- You wanna switch industries but you have no experience.
You might have more experience than you realize.
Hi, I'm Taha from Answer in Progress
where we make videos taking people on a journey
from question to answer.
In this video, we talk to a career expert
so we can figure out how we can think about our skills
when we move to a new industry.
(upbeat music)
A recent poll showed that half of American employees
considered making a career change
and 44% are already planning to make the switch.
So you're not alone if you're having
a bit of a career crisis.
But how do you join an industry
that you have no experience in?
To answer this question I spoke to Isela Garcia,
a Google recruiter with a lot of experience on this topic.
- Hi, my name is Isela Garcia
and I am a recruiter here at Google.
I help to screen, interview and identify candidates
and support them through the interview process.
- A common concern when changing careers
is that if we don't have any formal experience
we're starting from square one.
Fortunately, this isn't necessarily true.
- My typical advice for anyone
who is making a career pivot or transition
is I like to consider sort of three main pillars.
First and foremost, I always encourage folks
to consider their trajectory of what it is
that they're trying to anchor toward.
So what it is that that in your desired industry or role
are required skills that are needed to be successful?
Some of these are gonna be hard skills
maybe certification, potentially years of experience.
Once you get an understanding
of what is desired in this space,
then you wanna take an assessment
of what it is that you are bringing to the table.
Oftentimes what I'm encouraging my hiring managers
to look for, are things called core competencies.
Things like critical thinking, problem solving,
everything from like budgeting
to even like sales for example.
I'm someone who started in like retail sales for example.
I was on the sales floor, talking to people,
helping them with makeup.
And years later, those same skills of uncovering needs
and desires of someone's skin care or makeup routine
landed to being able to uncover
what it is that folks wanna do in their careers
and what they're good at.
Ideally, you also wanna get creative
when you're thinking about your own experiences.
So you may not only think of your typical nine to five
when you're factoring in your own experiences and skills.
Maybe an ad-hoc project, a side hustle
or something else might feed into the desired role
or industry that you're trying to anchor towards.
- There are many skills that are transferable
and can be demonstrated in other industries.
Some of the top skills that employers look for
include being able to support and lead a team,
being able to make decisions and solve problems
and being able to plan and organize work.
These are skills that can be demonstrated
in all industries and outside of work.
Career Capital is a conceptual framework
that we can use to understand the real value
of being able to build a career.
Knowing your why, is examining
the internal and external factors
that are driving your career and need for change.
Knowing why you want to change is an important part
of finding the right fit for you in the future.
Considering your why helps you gain clarity
on not only why you are motivated
and interested in your work
but also helps you gain an understanding
of how the industry and labor market are behaving.
Knowing who is about knowing who in your network
can help you move forward in your career.
This could be people from your previous industry,
family, friends, and community
that could introduce you to opportunities
or give you insight and advice from previous experience.
Knowing how is the career capital you gain
by learning specialist and transferable skills
that you can present to new employers.
So, if we combine Isela's three pillars
with the career capital framework,
we can support our career transition by aiming our anchor
and understanding why we're changing jobs.
Next, we can assess our current skills and abilities
and understand how they transfer over.
Finally, we can look at all of our experiences and network
to see what and who can support our career transition.
Even without a network,
it's possible to find a place in a new industry
by combining what you can offer
with what the industry is looking for.
Okay, so with all that knowledge,
I've decided to make a job application
for a fictional person named Andy.
This is Andy, the accountant.
He loves watching films
and he wants to move into the film industry.
He dreams of becoming the next big film director.
However, he's been working
in accounting for the last 20 years.
Initially it seems like accounting
and the film industry have nothing in common.
So how does Andy make the jump
from two things that seem vastly opposite?
If we follow the career capital framework,
Andy might actually have
a lot more experience than he thinks.
So let's take this step by step.
Step one is knowing your why.
Examining the internal and external factors
driving your career change.
Maybe Andy is looking for a new challenge
something more creative and exciting than his current role.
Maybe he doesn't enjoy the office culture
and is looking for something
a little bit more flexible and freelance.
Next, he does some research into the film industry.
He finds that film production needs big crews of people,
different locations, and dynamic timelines.
He also notes the lack of traditional work hours.
And while potentially he could be working
more unsociable hours, he also finds
that this aligns more with the reasons
of his career change and a more dynamic work environment
is exactly what he's looking for.
Identifying these things, provides clarity
on the types of jobs he would be interested in
within the film industry.
Step two is knowing how.
This is all about the skills and experience
that you have that will give you a leg up
in joining a new industry.
Okay, so Andy has a good idea of what the industry is like
and he's also figured out what type
of career he wants within that industry.
And even though he's never worked in the film industry,
it doesn't mean that he doesn't have the skills
and experience that are needed
for working in the film industry.
I mean, he's been dealing with spreadsheets
and working with contracts for the best part of 20 years.
It's safe to say that he's got an eye for detail
and that's something that's valuable in film production.
So while Andy has a lot of transferable skills,
he might not be able to get a job
as a big film director immediately.
But he can now take the first steps
towards his new career ambitions and build the industry
specific skills needed towards his goals.
One option for Andy is to find a job within the industry
that is similar to the one that he does currently.
For example, a production accountant.
Another option would be looking for a job that
requires a strong familiarity with spreadsheets.
Something like a junior position
in a production department might be perfect.
He might not be familiar with best practices
or industry jargon, but his transferable skills
will allow him to handle the work well.
Both of these options get Andy close
to film directors and creatives
and allow him to build a familiarity with the industry.
The third step is knowing who.
Otherwise known as social capital.
It's very possible that Andy doesn't know anyone
in the film industry.
However, it's important to not assume that, that's the case.
His best bet is to make sure that his network,
the people who are gonna be most supportive
of his career change are aware of his career aspirations
and that he's looking for assistance.
You never know who someone else might know and who can help.
- For Andy, my recommendation is to like lean
into his analytical acumen, right?
Like I still think that's really important.
I think in that sense, it's good to think
of Andy's add to that space.
But in some ways I feel like kind of jealous of Andy.
Like I think he has that like business chops
that I feel he might be pretty well off in that space.
- Switching industries can be daunting.
It seems like you're leaving everything behind
to start from scratch, but that's just not true.
Your previous skills and experience
will be made up of specialist skills from your industry
and transferable skills that you'll be able to
take to the industry you're planning on joining.
By thinking about my experience and Andy's experience
not as day to day tasks that I do in my job,
but as abstract skills that I'm building as I work
has made me realize that not all my skills become obsolete
when I decide to make a career change.
It's really opened my eyes
on how I could be a suitable candidate
for a variety of jobs in a variety of careers.
And I hope Andy was a good example
of how you can manage a career change
using the Career Capital framework
and Isela's three pillars.
If you're interested in hearing from recruiters
at Google and other major companies
on how to prepare for a job interview,
what to write in a cover letter, and how to prepare
for a career change, you can find a lot more resources
in the playlist on screen right now
or in the description below.
In upcoming videos, we're gonna talk about
how to gain new skills while working
and how to gain qualifications without going back to school.
So if you're interested in any of that,
make sure you're subscribed.