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healthy finances<br />
ASK YOUR RECRUITER<br />
The Great Pivot<br />
By Estee Cohen<br />
<strong>Winter</strong> Issue<br />
Dear Estee,<br />
I have been in an office job<br />
for 12 years, and though it’s<br />
going fine, I really feel there is<br />
something else I could be doing.<br />
The problem is that every job<br />
I want to apply to I am either<br />
not qualified for or I don’t even<br />
get a response. Any ideas for<br />
someone who wants to make a<br />
career change?<br />
Thanks,<br />
Chanie<br />
Dear Chanie,<br />
Your situation is incredibly<br />
common but can be so frustrating!<br />
You know there’s something else<br />
out there for you but are not sure<br />
what it is nor how to get there.<br />
I get phone calls from people in<br />
this exact situation all the time.<br />
I recommend this exercise: Go<br />
through large job sites like Indeed<br />
or LinkedIn, look for jobs in your<br />
area with no filters. Take note<br />
of any job that catches your eye<br />
and makes you think “I would<br />
love that!” and write down the<br />
job title as well as the experience<br />
and education or training needed.<br />
Keep going until you have a list<br />
of at least ten different jobs. Now<br />
look for patterns. For example, if<br />
everything you’ve written down<br />
has to do with working with people<br />
or sales, then that’s a huge clue<br />
to what you’d be good at. If<br />
everything is medical based then<br />
that’s another path entirely.<br />
Once you find the pattern, narrow<br />
it down to the lowest-level position<br />
in that field or industry that you<br />
can tolerate pay wise. That is<br />
your starting point and new goal.<br />
If you need a specific license or<br />
certification to move toward your<br />
new career goal, spend a few<br />
hours researching a program or<br />
school near you. With so much<br />
being remote right now you<br />
should have many options. Make a<br />
timeline of how long it should take<br />
you to complete and get started.<br />
There is no reason to put long-term<br />
goals off; start the school application<br />
process today and you’ll get there.<br />
Even if it will take you several years<br />
to train in a new field, at some point<br />
in the future you will finish it and be<br />
so glad you did!<br />
If, however, your career goal<br />
doesn’t require training but requires<br />
experience you don’t have, one good<br />
idea is to see if your boss will let<br />
you handle a related project to gain<br />
experience. After you have at least<br />
a tiny amount of experience under<br />
your belt you can mention it in the<br />
very first bullet point under your<br />
current job title on your resume when<br />
applying for jobs.<br />
Personally, my first introduction to<br />
recruiting began when I was on the<br />
hiring committee at the school I<br />
worked for. I added that recruiting<br />
project to my resume after I fell<br />
in love with hiring, and my second<br />
career began.<br />
It’s not easy, but it’s possible!<br />
Estee Cohen has been in the recruiting<br />
industry for over a decade and has<br />
interviewed over 20,000 people and placed<br />
over 3,500 people in jobs from all sectors<br />
in over 300 companies. She is the CEO<br />
of California Job Shop, which is a thriving<br />
recruiting firm based in Los Angeles that<br />
handles permanent employee placements for<br />
companies throughout the US,<br />
not just in California. She has a<br />
master’s degree in educational<br />
administration, five amazing<br />
kids, a passion for science<br />
education and an addiction<br />
to aspartame. Follow<br />
her on Instagram.com/<br />
californiajobshop.<br />
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