Industry Change: Journalism >> Psychotherapy

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1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?
I’m a journalist and author just starting a psychotherapy practice.  I don’t look at it as “now” and “before” because I wear both hats, depending on the day.  The transition was additive, rather than leaving one thing for another.

2) So, why the change?
I’d gone to medical school over a decade ago, and when my first book was published during the spring of my first year, I struggled for a bit trying to balance the two, but ultimately decided to focus on the writing.  I made a career as a writer, but after more than a decade of that, I really craved the patient interaction and relationships that drew me to medical school.  I didn’t want to give up writing; I wanted to add something completely different to it.  As it turns out, they aren’t as different as I imagined.  As a journalist, I ask people about very personal subjects, and then try to find the meaning in their stories.  Therapy is similar in many ways — it involves curiosity, analytic thought, perspective-taking — so the skills I use as a journalist translate very well to the therapy room.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
I didn’t pitch myself; I just did the training and internships and stayed down in the trenches.  Later, when it came to marketing my private practice, I kept the two careers very separate until I realized that most patients Google their therapists and knew about my writing career anyway.  So I put my relevant books and articles on my therapy website and that brings in people who might want help with, say, their marriages and relationships, or parenting issues, or fertility or eating disorders.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?
I tried not to think about how much time and money it would require!  I kept focused on why this was important to me, so that when it did get overwhelming, I had something specific to hold on to.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?
I think for any career transition, it’s important to be clear about the reality of the new situation and to do the research beforehand.  No matter which career you choose, it’s going to be challenging and less than ideal in certain ways.  So I believe it’s important to spend time with people in the new field, to really understand the day-to-day, the aspects of their jobs that they don’t like so much, the hardest things about what they do — whether it’s lifestyle of the work itself.  And then be really clear with yourself about what draws you to this kind of work, and realistic about whether it’s the right fit for you.  Do you have the interest and the talent and what are you going to have to give up in order to get there?  Are you willing to do that, knowing that like your current career, it will also have its drawbacks and frustrations?  It’s kind of like being in a relationship and wondering if there’s something “better” out there.  Maybe there is.  Or maybe you’d just be trading in one set of problems for another.  Is the field you’re in the issue, or is the specific job you’re doing the thing that might be improved upon by switching to another company or a different role within the same field?  All questions to consider, not just theoretically, but by actually shadowing people in the potential new career to get a strong sense of what you might be getting yourself into.

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1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?
Formerly, I was a project engineer/manager for land development design and approvals.  People/companies came to us with land that they wanted to develop or re-develop.  We did much of the research, design and approvals work in-house, and supervised parts that were subbed out to specialists.  We were done when the design/approvals were complete and the site was ready to start construction.

Now, I am an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) project manager for commercial-scale solar projects.  This is similar in a few respects to my former work, but entirely different in the type of project (energy vs land development) and wider in extent (covers procurement and construction, in addition to the engineering.)

2) So, why the change?
If I can twist a phrase a bit, I suppose I would say that “necessity is the mother of re-invention”.

Both the housing- and the commercial-land development fields took a nose dive in 2007, and I found myself unemployed in early 2008.  I’ve weathered previous slumps in the construction industry (most notably in the early ’90s) but by the end of 2009, it seemed clear that this was going to be a much longer slump than anything I’d seen previously.  My wife’s career was well established with a single company, so moving to another location was not an option.  While shifting to another branch of civil engineering, such as bridge inspection, would have been technically easier for me, the demand in those fields was weak and the supply of civil engineers was high, making it unlikely for me to land a job in an area where I had little specific experience, even if I had a lot of general experience in the wider field.  Moreover, even if I was successful in finding such a position, it would have required a considerable decrease in pay.

So, I began to look further afield, for something that was growing.  Employers in a growing field are aware that there are more positions than there are experienced workers, and therefore are willing to take on new employees with little or no experience.  They are also willing to do some on-the-job-training instead of insisting on finding people who can “hit the deck running”.

I was reluctant to leave the field of civil engineering, which I had my degree in, and where I had spent all of my career.  However, I had always had a casual interest in the potential of using solar energy, and when I learned that NJ was the fastest-growing state on the east coast in the solar field, it seemed like a possibility worth pursuing.

Changing careers in your late fifties is tough in some respects.  But one thing that made it easier was that, unlike earlier periods, we were not in urgent need of cash.  The children were finished with college; we finished paying off the mortgage in 2009, and extended unemployment benefits supplemented my wife’s income.  The choices for younger people, and especially for families with only a single income, are much more limited.

