How to Make a Career Pivot

"Asking for a Friend"

A career pivot is a change in direction using your current skill set differently. It is not a career change like moving from a structural engineer to a chef (true story). Career pivots may come from an external situation where something happens to you—a change in your company situation: a layoff, merger/acquisition, or new management.

Often career pivots come from an internal situation; it is the feeling of “Is this all there is?” Work doesn’t have to become unbearable, however, you begin to question if you’re on the right career path. Sometimes going to the office or turning on Zoom and Slack is unbearable and disrupts your well-being. For some, the internal career pivot may begin with a change in family status.

Okay, this is Older, Bolder & Better! We’re living our best lives in retirement or considering retiring. Why the heck are we talking about Career Pivots? I am asking for your career stories and experiences. Many of us have experienced a pivot or two during our careers. I have had several career pivots driven by both external and internal situations.

Motherhood, at 34 years old, created an internal career pivot for me. I wanted to be home more and in airports less. Luckily, Human Resources at my current company was restructuring. I moved into a newly-created role, where HR treated employees as internal customers. Using the customer-centric skills of sales in an entirely new way, our team gained the support of employees and senior management. To gain credibility with my colleagues, as soon as I was eligible, I earned an SPHR designation. I was active with SHRM (Society of Human Resources Management) and the American Compensation Association (WorldatWork) and spent a decade in Human Resources.

During my career, I saw many people make career pivots. I have colleagues who moved from backgrounds as clinical laboratory managers and nurses into corporate roles as technical managers for laboratory equipment or working with pharmaceutical manufacturers. I’ve watched others pivot into consulting or entrepreneurship from corporate roles. Recently, after years of working with children, a teacher moved into a corporate environment in a learning and development role.

You can make a career pivot anywhere along your career timeline. There are coaches, and college alumni career departments along with blogs and books that discuss career pivots. If you’re feeling stuck or you’re too many years away from retirement to stop working, consider a career pivot!

Please share your career pivots in the comments. I’m asking for a friend, actually many connections and friends are interested in this topic.

“At every stage of life, you should be a rookie at something.” —Chris Dionigi, Ph.D.