How to transition to a new industry without starting over

"Transitioning to a new industry often seems like a daunting prospect if you feel like you have to start from scratch, but that's not necessarily the case. There are numerous strategies you can employ to navigate career changes, including translating existing achievements into relevant terms, finding unique opportunity gaps, and leveraging transferable skills in meaningful ways. Take it from professionals who have personally experienced this transition (or have helped others through it): you can build forward from experience rather than starting over."

"When I was transitioning from more than 20 years in corporate roles to launching my own business, I told a colleague I felt like I was starting over. "Why couldn't I have done this at 20," I said, "before spending decades building all this other experience? It feels like I've hit reset on my career momentum, and the mountain ahead looks huge." She smiled. "You're facing your version of Everest," she said. "But you're starting at base camp, thousands of feet above where others begin.""

Career changes can leverage prior experience rather than requiring a restart. Translate past achievements into language relevant to the target industry, identify unique opportunity gaps, and apply transferable skills in new contexts. Reframe accumulated experience as an advantage—starting from a higher base camp with practical skills, relationships, and knowledge. Evaluate overlaps in problems, revenue models, customer relationships, and supply chains to map applicable strengths. Do homework using AI and informational interviews with people who have made similar jumps. Research, network, and translate existing capabilities into the new field to build forward rather than beginning from scratch.

Read at Fast Company