Finding the Courage to Change Careers [Best of Get Hired]

People often want to make a change in their careers but few do until they’re forced to shake things up. Often, fear is one of the main obstacles that hold people back from making a transition.

Fortunately, more and more people are finding the courage to change careers thanks to some self reflection during the pandemic. LinkedIn Editor Andrew Seaman has talked to several experts about how people can change careers during that time.

This episode – a favorite from the GH archives – brings together the advice of three all-star Get Hired guests: former Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno; career coach Christopher Taylor, aka “The Occupation Optimist; and coach Austin Belcak, the founder of Cultivated Culture.

Overcome the Fear of Changing Careers

The first step when you’re trying to make a hard pivot, says Apolo Ohno, is to overcome the fear of change. “No one wants to climb the mountain, go back down to the bottom and then go back up again,” he shared, but sometimes it’s important to start with a beginner’s mindset. You can’t operate in a state of “FOPO,” or “fear of other people’s opinions.”

Your Skills are Still Valuable

Next, remember that even though you might be jumping from one industry to another, the experience you’ve gained is still valuable. Chris Taylor, who focuses on skills-based hiring in his coaching, says that “if you have six out of ten” of the requirements listed on the job description, you are likely more than qualified and should apply. You can also look at the company on LinkedIn to see the profiles of people who hold similar roles, and see what skills they have. You can then focus on building those skills, using your network or free platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn Learning.

Don’t Wait for Others to Give You Experience

Finally, Austin Belcak offers a way to get started: just do it! Start by offering your newer skills for free or low rates to local businesses. As a freelancer, you can build up a portfolio and make sure that this new field is for you. You can also start to publish articles in order to build your own education. As Belcak says, “If you made it a goal to create one post about your target industry for the next 60 days on LinkedIn, not only are you going to educate yourself in this new space, but you're also creating this breadcrumb trail of evidence of you actually learning everything.”

If you’ve been inspired by our guests’ advice on making a pivot to a new industry or career, leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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