You’re Not Starting Again: A Practical Approach to Career Change

Chris McNicol, Director, Search & Talent Projects and Career Coach at deliberatepractice

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Career change can feel like starting from the beginning.

For people navigating redundancy, organisational change or a period of career transition, the prospect of moving into something new can be both exciting and daunting.

You may have considerable professional experience but find yourself questioning how much of it will remain relevant.

Will employers recognise your transferable skills?

Will you need further study?

Will you have to accept a more junior role or lower salary?

How long will the transition take?

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The reality is that career change rarely means discarding everything you have built.

More often, it involves identifying which parts of your experience remain valuable and applying them in a new context.

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Career change exists on a spectrum

Not every career change represents the same degree of change.

There is an important difference between evolving within your profession, moving into an adjacent area and pursuing a completely different career.

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Career evolution

Career evolution involves applying the same core expertise in a different way.

Someone may move from an operational role into consulting, from internal Talent Acquisition into Executive Search, or from people leadership into leadership development.

The environment, clients or delivery model may change, but much of the person’s established capability and professional credibility remains relevant.

This year, I broadened my own career from recruitment and executive search into career coaching.

It was new work, but it was not entirely unfamiliar. I was still drawing on more than 15 years of experience in interviewing, candidate assessment, career conversations, recruitment markets and helping people communicate their professional value.

Rather than starting again, I was applying existing skills from the other side of the career conversation.

Career coaching has also deepened my ability to support candidates across Executive Search and Talent Projects. It has given me greater insight into the personal experience behind a career decision: the motivations, mindset and circumstances that may not be immediately visible during a recruitment process.

That perspective strengthens how I assess, advise and communicate with candidates, while helping me provide a more thoughtful level of candidate care, whatever the context or outcome.

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Adjacent career change

An adjacent career change involves moving into a related area where some (but not all) of your previous experience transfers directly.

A recruitment professional might move into broader HR advisory. A project manager may transition into change management. A teacher could move into learning and development, facilitation or community programs.

These transitions usually require the person to identify the connecting thread between their previous experience and the new direction.

Employers will want to understand:

• Which skills transfer directly?
• What evidence demonstrates those skills?
• Why does the new direction make sense?
• What capability gaps still need to be addressed?
• Why is the person genuinely motivated to make the change?

A strong career-change narrative helps answer these questions before an employer can make assumptions.

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Complete reinvention

A complete career reinvention involves moving significantly further away from your established technical skills, industry experience and professional identity.

This may require formal study, practical experience, a temporary reduction in seniority or remuneration, and a longer period of transition.

It may also require someone to build credibility in a new market where their previous title, network and reputation carry less immediate weight.

That does not make complete reinvention impossible. It simply means the transition needs to be approached with realistic expectations and a more deliberate strategy.

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The greater the distance…the longer the runway

The further your intended career direction sits from your existing experience, the more time you are likely to need to bridge the gap.

This is where some career changes become unnecessarily difficult. People focus heavily on the destination but spend less time identifying the stepping stones required to reach it.

An immediate move into the ideal role may not always be realistic. An adjacent position, project, secondment, consulting assignment or volunteer opportunity may provide a more achievable first step.

The objective is to maintain forward momentum while building relevant experience, relationships and evidence.

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Start with what you already have

Before deciding that you need to completely retrain or begin again, take stock of the capability you have already developed.

Consider:

• The problems you know how to solve
• The environments and industries you understand
• The stakeholders you can influence
• The technical and behavioural skills you can demonstrate
• The achievements that provide evidence of your capability
• The relationships and market credibility you have built
• The aspects of your work that give you energy
• The parts of your experience that could create value in another setting

Job titles can sometimes obscure how transferable a person’s experience really is.

The same underlying capabilities, such as stakeholder management, analysis, communication, leadership, coaching, commercial judgement or project delivery, may be valuable across many different roles and industries.

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Test the market before committing

Career change should not be designed entirely in isolation.

Speak with people already working in the area you are considering. Ask how the market operates, what employers value and where your experience may transfer.

Review relevant job advertisements and position descriptions. Speak with recruiters and executive search consultants. Use your professional network to understand how decision-makers may interpret your background.

These conversations provide talent intelligence of your own. They can help you identify realistic opportunities, capability gaps and the language needed to position your experience effectively.

They may also reveal that the most achievable next step is different from the one you initially imagined.

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Build a clear career-change story

Employers need to understand the logic behind your transition.

A convincing story should explain:

• Why you are making the change
• Why the new direction is a logical progression
• Which existing capabilities remain relevant
• What you have done to prepare
• How your experience will benefit the organisation
• Why you are committed to the move

This story should remain consistent across your resume, LinkedIn profile, networking conversations and interviews.

The aim is not to convince an employer to overlook your previous career. It is to help them understand why that experience is an advantage.

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Career transition with a realistic strategy

Outplacement and career coaching can provide valuable structure during career transition, particularly when redundancy or organisational change has disrupted someone’s confidence and sense of professional identity.

Effective support should extend beyond resume preparation and interview practice. It should help people evaluate their options, recognise their transferable value, understand the employment market and develop a practical pathway towards their next role.

At deliberatepractice, our work across career transition, recruitment, Executive Search and Talent Projects gives us visibility from both sides of the hiring process. We understand the experience of the individual navigating change, as well as the evidence organisations need when assessing candidates for business-critical appointments.

Career change does not necessarily mean starting again.

It means understanding what you already bring, determining how far you want to move and building a realistic bridge between the two.

If you are navigating a career transition, or considering outplacement and career coaching support for employees affected by organisational change, please contact deliberatepractice to discuss how we can support you.

Chris McNicol
Director, Search & Talent Projects and Career Coach
deliberatepractice