We have a saying in our religion that “man is the supreme talisman”.  A talisman is typically a magical charm that can do anything.  People can do anything they set their minds to.  But you need to have the right education.  So I starting to look for training in the solar field.  Most courses that were available were costing $3,000 to $4,000 for a week’s training in a traditional setting.  However, after some searching, I found an online course spanning 6 weeks that allowed you to go at your own pace, with no travel or housing related costs–for only $900.  I took this, did some additional training on my own, and then took and passed the solar industry’s entry-level certification test. Having some certification, even if only at the entry level, helps you stand out when you are new to a field.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
Having training and certification but no experience reminded me of what it was like when I was graduating from college.  But I didn’t want to start with a job at that level. One thing that you can do easily in mid- to-late career is to start your own consulting firm.  Operating a one-man consulting firm out of one’s home these days requires little more than a computer, a dedicated phone line and a website.  Using Google Earth and other internet tools to find good sites for residential solar systems is not difficult. Convincing the owners of those sites to switch to solar energy was certainly more challenging, and the work never reached a stage where it provided a significant income.  However, it provided me with both real-world experience and employment, both of which are good on a resume.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?
In addition to the training, the certification and starting my own consulting firm, it is always good to have a “Plan B”.  In my case, Plan B was to keep my resume circulating, posting it on the major job-seeking websites.  I came across a couple of small firms with solar positions that I might fill, but they looked sketchy.  However, about 6 months after I started the consulting firm, I was contacted by a technical head-hunting firm that wanted me to interview with a large solar firm whose east coast office was located just 15 minutes away.  It was a temporary position, but the company was well known in the industry, so even a temporary assignment with this company would be a big plus on my resume.  They were looking for someone who had project management skills, not someone fresh out of school.  The fact that I had never managed a solar project was not a deal-breaker. Lots of people in the company were new to this expanding solar industry.  They would provide on-the-job training.

So, I took the position.  The initial 6-month period stretched out to a year, with 6 projects completed before the company hit a slump and terminated all the temp workers. However, with that experience on my resume, even in the midst of generally high unemployment, I was able to pick up a similar position, at a better salary, and this time as a regular (non-temp) employee, within 3 months.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?
Choose a field that is expanding.  This is essential.  Society has changing needs and we, as its members, need to be willing to adjust ourselves to these new needs. Choose something that interests you, and something for which you have an aptitude, but most of all, choose something that is expanding.

Sometimes the transition will be “rough and tumble”.  The current solar industry has been compared to the automobile industry at the start of the 20th century.  There were dozens and dozens of companies trying to master that new field.  And while many companies did not survive, the overall demand for the products, and for the workers who produce them, grew.  When companies folded, their potential customers did not cease looking for the product–they simply switched to buy from the companies that remained.  This meant that the surviving companies were hiring the talent that was available from the companies that folded.  So stay nimble and grow your skills in your new field.  They will be in strong demand as long as the industry is growing.

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Industry Change: Consumer Goods >> Non-Profit

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1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?
I am executive director of Dalai Lama Fellows, a three year old global education and social change initiative.  Our mission is the radical transformation of the world’s social structures and institutions through the forging of a new cadre of authentic leaders. We have named our first thirty Fellows from a dozen partner universities in Egypt, Ghana, India and North America, including  Minnesota, NYU, Oberlin, Princeton, Spelman, and Stanford.  We engage Fellows in a distinctive “Head, Heart and Hands” curriculum that combines contemplation and innovation, while supporting and guiding each of them in a mentored year-long social-change project of their own design and helping them to integrate that field experience into their home campus.  Currently in development is a robust alumni initiative that will meld all of the Fellows into a lifelong contemplative social-action community that models a new ethical and values-based approach to leadership.  We are just now beginning to select the 2013 Dalai Lama Fellows.

I have been in the social sector most of my career since starting at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation in 1969, two years after graduating from college.  I came to California, however, as director of public affairs for Levi Strauss & Co (in 1983).

