Shifting Careers and a Little Advice

May 30

I had lunch yesterday with an intriguing senior executive who had spent his entire career in one industry. He’d risen to the top of organizations and not only delivered financial results, but he also built high performance teams doing it. So, been there, done that.. And now he’d like a change of pace. How does a person do that?

I’ve known people who have done career shifts. The idea isn’t new, Bill Bridges wrote Job Shift over a dozen years ago, and in that book he predicted that there would be a displacement from the career track to the skills track. All that’s well and good, but what happens in practicality? How does someone who’s spent 20 or 30 or 40 years in an industry tell a story that says, “I can be productive and thrive in a new place”?

When I was talking to this senior executive, he told some very interesting stories about creative entrepreneurship that would make a Sand Hill Road VC sit up and take notice. He had done lots of interesting and varied jobs and led major projects that were super interesting. And none of them were on his resume.

I suggested a couple of books that have really influenced how I’m thinking about jobs and working these days. I told him to pick up a copy of Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist and look at the chapter about resumes and how to market yourself. And along those “interrupt the pattern” lines, I told him to grab a copy of Tim Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Workweek and read about mini-retirements and finding your bliss. I know that’s a bit of the recency effect, but they’re what’s on my mind now. I’m sure there’s more to be said and read.

What advice would you give a person who’d spent a career in an industry and was ready to make a move? Would you hire someone who was outstanding as a manager but came from outside your industry?

About the Author

Frank Roche

Frank started IFRACTAL over 7 years ago with Sarah Chambers. Together, they've created HR communications and HR software for some of the world's leading companies. Frank is also studying Flamenco guitar and origami.