Lessons Learned From My Second Career Change

When I finished graduate school and went to work in program management for a global government contractor, I had to start over and take an entry level job at 28 and a massive pay cut, but I was excited to be working in my new field. What I didn’t anticipate were the aspects of the job I enjoyed, the aspects I was good at, and the aspects I completely sucked at.

My second career change from program management to recruitment in the international development sector was unexpected, but looking back on it, made complete sense. This is what is called a partial career change - applying transferrable skills to a new sector or job function. This is the more common type of career change that professionals embark on because it often doesn’t entail going back to school or additional technical training, although it might.

These are the lessons I learned from my second and partial career change that happened over a two-year period. 

1.     What you think you will be good at may be very different than what you’re actually good at

I couldn’t have been happier to land a program associate job with a well-known government contractor working in the international development space after a painstaking seven-month job search post grad school. I always saw myself working in program management, so I considered myself fortunate to be heading in the direction I planned for. I knew long hours were a part of the company’s culture and there was a steep learning curve for those new to government contracting. I was ready for it.

What I didn’t realize was those longs hours were attributed to the different roles program team members are required to take on in addition to their day-to-day program management responsibilities. Program management entails multi-tasking at its highest form across functions including operations, staff performance and hiring, report writing and communications, contracts and compliance, and client and external program partner management. In addition to these daily functions, I also supported department operations and business development roles.

The workload was intense and overwhelming. With that said, I performed well and was promoted twice in a two-year period. I consistently worked 60 hours a week and the job involved a lot of politicking and jockeying for highly coveted travel assignments and new business roles with high visibility with senior management. I felt like I was drowning. I even got shingles (an infection typically reserved for those 60 years old and over) within my first six months as a result of stress. I was burnt out with no end in sight. 

I learned I wasn’t equipped to handle the stress and multi-tasking involved with program management. However, during this time I did discover I was very good at business development and specifically one of the many roles required when putting together a USAID proposal – key personnel recruitment. It was a role typically delegated to entry and junior-level staff, but what never made sense to me was that junior staff with little to no technical knowledge were tasked with headhunting senior professionals with 15+ years of experience that were considered experts in their field. To no fault of their own, junior staff weren’t trained on how to sell the company to a senior expert. This was something I had a knack for given my years working in client services in the advertising industry.

Not only was I good at this type of recruitment – I really enjoyed it. I loved hearing about the latest interventions and innovations from the experts themselves and helping my company win multi-million dollar contracts by attracting the best and brightest in their field to be a part of our winning strategy.

While I was kicking ass at recruitment, I felt like I wasn’t getting any better at my other job functions and wasn’t able to handle the stress and workload. I also didn’t see a way forward for my career at my current company. It was time to embark on my second career change and do what I enjoy AND what I’m good at.

Throughout your career you may discover you aren’t suited for the job you want. That’s ok. I learned I wasn’t a particularly strong program manager, but I was fortunate the job introduced me to a skill I am good at, and I recognized that quickly enough for me to change careers. Again.

2.     The more desperate you are to get out of your current job, the likelier you are to take the first job that comes along (even if it’s a bad one)

Desperate doesn’t even begin to describe how badly I wanted to get out of my government contracting job. I knew I wanted to transition into recruitment full-time for an international development company, and a former co-worker had referred me to a friend of a friend at another contractor that was looking for a recruiter. It was a much smaller company and I didn’t know much about them, but I had just been assigned to a new business role at my current job that I couldn’t bear to take on. The pressure for me to find another job quickly intensified.

I took the interview at the small company. The team members seemed apathetic throughout the interview and the recruitment manager through veiled phrases and body language tried to convince me not to take the job. When I spoke to the head of their business development team, they were less than inspiring and it felt like they just wanted a warm body to fill the position. I convinced myself that it was a one-off, weird interview experience. Like I said, I was desperate. I took the job.

From my first day at the new gig, it was all wrong. The recruitment manager I had interviewed with just two weeks earlier had quit. The business development manager who I interviewed with and would be working with on a regular basis, didn’t even acknowledge me my first week (and it was a small office).

I privately reached out to the recruitment manager who had recently quit to find out what happened. They candidly told me everything that was wrong with the company and advised me I had small window to get out, if I wanted, without ever having to put the job on my resume. They even referred me to another company that was hiring a recruiter.

I was gone in a month, and to this day, I still don’t list this job on my resume. It is the job that shall never be named and a lesson I’ll never forget.

As much as possible, start your job search before you get to the desperation stage because you may make a hasty choice that is worse than your current situation.

3.     It’s ok to take a “layover” job for a brief rest

The next job I took after the job that shall not be named was a good one. It was a small not-for-profit where I continued to recruit staff for USAID proposals. It was an easy job with good pay and benefits, normal work hours, and friendly team members.

There was no opportunity for growth in my role even though I had several conversations with my manager on what it would take to get promoted. I also didn’t feel like senior management was equipped to lead the level of growth the company was targeting.

The job was the equivalent of taking a nice, lazy bike ride down the boardwalk along the beach for a few miles – going back and forth, enjoying the views until you eventually get bored of seeing the same people, the same shops, the same views.

 As they say, “when you’re comfortable, it’s time to get uncomfortable.”  

I was approaching two years at the job and had been in DC for five. I was ready for a change in location as well as job. It was time to ramp up my career again and get the hell out of DC.

If you’re coming out of a particularly tumultuous, exhausting, toxic professional situation, it’s ok to take a break – whether it be time away from the workforce or like me, a job you know will be a breezy layover until you get to your next destination. Just be mindful not to get too comfortable or too complacent if you’re someone who values career growth.

4.     Opportunity lies where your skills are in demand

As a general career rule of thumb, you want to equip yourself with in-demand skills to have the most opportunities.

I was exposed to recruitment from my program management role. I certainly didn’t predict how much the USAID contracting space would grow and how in-demand proposal recruiters would be to support that growth.  There’s also high turnover among recruiters, so it’s hard to find good recruiters that stick around.

When I was about to quit my easy, breezy layover job and move to California I was approached by two well-known competitors in my industry for a senior recruiter role on their team. I now had options between two reputable companies where I would be valued. Not only that, I was able to negotiate working remote from California.

I can’t say this would have been possible if there were more experienced recruiters with my skill set in my particular sector. I had found my niche.

There will be aspects of your career you can plan for and navigate seamlessly but be prepared for curve balls that present serendipitous opportunities for you to reconsider your strengths and career goals.