MythsCareers

Does Changing Careers Mean Starting From Zero?

Career changers often underestimate what they already carry with them.

The career title changes. The capabilities may not disappear.

The myth

That changing careers requires discarding everything you have built. Your experience becomes irrelevant and you must start again from scratch.

What transfers with you

A teacher moving into corporate training may already have communication, facilitation, planning, presentation, assessment and people-development skills. A salesperson moving into recruitment may already have persuasion, relationship management, interviewing and communication capabilities.

A better understanding of career change

Career change is often better understood as: existing capability plus new knowledge plus new context — rather than nothing plus a completely new career.

The important task

The important task is identifying which capabilities transfer and which new capabilities must be developed. That analysis often reveals that the gap is smaller than the fear of starting over suggests.

See What You Already Bring to a New Direction

Penagix helps you identify your natural gifts and transferable capabilities before making a career change.

Share this insight