Interviewing When Making a Job Pivot Can Be Brutal

HR professionals are concerned you may not be fully committed to your new role and would be more likely to leave the company if you are not satisfied.

You might find yourself facing tough questions like this one,

“Why are you interested in this job? It looks like most of your career has been spent in XYZ field?”

During your interview, you’ll need to convince the hiring team that your decision is well thought out and makes sense for THEM. During your interview highlight:

1. How you took on extra projects at your current company to stretch yourself in transferable areas.

Ex- You are in Sales and moving to a Content Writer role. Explain how you volunteered to blog for your company and give examples.

2. How you tackled volunteer opportunities to build needed skills.

Maybe you are a member of a professional organization and managed social media accounts on multiple platforms to learn more about digital marketing and SEO optimization.  

3. How fired up you get about the work you do that aligns with their job duties. Feel free to explain how these activities give you energy and purpose. What is your soul calling you to move toward?

4. How your strengths align with their job. Build the bridge for them.

Even if most of your career has been spent in Marketing and you are pivoting to Human Resources, your strengths in conflict resolution, communication, and using technology will be essential.

5. How you have gained new knowledge and strengthened existing skills. What classes have you taken? What certifications did you earn? Have you attended workshops or conferences?

6. How you have done your due diligence, interviewing people in your new field to learn more about that working in this field/industry/role entails.

7. How you will work hard to overcome some learning time. Will you come in early, stay late, and bring manuals home to learn the products? Let them know you’ll put effort in to hit the ground running as quickly as possible.

8. How your past job duties, experience solving challenging problems, or expertise working with particular vendors/customers is an ASSET. How does your prior experience differentiate you from your competition?

9. How proud you are that you are making this move. Own it and celebrate it!

It’s ok to admit that you are taking a bit of a risk by pivoting, and that you understand this is out of the norm. Interviewers will be hesitant, and it’s your job to prove to your interviewer that this is a well-thought-out decision and you will be worth the risk.