Career Advice
Powerful Strategies To Help You Career Pivot in 2020
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 1 Jan 2020
The dawn of a new year brings an excitement of possibilities for the year ahead. It’s also a time to reflect on what’s happened in the past year.
Maybe you’ve decided that the dawn of the new decade is the time you’ll move home, go on a holiday of a lifetime or shake up your career?
Research by Glassdoor found that January is the month that most people think about making a change in their career, whether that be making a major change or pivoting in a new direction. The main reasons cited for this decision are; low salary (35% of respondents), needing a new challenge (23%), boredom (22%) and the length of the commute (20%).
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If you’re looking to pivot your career in 2020, here are some strategies to help you make it a success.
First, though, let’s discuss what a career pivot is and how it differs from a career overhaul.
What Does It Mean To Pivot Career?
Jenny Blake had a successful career at Google as a Career Development Program Manager, before she left to launch her book, ‘Pivot; The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One.’
In her book, Jenny defines a career pivot as “doubling down on what is working to make a purposeful shift in a new related direction.” Jenny, adds, “It’s an intentional, methodical process for nimbly navigating career changes.”
Basically, a career pivot isn’t as dramatic as changing careers, where you could be starting your career from scratch. Instead, a pivot could be where you leave one company to join another doing a similar role. Or, it could be where you use your transferable skills to start a career in a new department with your current employer.
It’s no longer the norm for people to stay with the same company for life. Research by LinkedIn found that people switch jobs (not careers) on average four times within the first 10 years of graduating. That’s a new job every 2.5 years!
It’s not just the younger generation who are left feeling disappointed by their jobs. According to The Telegraph, one in 10 senior workers decide to make a change as they feel demotivated or unfulfilled in their career choice.
Career Pivot Strategies
A series of events could lead you to want to make a career pivot. Maybe you’ve been passed up for promotion? Or you’ve been reassigned to a new department, and you feel it doesn’t sit well with your skills?
The urge to make a career pivot can also take you by surprise; if you feel bored or stressed at work, a sudden feeling to make a change can prompt you to take action.
Whatever the reason, here are some strategies to help make your pivot a success:
Career Audit
Before you make a sideward step or move into a parallel industry, you must understand what is driving this change.
Like any audit, a career audit involves getting answers to a series of questions, such as:
- What are the good and bad points of your current role / career?
- What does your ideal career situation look like?
- What do you enjoy about your current role and what elements do you want to continue with?
- On the flipside, what bits are you happy to ditch?
- What qualities/skills do you bring to work?
- What skills are not being fully used?
- What would you lose by leaving your current workplace?
- What do you hope to gain by moving?
- What could prevent you from pivoting? e.g. money, location, skills
- How can you overcome these barriers?
- How will you know when you’re on the right track?
Glassdoor Team
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