Do you know anyone who told their kindergarten teacher they wanted to be a customer support specialist when they grew up? Likely not. Almost every single person working in support has gone through some form of career change to find a better fit for their skill set, passion, or lifestyle. This is possible because of transferable skills.
I believe there is always something that made a person great in Job A that could help make them great in Job B. It’s just a matter of connecting the dots.
Taking the leap
A few months after I stopped teaching elementary school, I started applying for customer support roles. I soon found a startup called CartStack that was looking to hire its first support pro. The founders told me I was their “least technical applicant,” but they liked my people skills. I replied, “Which is harder to teach: technical skills or people skills?”
Given that we both knew the answer — teaching people skills is way harder — they just laughed and we moved on.
That night, I emailed them screenshots showing I’d begun an online course to learn the basics of JavaScript, which I would need to understand in order to work for them. This, I hoped, would show that while I may not have had the technical chops at that moment, I was willing and motivated to learn. They decided to take a risk, hired me, and invested in my technical knowledge, giving me the opportunity to grow into the role.
When I started at CartStack, 50% of their customer survey submissions mentioned the company’s great customer support, and by the time I left, it was 90%. Those founders weren’t doing an act of charity by hiring me — I had a huge impact on their customers, if I do say so myself. They changed my life and their business by taking a chance on me as a career changer, and I’ve been working in tech support ever since.
This was all possible because, in addition to my ability to grow my technical skills, I demonstrated people skills that would serve me in any role, and the founders were willing to imagine how I could flourish on their team and add value to their business.
Hiring career changers
Are you a hiring manager, do you work in HR, or are you part of a hiring committee? If so, I challenge you to be open to the idea of hiring a career changer. Here’s what you can do:
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Think about what qualities and skills make someone great in the role you’re hiring for. You could make two lists: one list of what is absolutely needed and a second that’s a wish list of what would be nice to have.
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Decide on your deal breakers. Realistically, you can’t hire a career changer for every single position. Many do require very specific experiences or even certifications (like certain trades or high level director positions, etc.).
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Next, think about soft skills that are tough to teach but could be transferable from other careers. Often your company will not have the budget to hire a perfect match in hard and soft skills, so where can you compromise a little bit?
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Then craft your interview questions to dig for the qualities you’re looking for. Before you offer someone an interview, you’re going to make sure they already have the hard skills on your must-have list, and then an interview gives you an opportunity to dig for those potential transferable skills on your wish list.
Use the applicant’s answers in the interview to imagine how they could bring value to your team.
Crafting your career story
If you’re looking to make a similar leap in your career, your mission is to craft a compelling (and true!) narrative about the work you’ve done. You’ll need to tell hiring managers the story of how the things you learned in other roles have a direct connection to the work you’d do in your new role at their company so they don’t have to figure this out for themselves.
Identify your skills
Make a table with two columns. On the left, list out all the skills and qualities you see in job listings for the role you want. On the right, jot down specific, real examples from your past work experience that demonstrate those qualities.
If you’re having trouble identifying your transferable skills, ask your friends, family, and coworkers for their insights, because it’s very likely they can see strengths in you that you can’t see for yourself.
Here’s an excerpt from the table I filled out for a friend when she was thinking about leaving her career as a pharmacist to attend a coding bootcamp. (Yes, she’s been a successful software engineer for a few years now!)
| Software developer skill | Example from pharmacy |
|---|---|
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Accuracy |
Your customers’ lives depend on you not making mistakes. You decipher doctors’ handwriting, double check doctors’ recommendations, enter information into the computer, measure pills, etc., all with great precision. |
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Interpersonal |
You have empathy for customers, maintain relationships with doctors, and make sure your techs aren’t stressed out. This juggling requires patience and poise. |
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Communication |
You break down very complex information into understandable, bite-sized chunks to ensure customers will follow their prescription instructions safely. |
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Analytical thinking |
You analyze how drugs will interact, make judgment calls, and seek additional information when needed. |
Mind the gap
As you’re working through the table above, you’ve also got to identify the gaps in your skill set, and there will be gaps. However, there’s no need to panic — almost anything can be learned if you’re willing to work at it. It’s on you to demonstrate a growth mindset by developing the skills and knowledge you’re missing for the new job you want.
| Missing skill | Plan for developing |
|---|---|
|
Experience in optimizing site performance and |
Free one week course on page speed optimization via Udacity |
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Experience with object-oriented |
Seven month coding bootcamp |
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Familiarity with WordPress basics |
Build my own online portfolio using WordPress following a course on Udemy |
These tables will be the foundation for you as you craft your resume and cover letters, they’ll guide how you present yourself in interviews, and they’re your playbook for the skills you’ll need to intentionally develop. Remember, your goal is to tell your story so it’s a no-brainer for hiring managers to imagine the value you’ll bring to their team both now and as you continue to grow.
Compromise
Just like I asked hiring managers to compromise a little bit on their wish list when reviewing applications, I will ask you, the applicant, to be open to compromise as well. The reality is you may need to be willing to take a less than ideal role as a stepping stone toward your ultimate goal.
I couldn’t have gone directly from teaching elementary school to working at Help Scout, because Help Scout doesn’t have entry-level roles. My first remote job was writing online personality quizzes like “Which Full House Character Are You?*” Believe it or not, this job was not the fulfillment of my lifelong dreams, but I took that opportunity to demonstrate my ability to work remotely in future job interviews.
*I’m Michelle, btw.
Get after it!
In addition to working through the tables above, I recommend checking out this worksheet called “Career Crafting Questions for Support Pros” developed by my teammate, Patto. Coaches and managers might also find it useful in one-on-ones for helping direct reports plot out their career goals within your company.
If you’re looking for something new, these questions will be helpful in the beginning stages to start reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses, and interests, whether you’re planning to change careers or grow in the one you have.
