A Step-by-Step Guide To Making a Career Switch as a Young Professional

As a young professional one of the hardest things you’ll ever do is make a career move. This is especially true if you’re leaving your very first post-college job. It’s even truer if you’ve realized that you want to do something completely different than what you’ve been doing.

Don’t let the LinkedIn announcements fool you into thinking this transition will be easy. It’s not impossible but it will take a lot of hard work and mental grit. Buckle up because landing that next job (I call it a big girl/big boy job) is going to be a journey.

The Career Switch Blueprint

Step 1: Get Your Mindset Right

Job Searching will forever be a thorn in my side. I hated it so much during my journey, that I even attempted to make it better for other job seekers. (Shameless Plug: Skip applying, & join my Talent Database!).

I know I’m not alone in thinking that the job hunt is unnecessarily difficult. It’s filled with a lot of politics and games. But once you get started on the ride and get everything down to a science, it becomes an addictive game. You realize that you have just as much, and maybe even more power during the process than the companies that you’re looking to work with. It won’t be a breeze, but you get better and stronger with each new search, cry session, application submission, cry session, interview, rant session, and then another cry session.

So if you’re currently job searching and you’re looking for a sign, a shoulder to cry on or just overall advice keep reading. I’ll walk you through my thought process and job search strategies, that helped me reach my bemouth goal of landing a new job, in a new industry, in one of the most difficult job markets my generation has ever seen!!

Step 2: Redefine Your Career and Lifestyle Goals

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t leave the pandemic the way I entered it.

I didn’t want the same job, salary, or lifestyle that I had before I entered the pandemic. Absolutely nothing was wrong with where I was, but I was getting closer to 30 than 21, and I just knew I needed to level up and experience something new. (See quarter-life crisis to get a sense of my mindset here).

Leveling up for me meant:

• Upgrading my salary
• Changing my industry
• Changing my job function/niche
• Working on projects that would impact others.
• I’d give myself bonus points if I could change my location

My number one piece of advice that I’d give anyone who is currently thinking about making a career shift is to define what you truly want out of your next opportunity.

So how did I decide when to start looking for my next career opportunity? To be honest, before the pandemic, I had an early urge to casually browse. I was first fueled to do so because I’d been snubbed for a promotion. I’d eventually gotten one, but it was at a lower pay grade than the work I’d been asked to take on. This didn’t sit right with me, so that was strike one in my mind.

I’d successfully worked in my new role for a bit and then boldly asked for a pay increase and title change because again, I was doing A LOT of work. Both requests were heard, and I was told they were coming but not soon, meanwhile I was given more work. Strike two! This fueled me once again to get serious about my job search.

Like always my timing was impeccable (not). I decided to kick my job search into full gear during the height of the pandemic. You know while people were getting fired (yikes!). But, I had one thing in my corner, I worked in digital marketing. 1 point for me.

Step 3: Break Your Career Goals Down

I didn’t realize it when I first started my job search, but hitting all my nuances/goals would make my career transition extremely difficult.

I was fighting a few battles all at the same time and I had to figure out how to maneuver them all. I’ll dive into how I approached changing my industry, niche/job function, and job level during the pandemic, as well as finding a company that offered the perks and culture that I wanted.

First up, I needed to break my career goals down into something that I could achieve. I decided to figure out what type of industry I wanted to be in first, then I worried about the niche/job function.

1. The Industry: I loved working in entertainment, especially for a large company. It had major perks and the culture was on point. Knowing this made it extremely difficult for me to consider other companies and industries. But to grow in my career at the speed that I wanted, I needed to leave.
   
   The only logical industry that could rival the perks and cultural experience of where I was coming from was tech or a media startup. I loved tech and had worked in it before, so I set my sights on heading back. I knew that I would also be fine with working for a company that blurred the lines and floated in the media and tech space as well.
   
   This was challenge #1. Tech and startups were seeing growth as opposed to decline during the pandemic so getting in would be extremely difficult, but not impossible.
   
2. The Niche/Job: I had found a niche very early on, but not on purpose. I stumbled into marketing operations and digital marketing (specifically channel marketing, digital advertising, & production). To be honest I realized quite early on that this would not be my forever career direction. I think being self-aware is important because being aware of what you like and don’t like as early as possible in your career will help you in the long run.
   
   I once saw a stat that said employees know whether or not they’ll like a job by lunchtime on their first day! Now I didn’t come to this conclusion that early, but as I started laying out my plans I realized that the work that I was doing didn’t quite light my spark.
   
