Changing career paths in a recession: It's Complicated
Help me with a coaching puzzle.
The topic is a career pivot and I (we) are stuck.
I coach Hari Sripathi.
He has been looking for a career pivot. He has experience setting up international channels for big brands - Avis and PepsiCo. But first Covid and then a recession put a chill on international expansion, making this a tough line of work for full-time employment.
You might wonder, besides the goodness of your heart (or the chance to show me my blind spots) why spend a couple of minutes commenting?
Because you will be helping others.
Many people dream of shifting their careers.
Whether because they do not like what they are doing or the market has moved and they need to follow it, many people hit a point where they want to make a shift.
I have some tools to help people do this, but I'm hoping this audience has more.
As for Hari, he has a broad package of skills.
In his own words:
"Hari Sripathi is a successful early stage Consumer business leader. Particularly if you need many hats in one person –Product, Business Development and Strategy. He is highly entrepreneurial, customer obsessed and highly strategic. He led new initiatives at PepsiCo and Avis and now runs his own innovation agency."
I would add that Hari has a technical background, educated as an engineer with the almost obligatory stint at Infosys.
His quest is to find the right full-time corporate role that fits both his talents and interests, coming out of his current role running his own successful consulting business.
I invited people on LinkedIn to look at his background and comment. Many people did.
What the comments show is that in a case like Hari's, with a broad background doing a few different things, it's not obvious how to break back into a high-level corporate job during a downturn with slower hiring.
Downturns simultaneously enhance risk aversion (do not take a chance on an unusual hire) and increase competition (the potential that someone else is an obvious fit for the role).
The best overall advice I saw on the thread was focus. Work to hone a clear message of where you fit in the corporate world and then stick to it.
There was also an undertone of not straying too far from what you have proven you can do.
When you seek a new job, the hiring manager has two risks: (1) can you do the job, and (2) will you fit in?
When you seek to change what you do (take a job doing something other than what you have recently shown you can do well) you increase the "can you do the job" risk.
Often the best way to change what you do is to first get a job doing exactly what you have done (making that risk low). Then once you establish that you are competent and fit in, migrate your work to what you want to be doing internally, from a position of trust and success.
This path is longer and takes patience, but in tough times may be more successful than doing everything at once.
If you are struggling in your job search, take stock of the assets you have and it may encourage you to feel that you have a lot of hope.
Ideally, that hope will power you forward to reach out and make contact with the right people to hire you long-term.
Audience Insights
I have consolidated additional ideas worth considering from my LinkedIn audience, including:
Tackle this situation not as a career change but as corporate reentry. Use tactics as you would a job search, including:
Identify 15 job postings.
Rank them in terms of interest.
Tailor your resume to each job.
Tailor your LinkedIn profile to highlight experience and skills relevant to the jobs of most interest.
Build a network by providing value first. This could be sharing advice with people on LinkedIn, starting a newsletter to showcase domain expertise, and tapping into your Alumni network (Hari has an MBA from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management). If you first provide value, you have a reason to engage new connections.
Narrow the search and get specific on:
Company Stage (Seed, Series B, must have product/market fit).
Industry / Business Model (Enterprise SaaS, Consumer Marketplace, Gig Economy, HR Tech, Fulfillment Services).
Role Type (VP of Product, Head of Business Development, Chief of Staff).
Consider adjunct teaching.
Consider fractional roles. Startups need help with partnerships, growth, and marketing (without an expensive CMO).
Ask yourself:
“What really makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?”
“Do you want to own the solution or coach the solution?”
“Do you want to be an Individual Contributor (IC) or Manager? If Manager, how big of a team?
“What skills and capabilities have made you successful in X role that will translate to any other business or role?”
Try this Warren Buffet exercise:
Write down the top 25 things you want to do in your life (personal and professional).
Circle 5 of them.
Then forget the other 20.
Add your thoughts by commenting below.
Online Course - Leadership Networking
A common question I get is “Ethan, I am told that after a certain stage in my career, I will only get jobs via my network and not blindly applying to open roles…but how do I effectively grow my network?”
Watch the below course introduction video to see what you get and click here for more.
Share This Article with Someone Seeking A Career Change
If this series benefits you, please consider sharing it inside your workplace or with others who might get value.
My goal is to reach and help as many people as I can, and the reach grows through your sharing (thank you!).
Connect With Me
Click here to follow me on LinkedIn.
Click here to follow me on Twitter.
Level Up is a newsletter from former Amazon Vice President Ethan Evans that breaks down how he succeeded and how you can get to the next level.
It's a tough environment and with companies shying away from hiring internationally (visa processing times, "disappearing headcount") the job search can be exponentially frustrating with no reasons for the rejection.