By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter
When I thought about changing careers and switching from recruiting to coaching, I was scared. If it was this role, I’d spent my whole life in one area and now I was thinking about something that I thought was completely different. I was insecure and decided to eliminate other options instead of focusing on what to do next.
I had formal coaching training which I found to be more suited to life coaching which I found to be quite underpaid and very insecure for most people. I also learned from coaching training that schools focus on the skills of being a coach and rarely teach the business of coaching.
Luckily, from my years in recruiting, I know exactly how to improve myself to stand out from others.
As I started thinking about my transformation and applying it to others, I realized there were three basic considerations that most people share.
- Is there a market for what you want to do? Can you find a job doing what you want where you want? This can be an employee or a freelancer. Can you freelance to gain initial experience as a member of an existing market that allows you to work remotely with global clients as you transition? If not, will the employer hire someone with the skills you want to use? If there’s no job to do what you want to do, you’ll treat it as a hobby rather than a career. It doesn’t matter. Some people make money from their hobbies. Just not much.
- Do you have a job search strategy? Most people spend their time dropping off resumes on job ads like they would drop off burgers at a fast food restaurant. Continuous action. Constant movement. However, unlike fast food restaurants, they don’t get results (interviews and hires). A quality job search is filled with networking. After all, statistics show that 70 to 80 percent of jobs are filled online. This includes introducing people you don’t know to people your network knows. You’ll also need a resume, a good LinkedIn profile specific to your new position, introductions to recruiters (many of whom won’t be able to help you), looking for professional and general job boards that may have positions for people like you (it’s a small miracle, but it happens), and branding and building brand awareness.
- I can’t stress the support enough. You’re going to go through hard times and you’re going to go through times when your head is swollen like a giant melon. Emotional support is a big need, and you won’t know you need it until you’re there. Additionally, there is specific support on the search process you need to be successful in finding a job before. You will play in different sandboxes and follow different rules. You can learn these rules through trial and error, but it’s inefficient. Find someone who can advise you, even if you have to pay for the service.
Sometimes you’ll feel the urge to give up because you’re not getting the results you want quickly enough. Your lack of knowledge and experience may be causing you pain. After all, if you are competent or even an expert in your current position and are taking a step in a completely different direction, you may be frustrated if you don’t get a response, let alone the respect you once had.
Your courage and perseverance will be tested. However, if you go into this transition knowing that there is a market for what you want to do, and have a clear and proven strategy with tactics and support to achieve your goals, then with time and patience, you will find yourself in a new position in your career.
Ⓒ Big Game Hunter, Inc., Asheville, NC 2020
About Big Game Hunter Jeff Altman
Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter is a coach who has been a recruiter for a hundred years. His work involves career coaching, as well as executive job coaching, job coaching, and interview coaching. He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 job search podcast on iTunes with over 2,000 episodes, and is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council.
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