   I remember Oprah saying that you have to pay attention to the signs. And while on my path to career discovery, I received several signs throughout my job search for what my next move would be:

• Sign #1: A student job shadowed me for a day and she said my eyes didn’t look excited when talking about my daily job functions. She did however point out that I was very good at certain aspects of it, such as my time management/prioritization.
  
  My Thoughts: Students say the darndest things. Haha. So right then I knew I was good at project management but didn’t like the execution side of things. So at one point, I toyed with the idea of moving into project management or product management.
  
• Sign #2: While networking, someone told me that they would hire me to be the CMO of their company if they ever started one. This was during the first meeting with them too!
  
  My Thoughts: Before this conversation, I knew marketing was my home, I just had to figure out what type of marketing I wanted to pursue next.
  
• Sign #3: Someone said they could see me owning a media company, just like Oprah. They just said they had this urge to tell me.
  
  My Thoughts: I took this as a compliment and doubled down on experimenting with different media forms on Breakroom Buddha. I even took on a few interns to help me build on my ideas. I discovered what type of media I didn’t like as much (social uhh) and what I liked (coming up with new ideas).
  
• Sign #4: Someone said I had an executive presence.
  
  My Thoughts: This happened after I turned down a role that didn’t quite fit my game plan. He was impressed that I had the guts to turn down the job offer. This was a big, big sign that I had finally stopped allowing myself to be distracted by shiny new items, and that I was destined for more than what I was currently doing.

Step 4: Make Your Goals a Reality Through Small Actions

Next up, I started working to expand my skill set. I tried a variety of things to figure out what type of jobs I loved and hated within marketing.

I complained a little (ok a lot) to friends and family. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at times, but then I talked and networked, dreamed a little, and then dreamed even BIGGER. I started putting in the work to figure out what I wanted to do next because in the end nothing ever beats real work!

I started a blog (what you’re reading right now!), I did freelance work, I did volunteer work, I traveled (when I could), I did random competitions (hey startup bus fam!), etc. This was my foundation. I should note that this self-discovery journey started way before the pandemic. I was even doing these things back when I was only casually looking. I just ramped it up during the pandemic.

As I kept building my foundation, I also followed hiring trends, hiring managers, hr professionals, and recruiters on LinkedIn. I also signed up for a ton of career/job newsletters. I filtered them to only see jobs that fit where I wanted to head next.

When I started seeing jobs that fit the description of where I was headed, I applied. Even if I didn’t check all the boxes, I still applied! The more I did it, the more I figured out what I loved and hated about the different roles in marketing. I also figured out what type of methods of applying worked best for me. See my thoughts below.

Method 1: Cold Applying / Submitting Online Applications

That’s right I cold-applied via online job applications. Honestly, all of the opportunities that I’ve had started by submitting an online job application.

People say that this is not the way to go, but if you know exactly what you want to do, and you are willing to become somewhat of a wordsmith and get your resume together, it becomes a bit easier to get past that initial online application.

I also used LinkedIn’s “easy apply” feature, and boy was that a lifesaver when I truly didn’t feel like filling out yet another online application, after just uploading my resume. (tuh)

I will say that this method works best when coupled with the other methods that I mention below.

Method 2: Simply Ask for The Job / Connect with a Recruiter or Hiring Manager

Reaching out to recruiters and hiring managers who are actively posting and looking for candidates was my second most used method.

This is very closely related to asking for a referral from someone you know who works inside the company.

While this worked to get me a handful of interviews, it still was less successful for me than cold applying.

Method 3: Let LinkedIn do the Work

Turning on the “looking for work feature” on your LinkedIn profile is also VERY beneficial. I turned it on so that only recruiters were able to see it, and it brought in a ton of leads almost daily and landed me a few interviews with top companies!

I will say that your LinkedIn profile needs to be filled out and optimized for the industry and job function that you want. If it’s not, then this method will not be of much help to you.

Step 5: Become Extremely Self Aware

I’m a pretty self-aware person. I pride myself on this. But, during my job search, balancing this became a little tricky for me. I was getting anxious and impatient during the job search process. I started applying to jobs that ranged from a coordinator level (which is typically entry-level) to manager level more mid-to-senior level). It was getting out of hand, so I had some decisions to make.

I’d surpassed entry-level roles and I was now at a specialist level. This meant that to move I could:

1. Stay in my niche for a little while longer (marketing operations), move industries (leave entertainment), and opt for a higher position. In my opinion, this was the easiest to do. I’d just need to learn a new industry.
   
   During my job search, people were trying to keep me in my niche. I’d been offered interviews for roles that would have been lateral movements and promotions in my niche. Most of the time it was an absolute no, but I connected with the recruiters and also told them exactly where I wanted to head next. If they had roles that fit the bill, I kept the conversation going, if not, I kept moving on and wished them luck.
   