2) So, why the change?
I have tried the corporate sector twice and find myself more personally aligned with the agenda, goals, population and culture of the social sector (for which I prefer the term citizen sector, though all of the available nomenclature is flawed, which seems to me one of the subtle reasons that its potential influence remains unrealized).  I was alone or nearly alone in my Harvard Business School Class of 1975 when I chose to work for a citizen sector organization (the Aspen Institute), rather than in finance, consulting or manufacturing.  That uniqueness would no longer be the case.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
What pitching I’ve done has mostly been the two times I switched to corporate (the other was after Aspen, to ARCO, where I was responsible for corporate executive development in the HR Department).  Most of my “pitching” in the citizen sector has been the co-creation of an opportunity in which I believed and to which I could commit myself.  In forty-three years of worklife, I have been extraordinarily fortunate in never having had a position in which I had a predecessor.

What I would have done differently is to have been more instinctive and less calculating.  The anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson coined the phrase “Peripheral visioning” to describe what we see out of the corner of our eyes.  She suggests and I concur that those glimpses are often what we should pursue, rather than what seems to be right in front of us, but which often occludes what is behind it.  Succinctly, stay open.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?
Remaining a generalist and looking for intersections rather than niches.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?
Learn as much about yourself as you can and then look for or, better yet if possible, create a position that offers you maximum congruence.  For years, I’ve recommended a little exercise in “What Color Is Your Parachute.”  You describe yourself with ten nouns, drawn from the full range of your life and interests (work, relationships, family, avocations).  Then you ascribe ten attributes to each heading, what you do in that role and why it matters to you.  Last, you look for cross-currents among those hundred descriptors.  What emerges is a fairly comprehensive picture.

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Industry Change: Education >> Education

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1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?
I am a graduate school admissions consultant. I help candidates prepare the best possible applications to masters and doctoral programs in psychology and related fields.

Formerly, I was an academic, specifically a social psychology researcher. I conducted and published studies that focused on personality and Internet psychology with an emphasis on social media behavior.

2) So, why the change?
In research, it takes a good deal of time to see the results of your hard work – and results, in the end, are not guaranteed. Researchers measure their output using number of publications and/or number of conference presentations. It is not unusual to collect data on a research project for years, spend months drafting and redrafting a manuscript describing the method and results, wait additional months for a response from a peer-reviewed publication and, then, after all that time and effort, receive a big fat letter of rejection in your inbox. Then you face the task of once again revising your work, submitting it to a different publication outlet, waiting and hoping for better news this time.

For many researchers, the process of research and publishing is an invigorating challenge – they thrive on it and love it. After a number of years, and even with success in publishing, however, I felt downtrodden. I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Simultaneously, I felt I acquired a lot of valuable skills throughout the course of completing my Ph.D. I believe there are many skills that I could have built a consulting business on, but I chose to focus on mentoring students. I found mentoring undergraduates both in research and graduate admissions rewarding over 7 years in graduate school and as a post-doc. It was something I wanted to continue.

Finally, I also knew I wanted to be – and could be – independent in my work. Both my mom and brother are entrepreneurs and their influence was helpful in gaining confidence and ability in my new career.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
As a consultant, those that I mostly have to pitch myself to are potential clients. I pitch my services in three ways:

First, I use social media – I blog, I tweet, I’m on Pinterest. Shortly before completing my Ph.D., I read Gary Vaynerchuk’s social media book, Crush It!. He enthusiastically describes how to monetize your passion using social media. This message rang true with me – I believe we have an incredible resource now in social media to share our knowledge, our passion and build a following with relative ease. Offering unique expertise, at first for free, to social media followers can lead to numerous opportunities for promoting services, selling products, or even finding a job.

Second, I strive to be approachable. When I was observed teaching college classes during grad school, I was told that one of my strengths as an instructor was that the students appeared to feel particularly comfortable approaching me. I view this trait as extremely important to success in consulting and mentoring. Thus, I try to utilize it to its fullest in my communications with current and potential clients.

