People in mid-career often think that because they have been in one line of work or one industry for fifteen to twenty years they are locked in there. They fail to realize that most management jobs require the same skills. For example, a sales manager and a production manager both need to motivate, lead, control, and monitor people's activities. One manages the sales production, the other the manufacturing production. Each manager's respective knowledge of sales and manufacturing is important, but their management skills are of greatest value. An accountant in a retail firm has nearly the same responsibilities as an accountant in a manufacturing firm. Each may be keeping track of different information, but they both need the same quantitative ability and attention to detail. Both jobs have the same objective, keeping track of the income and outflow of money.
There are two steps you must take to prove to a prospective employer that your skills can transfer to a new industry or career and retain their value. First, you must research the prospective position and industry, ferreting out the similarities and differences. Second, you must learn how to show an employer that you can handle any situation you will encounter in the new industry.
Researching an Industry
Every industry, and each company within it, thinks it is unique. This is just not so. We know your skills are transferable, but you have to prove it to an employer. You have to become an expert about the industry and then demonstrate your skills by using the industry's terms.
The best way to become an industry expert is to join a local chapter of the industry's trade association. Nearly every industry, from home building to elderly care-giving, has a trade association. Look in the telephone book and you will probably find the phone number listed. If not, talk to your local librarian; there are several books listing trade associations, such as Encyclopedia of Associations. These books often list when and where a trade association holds its annual or semiannual conferences. If you are really serious about a change, you should attend a national conference.
As you interact with the trade association, you will become familiar with the industry's jargon. You will learn, for example, that an accountant thinks of a customer as a "client," or that a credit union worker thinks of a customer as a "member." You know that whether customers are clients or members, your motivational management skills that energize superior customer service are transferable. As you talk to a credit union president, interviewing for a management job, you can tell a story noting how important "members" are and how you motivated a group of employees, turning a poor service problem into a superior service situation.
Proving Your Skills Can Transfer
Trade associations know what problems face their industry. Their training programs address the pressing issues and teach problem-solving techniques. After attending a program, take these techniques and review your experience for situations similar to the problems being demonstrated. Then relate your situation to your target industry using its jargon. Voila, you have transcended the abyss that kept you in one industry. Use this process with every industry problem you identify. Soon you will learn what is unique about the industry, and more important, you will see how similar its problems are to those of other industries.
When you secure an interview, your greatest task is to prove that you can move your knowledge across industries without losing any effectiveness. Using an industry's jargon during the interview proves you are familiar with its problems. Telling stories that demonstrate how you solved similar problems secures your position as an expert.
You must learn how to tell good stories. They don't have to be long, but they must be real and believable. When you attend industry meetings, listen for specific problems. Then search your experience and find a similar situation. Write down some of the details of your problem situation and its solution. Make sure you fully understand how the solution was developed. Translate the story into the industry's jargon, and practice telling it. Keeping notes will help you remember it. Tell the story to several friends and ask them how clear and logical it is. During an interview find an opportunity to interject one or two of these industry-tailored stories.
Networking Hints
The most effective network is created the moment you leave home and enter college or the work force. That is the reason mid-career changers can have great networks. College friends, particularly those in the same specialty, may supply leads to each other throughout their working lives. The most powerful networks are the result of years of giving and receiving useful information.
Networking should be a process of give and take. That's a key to developing a successful network. Many people take only when they decide to begin networking. Their focus, when they talk to others or meet new people, is: "What can you do for me?" They fail to ask themselves, "What can I do for this person?" How can you give to those in your network? - By providing leads and other information that will help them in their businesses. Some of the best leads in your network will come from CPAs, lawyers, bankers, consultants, and sales-people. All of these people are continually building their businesses and careers. They appreciate new business leads. Before you ask someone for a career lead, think about anyone you know who might be able to use their service. Could you introduce or refer them to a prospect? Giving, rather than taking, will get you more time and attention from the busy people in your network.
