4 Tips to Help You Pivot Your Career  

Are you looking to change your career? Whether you are interested in growing within your current organization or seeking a new opportunity outside of your current role or industry, the roadmap for significant or even drastic change can often be unclear and daunting.

A pivot is making a substantial shift in the job you are doing. It could be dramatic, like moving from research librarian to front-end developer, or it could be a shift from an individual contributor to a manager role. Pivoting is usually fueled by a desire for change, whether that means craving new challenges or simply wanting a different professional focus.

While it’s not impossible for a pivot to occur by accident, intention is typically the only way to collect the prerequisites – skills, experience, and opportunity – essential for a career pivot. Here are four tips to help you navigate to a new career path.

Take Initiative

Identify opportunities in your current role or organization that will help you secure the skills and knowledge necessary for your desired job and find a way to work it into your existing responsibilities. If you’re interested in graphic design, for example, connect with those professionals in your organization, find people who are willing to support your learning goals, and offer your time to help on non-critical project work. Going the extra mile is sure to impress your peers, and you’ll gain practical experience in the process.

As time allows, you should also find ways to educate yourself. Taking classes is an obvious way to do so, but education does not need to be formal – or costly. If you want to learn something, try watching a YouTube video or dig into other user-assistance materials. You can also ask people you work with to give you a quick demonstration or see if they are willing to have you shadow them during their work day. If you are interested in more formal coursework but cannot commit to a class schedule, a number of online training offerings, like Lynda.com, can be completed at your own pace. 

Be Vocal

When you identify a new area of interest, let your manager know and ask how you can explore relevant opportunities. In many companies, your manager should be able to open doors by allowing you to take classes potentially paid for by the company or keeping an eye out for opportunities that may interest you.

Even if your manager cannot envision a place for that skill or role within your group, he/she may know people in a different part of the company who can. If your goal is to become a manager yourself, but the company doesn’t have a business need, the company may have opportunities to start out as a supervisor, mentor, or coach, allowing you to hone those skills and seize a manager position when it becomes available. These stepping stones will also allow you to assess if you’re ready for or truly interested in the role. 

Network

If your company does not have a business need for the role you want, don’t be afraid to look elsewhere. One way to identify the right new employer is by going to coffee with connections who work at companies of interest and talking to them about their experience. How to initiate such a meeting? I have found the most effective way is to tap into your already existing network and send an email or a message via LinkedIn.

It can be uncomfortable to reach out to someone, especially if you have not spoken in a while or are not professionally connected, but that should not discourage you. Assuming you have a good relationship with the contact, it’s best to lead from a place of respect and be upfront about your inquiry. You would be surprised at how receptive and willing most people are to share their time, insights, and help.

In the spirit of intention, go into any meetings you set up with these contacts with a clear agenda about your interests and what you would like to learn and, if possible, share with them in advance. Is your goal to learn more about a specific role, company leadership, a career path within the company, logistical items, work-life balance, culture? Know what you want to take away from the meeting and what you need to know to assess future job opportunities while giving your contacts the opportunity to prepare their thoughts, too.

Take Action

An action plan that will help you get your feet wet, especially if you’re shifting the type of work you’re doing, is the best way to be intentional about gaining experience. For some, this includes formal coursework, but you can also build experience by volunteering or freelancing. Volunteering or freelancing allows you to try out a new role, while gaining valuable experience. It allows you to ask the right questions, understand the answers, and evaluate if the new path feels good. As the saying goes, you never know until you try. You might pursue a new opportunity and think, “Wow, this is not what I thought it was going to be,” and then again, you might love it.

As part of your action plan, find a mentor who can help you determine how to repackage the story of you to make your resume and/or portfolio relevant to where you want to pivot, and do research on typical job titles in your desired new role or industry. Identifying the right opportunities and knowing how to market yourself are essential to pivoting successfully.

What’s more, the job landscape will continue evolving at a rapid pace. Digital transformation and emerging technologies are constantly creating new roles and opportunities. Being intentional in each phase of your career will enable you to move into these new roles as they emerge or even to create your own. If you navigate each step of your career with intent, all paths will lead to your purpose.