How to Land a Career in a Different Field

There are plenty of people who are unhappy in their current jobs. Maybe they don’t like their boss or maybe the job just isn’t what they thought it would be like. Choosing a career path is difficult especially since it is mostly dependent on the type of major you chose in college. So, what happens if you chose to major in finance, got a finance job, and then realized that you just don’t like finance at all? Are you stuck in this field forever? Will your finance degree be useful in another field?

The answers are no and yes. The degree you have really doesn’t matter too much in the grand scheme of things. Employers tend to care a lot more about soft skills such as communication and problem solving. Think about your co-workers, some of them might not even have the same degree or experience you have. You have been automatically assuming that since they have the same job as you, they must have the same background as you too. That is never completely true. You will be surprised when you really learn that one of your co-workers used to be a teacher or maybe didn’t even finish college. Don’t let your experience or degree hold you back from making a move to a different field.

Say you wanted to switch to a marketing job. Since you don’t have any marketing experience, you will need to convey the soft skills you have developed. An easy example would be the analytical skills you have used to solve a difficult problem. In another example, you can discuss how you have had to get creative in order to get someone to agree with your idea. There are plenty of examples that you can create that will give the interviewer a good understanding of what you are capable of even though you don’t have a marketing degree.

What’s the best way to land a career in a different field?

The best way is through an internal referral. Don’t be like the 99% of job searchers and think that applying online is the best way to get a job. That doesn’t work.

Find someone on LinkedIn that has the job you want and send them a message asking if they have a few minutes to talk. Come prepared with a list of questions about the company and job. If you are successful, then your contact might be willing to give you some help getting in touch with someone at the company. You will be amazed by the results you will get by doing this.

This will be your best chance of successfully landing a job in a different field.