Making the Leap: How to Transition into a New Career

My name is Carissa Schultz, and I am a Talent Acquisition Manager with Assurant. I joined Assurant about 15 months ago, and I love my role! I lead a team of recruiters who consult with our business and help them achieve their goals by attracting key talent they need to drive the business forward. Although I've now been in TA leadership roles for more than four years, TA isn't how my career journey started. After an undergraduate and advanced degree, I started as a People Business Partner in the oil and gas industry. Over the next ten+ years, I held various people partner roles of increasing responsibility across several industries. I made the switch from people business partner to talent acquisition, and there are several lessons I would share from that experience:

Self-reflection to understand what career(s) suit you best

What I learned from the varied roles I've had over the year is the importance of the experiences you gain and, more importantly, the self-reflection from those experiences. This is a critical first step to take when considering a career change. Throughout your career, there will be things you like and dislike in the jobs you hold. It's important to make note of those as you consider your next step. When I was considering making a change from being a people business partner to a leader specializing in Talent Acquisition, this was incredibly helpful. I took various assessments and read books on career changes to help me hone in on the things I liked and disliked and to help me solidify my strengths as they related to the Talent Acquisition world. This exercise showed me how skills and activities I enjoyed, like consulting, influencing, and data analysis, translated from the people business partner space to Talent Acquisition.

Learn as much as you can about potential career fields

As you explore possible career paths, you must do your homework. Become as knowledgeable as you can on the options that are emerging. When considering a change, I tapped into my network to connect with people in the field to learn more. I did coffee chats, lunches, phones, etc., to learn more about what they liked and didn't like. It's also a good idea to get their perspective on getting into the field. You could also reach out to recruiters knowledgeable on your career path of interest to get their perspective on what hiring managers are looking for. Read articles and attend conferences or trainings in your career space. There are also many free resources online, such as career blogs you can review to prepare. Doing this homework upfront will help you assess your current skills and experience to understand if you have any gaps that you will need to address.

Make a plan to get there

Finally, once you have a career path you want to pursue, you need to develop a plan with specific actions and timing to achieve your goals. Can you get exposure through projects in your current role? Will you need to consider more education or certification? There may be opportunities to volunteer or do an internship. Remember to lean on your networks to help you make additional inroads into your career path. My opportunity to get exposure to talent acquisition came from people who were already familiar with me and what I brought to the table. Whatever the steps to get there, it's necessary to put a plan down on paper for how you will get there.

Looking for more tips to help with your job search? Check out the blog for more tips and advice!