Third, I charge modest fees. I understand first-hand what it’s like to be a student and that the territory comes with the limitations of student finances.At this point in my career shift, I don’t know what I would do differently. I’m happy with how it has progressed, but I’m still learning a lot and think I am still mid-shift in some ways. I don’t feel that I have developed a true sense of hindsight yet.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?
About a year before I shifted careers, I began writing a blog, Grad School Guru, for Psychology Today with the principles of Crush It! in mind. In posts, I address topics that are pertinent to those who are in the process of applying to graduate school in psychology and to those who are considering it in the future. For example, my posts cover topics such as news and current events affecting admissions, deciding which program is right for you, and tips on preparing for interviews.Blogging was a great way to get my name and knowledge out there to a captive audience. It also helped me to solidify ideas and advice in my own mind. Slowly potential clients found and contacted me through my blog. Later, other authority sites in the area of grad school admissions also contacted me for interviews or guest pieces. This was helpful for additional exposure and, again, it demonstrates the power of social media.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?
For academics who are thinking of becoming consultants, first off, know that having a Ph.D. is a great platform for starting a consulting business – you have a wealth of teaching, research, management, grant writing and probably also other skills! You have also developed an area of expertise that you are intimately familiar with. Think creatively and flexibly about those skills and that knowledge-base. Then slowly start to show potential clients what you’ve got to offer – either through a blog, your publications, presentations, guest speaking, Twitter, etc.

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Industry Change: Non-Profit >> Art

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1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?
I’m currently an M.P.S. candidate in the department of Creative Arts Therapy at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and a visual artist living in Bushwick, Brooklyn.  My graduate fieldwork is at Village Care, a day treatment facility in NYC for adult individuals living with HIV/AIDS.  I’m also a core organizing member of the organization Arts in Bushwick and lead the Community Projects team. Most recently, I was the Operations Director for Growing Up Green Charter School in Long Island City, NY. My professional experience over the last decade lies mostly in the non-profit sector where I have held the various titles of Interim Director, Operations Director, Administrative Director and Development Coordinator for a number of organizations and institutions ranging in focus from public policy to education to health care and technology.  I have provided executive-level oversight for financial, operational, leadership and resource development within orgs.

2) So, why the change?
Over the years, I found myself increasingly divided between my “professional life” and my “artist life.” I was forever looking for a way to merge the two in a meaningful way.  I had accumulated a great deal of high-level experience in non-profit administration and had realized multiple professional achievements, including executing national and international conferences, multimillion dollar fundraising campaigns and leading organizations through challenging transitions in organizational infrastructure and leadership.  Still, with all of this under my belt, I was professionally unsatisfied and felt my abilities and creativity were at best misdirected and at worst, utterly stifled. I came to the conclusion that my position was untenable and a major shift in professional priorities was necessary in order to achieve personal validation in my career path and finally merge my professional life and artist life.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
I began by exploring a certificate-level Creative Arts Therapy program offered at the New School. Before fully committing myself to the field and graduate study, I wanted a way to get my feet wet in the field and acquire a sense of what to expect. The certificate program was 2 years long, and I took evening classes while working as the Operations Director of Progressive States Network.  It was a decidedly slow path, but it laid a solid foundation. I also took several prerequisite courses in psychology at the undergraduate level, since my BA was in English Literature.  I volunteered as well.  I began working with adolescents at a residential substance abuse program as an art consultant at Phoenix House Academy in Shrub Oak, NY. This experience was an excellent trial run. While not an art therapist, I was able to use art in a therapeutic way and engage students in the creative process.  These combined efforts propelled me to applying to Pratt Institute’s Creative Arts Therapy department.  I would not have done anything differently.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?
Volunteering. It was an easy way to get immersed in my new role, on my terms.  It allowed me to try my new field on for size without the pressure of throwing myself into the commitment of a graduate program right away. I wanted to be 100% ready for that.  Since I’m now a full-time student – my life has shifted dramatically. Going back to school after working for 11 years is a challenge. I’m not a “typical” student and there have been adjustments, but the reward of pursuing a field closer to my heart far outweighs any potential disadvantages.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?
I spent a long time in a career that on paper looked amazing, and that allowed me to push aside some very important questions like “is this career utilizing my best potential”, “am I living an authentic life” “what is the value of personal creativity” ?  I forged lots of valuable connections and built meaningful professional relationships in my previous career and I acquired irreplaceable skills in communication, management and leadership development. But at the end of the day, when I had no more personal capital left over to expend on my own creative endeavors, I knew that small changes were not going to make a dent in what really needed to happen. Which was a complete about-face. It was a tough decision, and one that took me about two years to plan and execute. It is not without sacrifice. I am sacrificing a previously comfortable salary level to begin from scratch in a career that compensates much less. Those were important considerations that I came to terms with in my two years of exploration prior to graduate school. What consistently motivated me throughout my journey to change paths, was the sense of satisfaction and validation I felt when signing up for new courses, volunteering as an artist and working within my community and with individuals on a 1:1 basis. It gave me a sense of real achievement and professional validation, that I had never fully experienced in spite of my full career trajectory in the non profit sector. I encourage readers to take stock of themselves and locate their own personal sources of joy and satisfaction. For me, it was reaching others and healing others through art.  Knowing that was an important step. Holding onto it and having the courage to take risks and being OK with starting at a very entry level place is important too.  I realized that changing careers was not a quick decision that could be executed in a span of weeks or months. Instead I became very comfortable with the fact that the process takes years but since the work I’ll be doing in my new field is so well aligned with who I am in my artist life and my professional life, it feels like a natural evolution and one I’m thankful to be pursuing.

