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How to Make a Career Pivot · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS. This is your host, Dr.
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  Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Extension Director for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  Today, I'm pleased to be joined by Caroline Francis,
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  Director of the University of Kentucky Alumni Career Center,
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  and Amy Gamblin, Associate Director of the University of Kentucky Alumni Career
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  Center. Welcome, Caroline and Amy.
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  Thank you. So today's topic is one that I think is really interesting,
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  but we are going to talk about how to make a career pivot.
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  And in the role that I have at UK, we're associated with a lot of hiring,
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  and it is really, I think, a trend that we have seen in recent years about individuals
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  changing from one career to another.
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  And so I'm pleased to learn more. And I wanted to start by, can you explain
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  the term career pivot and then reasons that an individual may pivot?
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  Well, there are lots of different things that would be considered a pivot.
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  Could be making a drastic career change or something that wouldn't be as drastic.
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  But Americans are changing jobs about every three to four years.
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  So we are all going to have lots of career changing, lots of career pivots in our working lives.
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  They're also way more common and socially acceptable than they used to be.
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  You see that in our friend circles, you see that in your workplace,
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  and I really applaud employers that are receptive to people that are making
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  career changes that might have some valuable transferable skills or experience to bring.
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  Amy, why don't you share some reasons that are common for career changing?
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  I think one of the biggest reasons that I see that people that I've worked with
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  are people who are working in a position that doesn't really align with their
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  core values and what their personal missions are.
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  And so they're seeking a position where they have something that they feel excited about.
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  They feel joy that fills them with, you know, a presence of I'm doing good and
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  this is what I want to be doing.
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  So a lot of the career pivots that I have seen have come from that reason of,
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  you know, finding something that aligns with their authentic self.
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  And I think that's a wonderful way to look at it.
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  We also see a lot of people looking to make a career change just because maybe
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  they capped out salary-wise, that they're still young enough in their career
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  that they're ready to try to climb that ladder and advance.
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  Another reason we see people making a pivot or a change is for family reasons.
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  They can no longer travel or work as many hours as they have in the past.
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  And then coming out of COVID, we certainly see a lot of people making changes
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  just because they want more work-life balance and possibly some remote or hybrid options.
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  Do you see generational differences in career pivots?
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  I really don't. A career pivot at any age or stage of the game is becoming way more common.
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  People just want different things at different stages in our career,
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  our values change, our passions change.
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  Maybe we just want to learn something new or totally try something new.
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  I do a lot of work with encore career professionals, mid and late career professionals.
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  Professionals so if any of the age or generation cohorts they probably have
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  a little more tendency to make a drastic pivot.
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  And so let's talk a little bit on tips about how to pivot because obviously
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  a pivot is a change and so I'm certain there's a maybe good way and bad way to go about that change?
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  I think one of the first tips I would say is understand the why behind why you
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  want to make a career change.
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  So really do some self-evaluating. What is the reasons that you want to make this change?
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  Perhaps do a lot of self-assessments, evaluating your skills,
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  your interests, your values, your strengths.
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  Understand what motivates you, what you are are passionate about.
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  So starting that with that foundation is a key essential tool that you can use
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  for making a career pivot.
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  I always encourage clients to have a job change or two before a drastic career change.
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  Sometimes maybe if they just change companies, departments, sometimes that's
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  all they need to be happier and more satisfied than a major career change.
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  So as Amy you mentioned, get a little bit clearer on where the unhappiness lies.
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  Is it your role, your company, your boss?
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  That will help you make a smarter pivot.
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  Do you think that an individual needs to provide an explanation for the pivot
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  in their cover letter or on documents that they submit when applying for a position? Sure.
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  I do think it's very helpful if you can explain why you're wanting to make a
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  drastic career change in a cover letter.
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  You are going to have to really sell yourself and be confident on why you're
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  doing this because employers are taking a chance.
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  Ideally, you're going to have this researched out.
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  You're going to do some certifications or project work, volunteer work,
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  something to build your resume in the new direction to make you more marketable.
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  But even by doing that, you're going to have to be able to confidently sell
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  yourself to the employer and why you're making this pivot and what you can bring to them.
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  If an individual is considering a career pivot, do you have resources available
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  to them to help them think through this process and some of the.
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  Reasons that you all cited as valid reasons for a career pivot,
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  maybe help them evaluate that?
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  We do. We offer career assessments that can help people get a little more focused
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  on their values, their interests, their personality, their skills.
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  These can all help provide focus for someone who is looking to make a transition.
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  It can give them new ideas or confirm maybe their pivot that they're leaning towards.
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  And I think it's also important for them if they're looking to make a pivot
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  of a career change that they don't have the skills maybe set for that particular
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  area to talk with them about their transferable skills,
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  identifying what those are, identifying any skill gaps that they may have,
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  and also helping them with resources to find a learning courses that can and
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  bring the skills that are necessary for the change that they want to make.
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  So there's a lot of different ways that we could help them through that.
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  And as we wrap up today, I certainly want to highlight the partnership between
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  Cooperative Extension and UK Alumni Career Services through the Job Club.
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  Caroline or Amy, would you like to take a minute to speak about the Job Club?
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  Sure. We have been thrilled to partner with Extension for over 10 years now,
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  bringing the community Job Club.
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  It's a free resource. source.
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  We are hybrid format. If you're in the Lexington area, we meet at the Cooperative
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  Extension Office on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 9 a.m.
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  We also have a hybrid Zoom option.
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  You can join us remotely.
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  We have had people from over 30 states and across Kentucky and a few foreign
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  countries that have joined us since we've been hybrid, but we welcome everyone.
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  It's a great way to hear some wonderful speakers.
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  And if you're in person, definitely afterwards, we have networking opportunities and sharing.
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  To learn more, you can go to the Extension website or UK's alumni website at
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  www.ukalumni.net forward slash job club.
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  Thank you. And for our listeners, we will have information about Job Club listed
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  in the show notes. Amy and Caroline, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you.
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  F-C-S-E-X-T at uky.edu. Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu,
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  to learn more about the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences
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  Extension Program, or contact your local extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
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  Music.