I spent the majority of my career working in Student Affairs.  Student Affairs was great for my personal and professional development.  After 17 years working in SA, it was time for a change.  I knew the career change would be difficult, but I did not know how difficult.

My goal was to find a job working for a company that was in the higher education industry, just not a college or university.  I had a great job so I did not need to be in a hurry.  I was highly selective about the companies and jobs I was looking for.  This made the process much more challenging.  I had to spend time researching the plethora of companies out there.  I looked at both .com and .org type companies.  What I found was while there were many companies out there, they were typically smaller and did not have the job or the job level I was looking for.

Finally, I got an interview with a company that does predictive analytics for education, primarily higher ed.  I was excited about it.  I went through a basic interview with a recruiter and was then passed along to the vice president, who was the hiring manager.  We had a great conversation.  He said that he was impressed with what I had to say, but he had been burned by higher ed professionals in the past.  He told me that unfortunately higher ed people don’t have the sense of urgency needed to work for a startup company.  We talked more about it and he agreed that I seemed to be different but he wanted me to talk to a few others in the organization.  I agreed.  Two weeks went by and nothing.  I did a soft reach out but it yielded nothing.

While waiting to hear back, I was contacted by someone I met a year prior.  She sent me a job description for a company that is looking to close the education to employment gap on a global level.  I was really interested in what this group was doing so I sent her my resume.  Two weeks and one day later I had a job offer.  I decided this was the right opportunity to make the leap.  It has been seven months, and I am still excited about what I am doing and glad I took the chance.

The funny thing is that the day before I got the offer from my new employer, I got an email from the other company.  They had another job that they thought I would be a better fit for.  I was flattered, but let them know I was in the final stages of a process with another company.

While it may seem like this was a quick process, I assure you that this took me almost a year to make this happen.  Between doing the research and applying for jobs and interviewing and being hired, it just took time.

If you ever find yourself in this position, here are a few tips:

• Do your homework – Know what type of job or industry you are looking to move to and research them.
• Network – If you are not using LinkedIn, change that.  Business cards are static and people move on.  LinkedIn is more dynamic and allows you to reach out to people to find opportunities.  Also, if you are on LinkedIn, be sure to stay in touch with your contacts.  While a business tool, it is still a social network.
• Fix your resume – Take out higher ed jargon.  It doesn’t always translate outside of the industry.
• Don’t assume – Don’t assume that your transferable skills will be coveted.  You will need to earn the positions for which you are applying.
• Persevere – It will take time, but if you are committed to the career change, it will happen for you.
• Don’t settle – Find the role you want in the industry you want to work in.  Don’t settle for less.
• Enjoy it – The process is challenging, but it should also be fun.  You are about to embark on something great for yourself.  Enjoy it.

It is a big world out there with many opportunities.  Go get yours!

> BONUS <

Podcast With Gamification in Higher Ed & Student Affairs with Stacy Jacob & Dave Eng