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Industry Change: Military >> Finance

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1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?
I currently work in the electronic trading industry for a large hedge fund. My group monetizes, routes and executes retail and institutional order flow in equities and options. My specific job is to maintain client relationships, address client concerns, and contribute to the management and maintenance of our automated system. Previously, I was an officer in the United States Army, where I held several different positions. The two most impactful were as coordinator of our discretionary Commander’s Emergency Relief funds, and as a Platoon Leader of a Combat Engineer unit. The former involved keeping track and properly managing our unit’s several hundred infrastructure and relief projects in Iraq, the latter involved clearing local roads of Improvised Explosive Devices.

2) So, why the change?
I had never planned to stay in the military as a career, and had long thought about a job in the financial sector, leading to an economics major in undergrad. As my tour of duty ended, I had enjoyed my service time, but was looking to join the private sector.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
I was unfortunately trying to enter the financial industry in the spring of 2009, when the industry was suffering badly. It was very difficult to compete with recently laid-off competitors who had experience in the field while I had none. As a result, I acknowledged up-front that I did not have hands-on experience, but was eager and ready to learn. Though it was not in the same sector, I tried to tie in my experience in the military as proof of hard work under pressure and a habit of success.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?
Network. I searched out everyone I could who had a connection to the industry to see if anyone was hiring. A vast proportion of job openings are never posted to the public because they are filled by employee referrals, so I wanted everyone to know that I was looking and eager if anything came up. To be sure, I applied for every opening I could find, but in the end the best offer I landed by far was the result of a friend who worked at the firm.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?
Be ready for it to take a significant amount of time. In the financial industry, a most entry-level recruiting is done on-campus, and coming from the military (or really anywhere that isn’t college or an MBA program) does not have that direct line to job openings. Be somewhat flexible as to your exact position–you may have a job in mind that would fit best, but be willing to shift if a great opportunity comes along. In the same vein, think ahead: your dream job may not be available, but what jobs can you get now that could transition you there in a few years’ time?

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Industry Change: Finance >> Media/Entertainment

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1) What do you do now and what did you do before?

Now, I am a professional working actor and a member of SAG-AFTRA the national union for professional working actors. Before, I was the Vice President of Branch Network Expansion and Retail Store Planning for HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

2) So, why the change?

Ever since my childhood, I had been interested in acting and performing. In high school and college, I took classes and was involved in community and semi-professional productions. After I graduated college, I took a full-time job in the finance industry mainly so that I could afford to move from Buffalo, NY to New York City, which was a lifelong dream of mine. The years kind of flew by … While working in finance, I didn’t have a lot of time to act or perform on the side. I took some classes during this time and dipped a toe in, but I definitely was not pursuing it full-time. In New York, it’s very difficult to maintain acting and performing as a hobby due to the amount of competition vying for available (paid and unpaid) positions. After working in finance for nearly ten years and achieving success in a field I didn’t even plan/want to enter, I realized I never wanted to be one of those “what if” people. I was in a position to be able to make a selfish decision – I’m not married, I don’t have any kids, the only dependents I have are my credit card bills … now is the time to try something else and go for it. So, I quit my job in finance (in the middle of a recession), got new headshots, and started to going to auditions and trying to find an agent.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?

At first I tried to play it off like I had been doing it all the while since college, but then I realized there was value in me sharing the real story. People enjoyed hearing the “banker turned actor” story, and I think it helped to make me memorable. The key to success in the entertainment industry is networking. It really is true that it’s all about who you know. I spent money to take classes and seminars, to meet people and to get my name out there. I auditioned for EVERYTHING that came my way. As I learned more and more about how the industry operates, I refined my strategy to get more return on my time invested. Being honest and true to myself worked well. The only thing I would have done differently is that I would have made the change sooner.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?

