How Your Current Skills and Experience Can Allow You to Change Direction
A Case Study: What Does My Nespresso Coffee Machine Have To Do With Evolving WorkLives? By Which I Mean Your WorkLife Evolving
Well, quite a lot, actually.
Some years ago, I was asked to write an article on: Managing a Career in Turbulent Times for the Communication Directors Europe Magazine. I spoke about companies being more proactive towards the social pressure of protecting the environment while supporting Social Enterprise.
And so, take a company like Nespresso and their ecolaboration and sustainability programmes. It fits the company profile described above.
Is this something that you consider you would like to become involved in?
If so, you may want to examine how your current skills and experience would allow you to transition into a company/programme like this.
But there are no jobs advertised, I hear you say. That’s a mere technicality.
What I want to focus on here is how you could transition into a new role/company/programme like this (or whatever role/company/programme that is new and interesting to you), so you’re ready when you do see a job advertised or you want to speculatively approach them to express why you would be a great asset to the company.
2 Simple Steps to Transition Your WorkLife to Something New and Interesting
How Your Current Skills and Experience Can Allow You to Change Direction
Step 1. Consider your skills and experience that are transferable to a new role that is interesting to you.
Take the example of a communications specialist: now, communications are unilaterally deemed critical to the success of strategic initiatives.
Therein lies one simple but obvious reason, why armed with your expertise, you could prepare your approach to apply to a progressive company like this, when you see a role advertised, or you can speculatively approach them to show your interest to get on their radar for when the time is right for them to fill a new position.
Now you may never have worked within this specific industry, and there may be a skills gap in terms of your knowledge/skills/experience, but if you can come up with a reason why you consider yourself to be an 80% fit for the company/programme then there’s a strong chance they’ll want to meet with you and many organisations will be willing and able to support the development of that 20% gap.
This is because there has been a surge in cross-industry recruitment as employers are beginning to realise the importance of bringing in a broader range of Knowledge, skills and experience. They don’t want to miss out on the wealth of talent that is available elsewhere!
Step 2. Of course, you’re going to have to sell yourself to get them to meet with you in the first place, at which point, of course, you’ll be able to wow them and be offered the role.
So you need to communicate a strong written presentation of your knowledge, skills and experience and the value you will bring to the company in line with their development strategy, which of course you’ll have researched and as the communications specialist, you’re just the person to draft that strong speculative letter and tweak your CV accordingly. – Job Done!
Those of you out there who don’t work in communications may think that’s all fine and dandy; it’s an obvious choice for communications specialists, but how can I, coming from a background in ABC, possibly transition into this XYZ company/programme?
Well, you follow the same strategy as the communications specialist, you figure out how your knowledge, skills and experience could bring value to the company, and you research their development strategy.
Then you compile your letter and tweak your CV, now I know you’re not the communications specialist, and perhaps words don’t flow as easily (or maybe they do), but you are writing about yourself and who knows you better!.
Nespresso is just one of many companies wanting to make a difference through their ecolaboration and sustainability programmes. I choose to use them as an example because their coffee is very much part of my world.
You can research companies that have significance and meaning to you, that are making a difference on a social or another level that has meaning to you.
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POSTSCRIPT
This story was originally published on 29/4/21. I needed to republish it to add updates and also to tell you
… The Continuing Story …
The pandemic brought about a change in my WorkLife from delivering in-person individual coaching sessions and group workshops to creating resources to help people self direct their WorkLife learning.
In the last three years, I’ve published 30 books and over 200 stories.
Each book and each story is based on real life struggles and successes that people have encountered in their WorkLife. They also detail the exercises that helped navigate through these situations, which are set as assignments for readers to adapt to their WorkLife situations and learning needs.
I believe stories are a powerful mechanism for teaching, a powerful medium to learn through, and a powerful way to communicate who you are and what you stand for.
My inspiration for creating my work comes from a lifelong passion for learning. My work has taught me that the one thing in life that can never be taken away from you is your learning.
School of WorkLife Guiding Statement: To create resources that are helpful, insightful and inspiring in helping people to pursue their WorkLives with greater clarity, purpose, passion and pride by creating continuous WorkLife learning programmes and resources that are accessible to everyone.
The resources I create will help you take ownership of self directing your learning in your own space and in your own time.
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School of WorkLife helps you self-direct your WorkLife learning through resources that have been created to help you to take ownership of your learning in your own space and in your own time.
What is Self Directed Learning?
Self-Directed Learning is when an individual is motivated to take the initiative and responsibility on decisions related to their own learning. It is a series of independent actions and judgements free from external control and constraint.
Resources to Help You Self-Direct Your Learning
You may find the books below from The School of WorkLife Book Series helpful in meeting your learning needs as a self directed learner. Tap the book title to see a preview of what’s inside each book.
How To Self-Coach, Direct and Lead Effectively
How To Build Your WorkLife Around What Engages and Inspires You
How To Successfully Invent and Reinvent Yourself
Tap The School of WorkLife Book Series to view the complete collection of books. From here, you can tap on each individual title to see a preview of what’s inside each book.
Founder of School of WorkLife, Carmel O’ Reilly is a learning practitioner and writer. She creates resources to help people self-direct their WorkLife learning. These include a Collection of Books which originated from her first book, Your WorkLife Your Way and a Learn Through Reading Series of Case Studies. which originated from her latest book WorkLife Book Club.
That’s the power of writing (and reading, which is an integral part of the craft for writers). It helps you find, develop and tell the right story at the right time in all WorkLife situations – in day-to-day communication: WorkLife and feedback conversations, presentations, talks, and negotiations, at interviews, and when socialising and networking in building and maintaining good relationships. The practice of writing helps you to tell the stories that express who you are in an interesting and engaging way.