Here's how you can navigate a successful career pivot.

I worked in retail and a variety of customer service roles before switching to software testing. When I wanted to pivot to a more lucrative career, I took inventory: • Strengths • Weaknesses • Likes • Dislikes Then, I searched for careers that didn't require a college degree but paid more than $40,000/year, because I didn't have the resources to go back to school. I cross-referenced each career path with my list to see if anything matched. That's how I found web development. That eventually led me to software testing. You don't need to get it right the first time, just pick a career that roughly matches your skills & personality and go from there.

I love a career pivot and love seeing people try it for themselves. I have done it a couple of times and seen heaps of candidates/job seekers do it well. Typically there are some obvious transferable skills that will make for a successful career pivot. the aim is to identify these and then leverage them to pivot. Be prepared that you may have to step back in salary to pivot into a different industry as it is a shared risk on both sides. That said it is not always the case there are roles where you can pivot and still step up in salary it just depends on how relevant your skills are to what is required to make the pivot.

Absolutely! I came into software testing from reporting and teaching. I also started from web development but after some career guidance and an assessment of my experience and interests, I ended up here. Personally, I found that I enjoyed writing, editing and correcting mistakes based on my previous experiences.

Además de actualizar tus habilidades, reflexiona sobre tus competencias transferibles. Esas competencias que vas a llevar contigo a cualquier empresa, sector o rol. Estoy segura que vas a encontrar -al menos- 10 competencias en las que destacas. Pueden ser habilidades blandas, técnicas o competencias. Te dejo algunas preguntas claves: ¿Qué haces mejor que tu compañero en el trabajo? ¿Qué te diferencia de otros expertos?

Your CV and cover letter should speak to the relevant skills and refer to when you have managed to adapt to new skills in the past.

Here's where stories come in. Tell a compelling story and you will have the interviewer spellbound. You want to change careers because the experiences you've had up until now made you realize how much you love X. You even did some volunteer work to find out more about your desire to do this kind of work and you confirmed this was right for you... Be very specific in the story you tell. Pretend you're describing a movie. Every detail of what you describe must be clear so that the interviewer can imagine the scene very clearly. Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing? What did you learn from it? What did the other person learn or how did they react? The story must of course be positive or it's not worth telling. And have fun!

In today's world, it's easy to say that you have to embrace change. It's all around us and coming at us faster than ever. Having been through quite a few transitions myself, I know how difficult they are to live through. Keep referring back to the reasons you chose this change. What do you still love about it? The transition could be long or short. Remember, there are bound to be ups and downs. It's your attitude during the transition that will make a difference and that will help you in the end. My advice is to be patient with yourself and to remain optimistic. Seek outside help if you need to, so that you can continue to remain positive throughout.