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Making a Career Pivot Without Taking a Pay Cut

Written by Bernie

Bernie Frazier, SPHR is the Founder and President of CAREERCompass, LLC, a speaking and career coaching firm in St. Louis, MO. She also spent almost 25 years recruiting talent to six organizations across four industries and led the talent acquisition function for four of those organizations, including one global team.

I work with clients all of the time who have been working in their field for 10, 15, 20 or more years, but have reached a point where they want to do something different. Often times, they don’t know what ‘different’ is, but they know they want it.

The good news is many of them end up discovering what they want is not a quantum leap from where they are now, just a modest pivot. But, there are those who end up wanting to do something very different; something that they know isn’t going to pay them what they make currently.

So, what do you do when you want to do something different but at least make close to what you make now?

Here are a few things to consider:

  1. Confirm your interest. Throughout the 25 years I spent in Corporate America, I often encountered people who always questioned other people’s jobs….until they got a true exposure and realized it wasn’t as easy and simple as they thought. This can happen if you’ve identified a new potential career path, but haven’t really investigated it. Do some research (reading, shadowing someone in the role) to make sure it’s really what you want to do. Once you find out what the day-to-day demands are, you might find it’s not all you thought it was.
  2. Identify and highlight your transferable skills. In order to make a lateral move, you don’t always have to have 100% of the technical skills advertised as needed. Often, if you have budget-vendor-people management skills, strong analytical, people leadership, comparable software, executive interactions skills and experience, it can open doors for you.
  3. Get a side hustle. If you can’t afford to make a career shift right now because the gap in pay would be too much, try to start by either doing it part-time or as a volunteer. This can allow you to network with people who can help open doors for you, and give you the opportunity to gain the practical experience you’ll need to make the shift.
  4. Up your marketing game. Now, it’s time to showcase what you offer. Consider how you have and can apply your skills and strengths to the new career you want. Then include that information in your resume, LinkedIn profile, and networking conversations. Be sure to include any relevant part-time or volunteer work you’ve done.

Making a career pivot is often not easy. But, by following these steps, you can begin to take control of your career journey and reshape your trajectory so that you can end up exactly where you want to be.

Until next time….