I've said is present yourself as a strong candidate, specifically because you're pivoting. Don't try and hide from it. Don't apologize for your past frame, your pivot as a strategic and well thought out long-term plan, something that's been a long time coming, something that you've seen your success in one area or one. Thing that connects the dots to this industry or this company. This is, this area is where I've had the most success. This area is where I brought extraordinary, unbelievable results, and I want to get 100. I wanna put 100% of my best skills and abilities into this for you and your company. Emphasize the proactive steps you've taken, networking, certifications, volunteering in your new field to maybe get your feet wet. When navigating job applications, it takes more time, but make sure that your resume is tailored and your cover letter is tailored to highlight the skills and experiences that align with the specific needs of the company and the role. Do your research if you want a company to be willing to invest extra time or unplanned time to you and your unknowns. Do the research on your side. Connect the dots for them, and most importantly, of course, prepare for the interview. Anticipate employer concerns about your lack of direct experience. Be ready to address them. Head on emphasize. The value you bring, fresh perspective, adaptability, and a diverse skillset. I think it's important to say too, is make sure that you're not defensive. The company might start off seeming a little aggressive or on the offensive when they ask you questions. My guess is they're just, they just wanna get to the bottom of why you're there. Why do this? What's your motivation? So don't go in expecting or ready for a fight. I would, I think the perfect attitude and response would be that of. Like agreeing with them, yeah. On paper. I know this doesn't make sense, but that's why I'm glad that we're talking today because here are three aspects of my performance that stood out in this company, and here's how this directly aligns with what your goals are for this role. It's clear that embracing career pivots is a win-win. Pivoters bring fresh insights, adaptability, and a wealth of transferable skills. In my opinion, employers who open their minds to these candidates gain innovation, diverse perspectives, and a more resilient workforce. So employers, I encourage you to. Reevaluate your hiring process and consider the incredible talent pool of career pivots available to you. And for candidates out there navigating this change. I know it's not easy. Remember to confidently communicate your value and the unique strengths you bring. Re-listen to this episode for those talking points, but also just don't take it too seriously when you get the interview. Have some fun for the companies that ignore you. Ask yourself or the companies that you interview with, and this seems to be a big stumbling block, maybe you're not the right fit, and that's perfectly fine. But also ask yourself if it's the type of company you want to work for that is this narrow minded that doesn't see the potential in someone like you. And consider that carefully, and don't be discouraged when you talk to those companies that did take the time and had the interest in talking to you. But in the long run, in the big picture, it didn't work out. Thank you for listening to the job interview experience. Thank you for tuning in. I hope this makes a big impact on your pivot. And if you're not planning on pivoting right now, this, see, these are great things to have in mind so that you'll have even more runway to do so when the time comes. Thanks for listening to the job interview. Thanks for listening to the Job interview experience. I'll talk to you again soon.