I read everything that I could get my hands on. I read advice columns and books about being an actor, but more importantly about being a working actor. I started reading the trade magazines and online outlets like Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Playbill.com and others – it’s crucial to know what is going on in your industry and be able to talk with confidence about it. I learned new material – new audition songs, monologues and scenes that I could use when I went to audition for casting directors, directors and agents. I talked to my friends who were already in the industry – it was helpful to hear things to do and things to avoid from people who were already doing it every day.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?

Expect an uphill battle. Being an actor – whether you are on stage, TV, film, commercials or voiceover – is the most competitive industry in the world where you can be judged on your age, your looks, your height – everything except your talent. It runs on a unique structure and it’s not as simple as being able to apply for a job that you’re qualified for and get it. It’s so much more than that. It’s a very challenging numbers game and you have to be ready for disappointment, rejection and standing on uneven ground – maybe for long periods of time. But, if you must act – if it is in your bones to be a performer and you must do it to be happy, then it is worth the struggle. Take advantage of all of the free resources that are available to you online or in print to help educate you about the industry. Beware of “get famous quick” scams – there are no shortcuts in this industry and if someone promises you something that will help you “skip steps” on the road to being a working actor – buyer beware! You should never pay for an audition and you should never pay money up front to an agent or manager – they only earn a commission off of money you earn from jobs that you have booked through their office.

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Industry Change: Advertising >> Non-Profit
Role Change: Chief of Staff >> Management (Strategic Partnerships)

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1) What did you do, and what do you do now?

I majored in Politics (Public Opinion) in college and spent more than ten years in politics and advertising (which may as well be the same industry). In March of 2012, I left that world of messaging and marketing and joined New York Needs You, a nonprofit that works with students who are first in their families to go to college. A lot of friends thought it was a big change – and it was! – but it was also a logical transition.

2) So, why the change?

I’d been in the corporate or political arena for a number of years, helping to shape the message for either a candidate or a policy or a product. I enjoyed my different jobs, but the things that excited me most were usually the community building side projects that I got to work. For instance, the previous advertising agency I worked for allowed me to be the point person for our CEO’s relationships to nonprofits, and coordinate the pro bono work that our agency did. I led the staff community outreach for the public affairs team that I worked for prior to advertising. And every political candidate that I worked for wanted to prove their love to the community – so what better way than to encourage their supporters to do volunteer in community service … hey, the best way to get credit for doing something is to actually do it, right? At some point I woke up realizing that I don’t want to be 30 something and my proudest accomplishments in work would come from side projects.  I wanted my passion to be my job, not the things that I do when I get permission from my job. I began speaking with several of my friends that were either passionate about their jobs, or made career switches to industries they loved much more than their current one.  Each friend gave me something new to think of, work on, research, or even someone new to meet. I can’t say I targeted New York Needs You from the beginning – but when I found it, I couldn’t imagine myself working anywhere else.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?

From advertising and politics to the nonprofit sector, there are a lot of overlapping skills and core competencies – managing volunteers, pitching and messaging to potential partners, leveraging supporters stories for new business opportunities, etc. I stressed the skill sets I’d used in previous jobs, and where those skills could be useful in my new role. Also, management is management. If you’ve been at in an industry long enough to know how to keep the trains running in and out of the station on time, you can apply that same process to a new industry.Most importantly, I pitched the cultural and workplace fit. I thought I would be a good addition to their team and their team’s philosophy. Again, it’s easier to pitch if you believe in it, and I truly did. My advice would be to worry less about how you pitch or sell yourself, and try to find an industry or job that you think is a true fit for what you want to do (or even what you need to learn to do right now).  It’s a lot easier to pitch yourself as passionate about a team and a company and a job if you really are.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?

I spoke to a lot of people early, and often. Career transitions are difficult, and I wanted to know as much as I could about new industries, but I also wanted to know the types of people that succeeded and those that failed. A mentor told me to assume I didn’t know what the best job or the best fit was – and just talk to friends (and their friends) with the intention of learning more, not just getting the quickest offer.Best. Advice. Ever.

It helps to have specific questions and specific goals, but leave enough wiggle room in your conversations to hear about jobs that allow you to do x, or careers that value your ability to do y. Whenever you say you are looking for z, remember to say “or something a lot like z.” That gives your friends and those you network with the ability to make broad recommendations, and then it’s up to you to research more.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?

