There is magic beyond the art and science in relationships. What is that ingredient?
Most career changes are progressive, rational, or even predictable. A marketing manager from company A became a Senior Marketing manager in Company B. The person has done XYZ for the last company, and that’s the experience we are looking for.
Take the position of a decision maker, say a hiring manager, a project leader, your boss. Why would they take risk? If you fail, they will lose face, waste time and money, perhaps personal impact to their careers too.
Yet – if you look around, you will find those who keep reinventing themselves.
How could some people make big career, role, functional change throughout their career? Do they have all the right qualification, education, experience? They probably don’t, at least at the beginning, but these changes do not happen by chance or quickly either. Overnight success are often the product of planning, hard work and perseverance.
- Desire and Purpose – Why do you want to make the switch or take the risk?
- Action and Preparation – What have you done and are willing to do (to catch up)? Are you going to persist, regardless of results, for the long game?
- Quality and Character: What Results and Reputation have you built in your current domain that you will take to the new opportunity? (e.g. credibility, capability, commitment)
In short, you have to work for it.
Remember trying to get your first job with no experience (who have work experience before they apply for their first job?). And think about any role/company change, special project, promotion.
The best thing to do is to prepare and get yourself ready. Learn the subjects and apply, Build the relationships and add value.
Then the final ingredient – someone to take a chance on you. Magic.
Now – Will you take a chance on yourself first?
