Latest / Career Coaching with Fexingo: Professional Coaches, Career Counselors, and Guidance for Workers / How to Use a Career Forgetting Strategy to Unlock Your Next Move
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to start with a number that stopped me cold. A 2019 study from Northwestern's Kellogg School found that hiring managers in fast-changing fields — think tech, design, marketing — actually penalize candidates who have too much experience in older, adjacent roles. Not just neutral — a measurable negative. Luna: So the more you've done, the less they want you? That feels deeply unfair. Lucas: It does. But let's sit with the logic. If you spent eight years as a print publication designer and you're applying for a UX role at a software company, the hiring manager doesn't see depth. They see someone who might be anchored to old workflows, who might constantly compare the new tools to QuarkXPress or whatever. Luna: Right — they're worried about retraining cost and cultural fit. But still, the idea that your own resume is working against you is unsettling. Lucas: It is. And that's why I want to talk about a concept I've been calling 'career forgetting.' Deliberately, strategically letting go of skills, credentials, and even parts of your professional identity so you can make room for something new. Luna: I love that framing. But I also think it's emotionally brutal. You're asking someone to unlearn not just a toolset but a story they've told themselves for a decade. Lucas: Exactly. So let's ground this in a real case. I spoke with a senior graphic designer — let's call her Priya — who had spent seven years doing high-end print and packaging design for a consumer goods company. She wanted to move into UX design. Her resume had her entire print portfolio on it. She was getting zero callbacks. Luna: Zero? For a senior creative role? Lucas: Zero. She had the software skills — she'd taught herself Figma and Sketch on nights and weekends. But her resume screamed 'print designer.' So on the advice of a career coach, she did something radical: she cut every single print role from her resume. Seven years of experience, gone. She replaced it with her freelance UX projects, even the small ones. Luna: That's terrifying. Doesn't that create a gap that recruiters will question? Lucas: It does, but she had an answer ready. She reframed those years as 'creative strategy and visual communication' — which was true — and she focused the interview conversation on her UX work. Within six weeks she had three interviews. She took a job at a Fortune 500 tech company at a 35 percent salary increase. Luna: So the forgetting wasn't about lying — it was about changing which story she led with. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the core of career forgetting. It's not denial. It's a strategic pruning of information that signals the wrong thing. Luna: But what about certifications? I have a friend who's a project manager with a PMP credential from 2016. She's moving into product management, and the PMP is actually seen as too waterfall for agile teams. Lucas: That's a perfect example. The PMP is a respected credential, but in some contexts it signals a methodology that's out of favor. She could either leave it off entirely or rebrand it as 'certified in structured project delivery' and let the conversation clarify. The point is: if a credential closes more doors than it opens, consider letting it go. Luna: That requires a lot of self-awareness. How do you know what to forget? Lucas: I think there's a simple three-question framework I call the Forgetting Audit. Question one: Does this skill or credential directly support the role I want next? If the answer is no, it's a candidate for removal. Luna: Question two? Lucas: Question two: Does including this item risk making me look anchored to a previous era or industry? Be brutally honest. If you list 'Windows 95 expert' on a cloud engineering resume, you're not showing range — you're showing age. Luna: And question three? Lucas: Question three: Can I reframe this experience in a way that points forward, not backward? For example, instead of 'managed print production,' write 'led cross-functional creative projects with tight deadlines and stakeholder alignment.' You're telling the same truth but in a direction that makes sense for a product role. Luna: I like that. It's not discarding your past — it's translating it. But what about the identity piece? I think a lot of listeners will feel like they're losing part of who they are. Lucas: That's the hardest part. I've seen people stay in careers they hate because they can't let go of the label 'I'm a journalist' or 'I'm a lawyer.' The identity is so tied to the profession that unlearning feels like a small death. Luna: And there's a social cost too. Your network knows you one way. Your LinkedIn profile says one thing. Your family introduces you as the whatever you were. Lucas: Right. And that's where career forgetting becomes a practice, not a one-time edit. You have to actively tell your new story to yourself before you can tell it to anyone else. Some people do journaling. Some rehearse their new narrative with a coach or trusted friend. Luna: That reminds me of something we've talked about before — the career journal, from episode 59. It's basically the same muscle. Lucas: Exactly. And speaking of that muscle, I want to share something that's been on my mind. We do this show every week without any ads, and we plan to keep it that way. No sponsors, no commercials, no interruptions. Luna: It's one of the things I'm proudest of about Fexingo. Listeners come here for clear, honest advice, not for a pitch between every segment. Lucas: So if this show has helped you — maybe you used the forgetting audit to rewrite your resume, or you're considering a pivot — and you want to support that ad-free mission, there's a simple way. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, no subscription, just a way to keep the episodes clean and focused on you. Luna: And we genuinely mean that. No guilt. Just if the show adds value, that link is there. Lucas: Alright, back to forgetting. Let's talk about the research that backs this up. Besides the Kellogg study, there's a 2021 paper in the Academy of Management Journal that looked at career transitions among IT professionals. They found that those who actively 'unlearned' legacy systems and processes were three times more likely to be promoted within two years of a pivot. Luna: Three times? That's huge. So forgetting isn't just about getting your foot in the door — it's about accelerating once you're in. Lucas: Exactly. And it makes intuitive sense. If you're carrying old mental models, you'll try to fit the new role into your old framework. You'll solve today's problems with yesterday's solutions. Forgetting clears the deck. Luna: But what about the opposite scenario? What if your old skills actually come back into style? Like, I've seen a resurgence in print design for luxury brands. Lucas: That's a fair point. Forgetting doesn't mean burning bridges. It means putting things in storage. You can always retrieve them later. The key is that you're the one choosing what to highlight based on the role in front of you. Luna: So it's less 'delete forever' and more 'archive intentionally.' Lucas: Exactly. And I think one of the most powerful things you can do is create a 'career attic' — a document that holds all the skills, projects, and accolades you're not currently leading with. That way you don't feel like you're erasing your history. You're just not displaying it in the main gallery right now. Luna: I love that. It takes the anxiety out of the decision because you're not losing anything permanently. Lucas: Right. And here's one more practical tip: when you're applying for a role, look at the job description and pull out the five most important skills or experiences. Then look at your resume. If anything in your resume doesn't support those five, ask yourself if it's helping or hurting. Luna: And if it's neutral at best, cut it. Because neutral is actually negative — it's wasting space that could tell a forward-looking story. Lucas: Exactly. So for anyone listening who's stuck in a career they've outgrown, or feels like their resume is a museum of past selves, I'd encourage you to try the forgetting audit this week. Pick one thing to archive. See how it feels. Luna: And if you do it, we'd love to hear how it went. You can reach us on the Fexingo website. Lucas: Until next time, here's to making room for what's next.