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Under-qualified or unqualified for the job?
After working in the same field for 20 years and reaching a senior position, I'm now attempting a career change. Yet I'm not sure if I'm under-qualified or simply unqualified for the new jobs I'm applying to.
I often feel like I have many of the soft skills required for this work, as well as the technical skills, but I just don't have experience within the field. While I know I won't be at the senior level right away, do I need to be applying for more entry-level positions — instead of ones that requires years of experience in the field?
If you've recently changed careers after reaching "expert" level in your old field, I'd love to know how you navigated the job search shift.
Liz Melton
Leading Partnerships for a small startup
29
09/28/20 at 11:34PM UTC
Hi There! I haven't made this type of change before, but here are a few things that might be helpful:
1. See if there are any alums where you want to work. 9x out of 10 they will be responsive to you. Same goes for people who may have worked at one of your previous employers. See if you can get an informational interview about what it's like to work at the company you're thinking about joining and what they look for in an applicant. You never know, that person may be hiring for a role you're suited for!
2. Try to find and connect with the Hiring Manager for the role you're interested on LinkedIn. Nothing against recruiters, it just might help to catch the attention of the person who you will eventually be working for first. You could share why you think you are specifically qualified for the particular role and ask what the hiring manager is hoping to get out of the applicant.
3. Getting a second look at your resume also helps. You could ask a friend or colleague who is in the new industry you're going after for some pointers.
Hope this helps - saw some other great advice above as well!
Elianet OlivaMake things happen!
278
09/25/20 at 9:58PM UTC
I am currently going through a similar career change, I feel like depending on the hiring managers' own experience they will understand better where you are coming from. At least in my case, when I interview with people who haven't changed companies or careers, they can't seem to relate to why I would leave my job to try new industries/companies. For me it was very important to expand as a human being and be able to prove to myself I can make it somewhere outside my comfort zone. After several interviews, I now try to address as many elephants in the room early on as possible, see if at least that takes their questioning away. Some industries tend to be more strict than others like banking, but if you try going for a lower level, they will probably dont call you cause you are overqualified. Let us know how it goes, I am sure your opportunity will be right around the corner, just keep pushing.
KelliHelps senior-level women make career changes
1.46k
09/25/20 at 3:35PM UTC
I'm curious what industry you're moving into. I just helped a woman rewrite her resume and cover letter to make a career transition and she was surprised how many of her skills were transferrable (and could be written that way on her resume). Happy to talk through this more with you if you need it. Feel free to message me.
Kristina BFinancial Planning and Analysis Executive
81
09/23/20 at 1PM UTC
Agree with other comments that there are a lot of great resources on making a career pivot. The main thing for me as a hiring manager is how you convey your interest and reasons for the career change and relate your current skills and strengths to an asset for the role and organization. For example, I have always hired for the skills I cannot teach like soft skills and taught technical skills, like systems or software, if they are lacking. If you have the right soft skills for the role play that up in your networking and cover letters, not just your resume. Market yourself with what you do bring to the table, not your lack of experience.
Kristina BFinancial Planning and Analysis Executive
81
09/23/20 at 1:02PM UTC
To add, I think with proper context you should not have to enter the field at an entry level role.
Michele Cresmen-Block
102
09/23/20 at 12:22AM UTC
I don't have a lot to add to the wisdom shared here. A great resource specifically for your situation is the book "Switchers" by Dr. Dawn Graham. There's advice on how to stitch together the experience you have and translate them to the new domain. It's been a year since I read it, so there's probably much I'm forgetting to mention. Wishing you the best on your career change.
Amy BucciferroConsulting is my profession, equality my passion
167
09/22/20 at 8:46PM UTC
Beyond the resume, practice ways of talking about your prior experience in the language of the new field. Smart employers will be able to see how the experience transfers, but they will want to know that you can think in their terms and personally evolve. So less about direct parallels and more about how awesome your are because you know how to think, manage, grow, etc.
Trina SchneiderI help forge new markets and build brands
365
09/22/20 at 3:51PM UTC
I went out and obtained certificate, and attended a number of free courses, to boost my resume, with solid skills. If you do not have LI Premium, I would suggest getting it, as it allows you to take free courses. I use https://www.jobscan.co/ to ensure that key words are in my resume. I do not think that you need to apply for junior positions, as your other skills experience will cover the six months (or less) that it will take you to come up to the career switch expertise.
ParillonSTEM Success
92
09/22/20 at 3:33PM UTC
I got certifications and national training that were upto date to align what I knew to where I wanted to go. All were online! Join some professional organizations in the area you want to transition to and get some microcredentials!
Mollie LeonardHead of People in NYC
73
09/18/20 at 7:48PM UTC
Totally agree with Amanda above! Rewriting your resume in a way that showcases how transferable your skills are is huge! Start looking at language in the job postings of roles in your desired field and seeing how those can meet your experience. Certificate programs and online programs are also quick and easy ways to beef up your profile that can help especially if your resume is going through an Applicant Tracking System that might weed it out if it doesn't have certain key terms. I'd also recommend networking!! Start talking to people you know in that field or headhunters that recruit in that industry to get as much intel as you can!
Amanda SiscoOncology supervisor & patient advocate in Denver
14
09/18/20 at 5:31PM UTC
Hey there! I went through the same experience in 2014. I changed career paths but knew I had the majority of the skills required. I would make two suggestions depending on what field you are in. 1) Hire a resume writer, they are able to relay your skills and accomplishments in a way that speaks to the recruiter directly. 2) Many online universities offer certificate programs that are much more inexpensive and less time consuming than they used to be. You can gain a certification in a specific field of study in a few months. This can also help you gain additional tools and skills to help you once you are in the field and move up the ladder faster. Hope this helps!
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