   Sometimes, I took the interview to see what the market was like (found out I was being underpaid), and where the industry was going (found out that there was A LOT of demand for my type of niche and that I could potentially help new teams build from scratch), etc. But ultimately I chose to put my foot down and decline these roles.
   
2. Take a step down to move into a new niche (back to entry-level), stay in the industry or pursue a new industry. This proved to be a little tricky as well. Because although I had a few years under my belt, even “proving” that I could be helpful in a new industry was tricky.
   
   I considered taking a step backward and moving back down to an entry-level coordinator role multiple times. One of the mentors told me to never take a step back if I could help it. I was looking at the possibilities to grow beyond where I was, but I understood her logic. It could potentially be even harder for me to advance in my career if I went backward instead of forward!
   
3. I could do a lateral move into another niche/job, but stay in the same industry, and keep the same job title. This was a bit difficult because people rarely like giving you a chance if you’ve never done something.
   
   So becoming a different type of “specialist” proved to be hard because I didn’t have the “right” type of experience. Moving into a new niche proved to be harder than I thought. I was coming from sports. So I knew sports marketing. But knowing sports isn’t the same as working in scripted entertainment or nonprofit work, or e-commerce! To me, it was all the same, but to others, it was a hard no most of the time. It takes a lot of outside foundation work to prove you can move into a new sector or niche.
   
4. I could move up a level in a new niche and into a new industry. This is THE HARDEST thing to do when making a career switch. You have to prove that you’re ready for the next level and that you can handle the work in a new industry as well.
   
   Whew, boy was I ambitious at some moments. I sought out manager-level roles in completely new sectors. I didn’t doubt my skillset at all but every time I did this the feedback I received was:
   
   “You’re an amazing candidate, but you’re too junior for the role.” I kind of knew this buttt it didn’t hurt to try, I gained new connections, I gained a bit more insight into the skills I was lacking, and a plethora of knowledge about how to frame my story during my future interviews.

In the end, I chose to stay in the media industry, and focus on pursuing a new niche/job. I didn’t care so much about the level that I was at, but I knew I didn’t want to go so far back that I couldn’t propel forward.

Step 6: Prepare for Unknown Obstacles

The pandemic.

If you were job searching at the height of the pandemic, you already know how that went. There was a ton of ghosting and a spotlight on unorganized HR processes. It was essentially the wild wild west. It’s calmed down a little, and now I’d say it’s a bit easier to at least get your foot in the door for an interview.

Experiencing all of these unorganized processes helped me nail down what I truly valued in a working environment, team, and overall company. If you’re unsure as to what your career values are, feel free to use mine as inspiration.

From the Team & Company I Wanted:

• Communication
• Transparency
• Career Development & Advancement Opportunities
• Personal Development Opportunities
• Flexibility (remote work only)
• Diverse Perspectives (not just “diversity” in terms of race and ethnicity)
• Work/Life Balance
• Culture Rich (a focus on the people that build up the company)
• Fair & Completive Pay

From the Work that I Do:

• Impactful
• Experimental
• Creative

I was really big on landing somewhere that included all the above, and I wanted to make sure that I got it!

What I learned from changing my career path during the pandemic

Whoa! What a journey this has been. I feel like I grew and matured SO much during my most recent job search.

When all else fails, even you’re own self-confidence, remember the following:

• Your mindset is EVERYTHING. Do everything that you can to make sure you’re prepared to put in the work to get you to where you want to be.
  
• SELF AWARENESS. That’s it. That’s the tweet. If you don’t understand how you move through spaces and how others see you, then take these career quizzes. You’re welcome!
  
• Continuously define and redefine your career and lifestyle goals. I saw someone say that you should ultimately be working to LIVE. (Yes this came from Emily in Paris). So make sure you focus on your lifestyle goals and pick a career path that will help you reach those goals. Take this, if you have no clue what type of lifestyle you want.
  
• Ultimately, small actions lead to big changes. So make your goals digestible. The smaller they are, the easier they’ll be to accomplish.
  
• Talk to people! They’ll light something in you for sure. They see what you can not see about yourself. I’m 99.9% sure that through your conversations with others, there have been clues. Take a moment to think about what that might mean for your career or personal journey.
  
• There are a ton of little career hacks, strategies, and methods that can lead you to success! Try them all until you find a set that works for you.
  
• No journey is smooth, so stay on your toes! And don’t get mad when things don’t go your way.

UP NEXT: LISTEN TO THIS CONFIDENCE-BOOSTING PLAYLIST

AFTER THAT: READ MORE CAREER ADVICE

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