Episode 11: How to successfully switch careers without any industry experience

Thank you for listening to The Career Clarity Show, a podcast dedicated to showing you how to switch careers and find a lucrative, soulful, AND joyful path for yourself. Because yes, you can actually get all 3 in one job!

But don’t just trust me on that — take a listen to today’s episode with Chris. 

Chris used to work in international development, an incredibly competitive industry touted as the pinnacle of fulfillment. 

Imagine it:  your work life is full of travel to interesting countries, your daily job tasks feel meaningful, and your coworkers and boss are all united around making a difference and changing people’s lives. 

Or, at least, that’s the dream. 

The first decade of his career had felt pretty good, but when he and I met, something about his career wasn’t fitting for him anymore. His role used to fulfill his Magnetic Interests, but certainly wasn’t aligned to his Strengths, Personality, or Lifestyle anymore, so the foundation of his 4 Pillars of Career Fulfillment were fundamentally out of whack. 

It’s no wonder Chris was feeling so unhappy, despite being in a role in the industry held up as the gold standard of meaningful work. 

He’d tried to solve his dissatisfaction on his own, hopping from job to job, but felt like he was just dragging his old baggage with him and never escaping the “meh” career hamster wheel. 

He was desperately searching for the silver bullet to fix his career woes. You know the kind: the infomercial-y 30-days-or-less, you’ve-never-seen-socks-so-white, money-back-guarantee type of solution. 

(And if I – or any career coach out there – discover or invent the magical silver bullet career generator that gives you a dream job, I’m buying my own private island and retiring.) 

But here’s the truth: what Chris needed wasn’t a silver bullet. Instead, he needed a fresh look at who he was, what he wanted, and where to find work that fits his values. He needed an approach that wasn’t mechanical or robotic, but was human, humane, and holistic. 

Choosing the big picture, holistic approach to evaluating what you need can sound scary, but it’s 100% necessary to break out of your rut and go after the growth you’re craving. The kinds of beliefs and pain that weigh you down in your career usually have ripple effects throughout the rest of your life

For Chris, one of those painful beliefs was that there might not be meaningful work outside of international aid. 

In the Career Clarity method, you start exploring future careers by getting clear on who you are and what you want. We map out the “meaning maker” values that drive who you are (things like “learning,” “autonomy,” or “creativity”) and establish the short list of qualities your ideal job needs to have.

But the even more powerful part is Phase 2, where you start testing out possible “strong fit” jobs before you take them. It’s a bit of a Goldilocks approach – you get to taste the porridge before you eat the whole bowl.

Sounds like a straightforward process, right? You get to find out in advance if the porridge is too hold, too cold, or just right. But this part of the “vetting” work can be incredibly triggering for your inner perfectionist.

Test driving a career path requires the willingness to try something new (and embracing the experience of being a beginner again). That’s a core tenet of Carol Dweck’s “growth mindset” – that you pick career experiments to try because of the opportunity for learning, not necessarily because you’re certain you’ll be successful. When you’re open to being curious, playful, and exploratory, it allows your interests to ebb and flow in a very human way – and keeps pressurized expectations from leaving you paralyzed and stuck.

For Chris, that meant letting himself explore passions for personal development, fitness, and even around professional wrestling. 

Did Chris’ passion for wrestling and the WWE turn into his career? No, but by giving himself permission to explore it by writing a faux WWE episode script, he re-started his interest in writing. And, that career “experiment” made his priorities clear: creative writing was less important to have in his work.

When you take action and try new things, you get immediate experiential data to let you know if you’re on a good path.

Not only does that data help you feel more confident about your direction, it helps you develop more commitment to the idea and grit/resilience for navigating the inevitable ups and downs of the job search process. Plus, it gives you hands-on experience that ultimately makes you a better applicant! 

Subscribe to The Career Clarity Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Play.

And, follow The Career Clarity Show on Facebook and Instagram — and sign up to receive emails when new episodes come out!