Send thank you cards. Not just emails, and never to people you didn’t enjoy meeting (sincerity matters more than style). But if you talk to many people about your future plans, many people will give you great advice. Especially if they don’t know you, the thank you email you send them is a step above spam, and a step below work. Take the time to buy some nice, blank, thank you cards and stamps. Write three sentences in one when you meet someone that really helped you. The next time a job is available, they will look up at the card and wonder whether you’re the right fit.

See Pauly’s complete Careerosity profile and thank him for sharing!

See Ed’s complete Careerosity profile!

1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?

My first transition experience is about my switch from being an investment banking analyst at Merrill Lynch to being a marketing analyst at internet startup KAYAK.com.

2) So, why the change?

The short story was that I graduated from Princeton in 2008, entered into banking, and watched my bank and role disintegrate in the financial crisis.  So, I had to find a new job regardless and the finance industry wasn’t the place to be.  The longer story is that I entered into college hesitant to commit to any single path and ambition took me into banking where I appreciated the skills I was practicing but didn’t really have a connection to anything of value beyond just packaging presentations to sell transactions.  So, in that sense, I changed because I wanted to try working on a real product/service and have a more operational role.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?

I pitched myself as a new Princeton graduate who had banking experience but wanted to try something more operational specifically marketing in a start-up setting.  But I wasn’t pitching myself so much as seeking information.  I would apply for job openings but I also reached out to many alumni and other people I could network with to get their advice and perspective on working outside of finance / in marketing and what they would do if they were in my shoes and wanted the same goals I had.  It helped in the sense it gave me conversation fodder for interviews as well as perspective in planning how I would approach roles and market myself.  That worked well because people were more willing to talk to me about things once they knew they didn’t have the obligation of finding me a job.  In hindsight, I think the only thing I would have done is talk to more people outside of marketing to know how difficult it might be to switch into their roles from marketing and what their career progressions were like.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?

Talk to people.  Banking brought me credibility in terms of analytical skills but my conversations with people helped give me a sense of how to present myself and give proof of interest.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition?

Talk to people outside of the context of just getting a job.  Ask for what the career will be like after that initial role and what sort of things are required to be successful long term in that type of function.

See Ed’s complete Careerosity profile and thank him for sharing!

Industry Change: Sports >> Technology

See Clinton’s complete Careerosity profile!

1) What do you do now, and what did you do before?

I am currently cofounder of a consumer web startup called Skim.Me. Before starting my first company, I did business development for another tech startup, business development for a startup football league, and sold commercial real estate right out of college.

2) So, why the change?

I’ve been in three different industries (real estate, sports, tech) over my short seven year career. The reason for change has always been from an internal feeling I’ve had. It took me awhile to realize what the feeling was. At first, I thought it was just the need to achieve success and money. A couple years after graduating, I was on my way to achieving both but still felt unfulfilled. Life is a bunch of trade-offs and I finally came to the conclusion that I just wanted to work for myself and be my own boss. To that end, that meant starting something on my own.

3) How did you pitch yourself to the desired industry/role? What worked well? In hindsight, what would you have done differently?

This may seem like a silly question for a founder and entrepreneur. To take the leap of faith I had to pitch myself to me. This is where a lot of would be first-time founders flail. They focus on all the negatives and consistently talk themselves out of actually taking action. Sometimes there’s just not much left to evaluate and you have to go with a feeling then try to figure it out. It won’t always work out but trying is more admirable than not. The only thing I wish I had done differently was find my path to the tech industry sooner.

4) What was the most valuable thing you did in preparation for the new industry/role?

The most valuable thing I did in preparation for being a first-time founder is gain domain expertise. This involves several layers in an industry’s ecosystem. Knowing the infrastructure of your industry generally and then having the specific knowledge needed for your position or department is invaluable. Broad and deep knowledge. I’m still trying to get there after almost two years but I take time everyday to learn.

5) What other advice or insight do you have for readers seeking the same career transition? 

Grit is key. Yes, you have to be smart about when to call it quits but many times you only achieve something after several minor failures. At least, that’s what I hope. It’s an uphill battle that’s a psychological roller coaster. You have to learn to grit your teeth and deal with the lows. Keep plugging away. It’s easier said than done and it takes a lot of support from your support system but in the end, having this confidence that you’ll end up on top helps you keep moving in the right direction.

See Clinton’s complete Careerosity profile and thank him for sharing!