Changing jobs, retraining, is a stimulating prospect, but one fraught with pitfalls. Many executives and managers embark on a new career. professional retrainingThey are convinced that a fresh start will solve everything, convinced that their skills and experience will be enough to make this transition a success. Yet there are many pitfalls in making the transition from dream to reality, whether it's training to change sector, starting your own business, or becoming a civil servant when you've been employed. Lack of preparation, poor communication of your profile, the silent shock of change, or even a lack of long-term vision: these pitfalls are more common than you might think, and some of them are underestimated. They can slow down or even compromise your project.
This article looks at these main mistakes and gives you the keys to avoiding them, so that you can make a lasting success of your changeover.
Contents
- The 6 most common mistakes
- The 4 most underestimated errors
- How can you use LinkedIn and your network to change careers?
- How can you try out a new job with as little risk as possible?
The 6 most common mistakes
1. Rushing in without a clear strategy
The temptation is sometimes strong: you leave your job on a whim, convinced that the grass is greener elsewhere. I've seen too many professionals resign from their current position without any specific plan, thinking that their talent alone would suffice.
This exposes them to two main problems:
They have not tested their project in parallel, for example through voluntary work or in the form of a "side-project". A project may look perfect on paper but turn out to be very different in practice. Not testing your career plan in real or close conditions is a common mistake.
And they have not drawn up a financial plan to ensure a smooth professional transition. A temporary drop in income is often accepted, but insufficient planning can create long-term difficulties. The result: financial stress, doubt and the risk of going back to square one.
Leaving your job without a plan means having a lot of hope... and no strategy!
2. Ignoring your true motivations
I've also met people who change career paths for the wrong reasons, whether it's to get away from a manager they don't get on with, to look first and foremost for a better salary, or to follow a trend ("everything would be better if I was self-employed...").
Without having identified their values and what makes them tick.
Without asking the question: what am I REALLY enthusiastic about?
Without having talked to professionals in the sector they are targeting to understand the reality on the ground.
Changing career isn't just about escaping a job that bores you, it's about building a future that inspires you. The problem is: if your career change isn't based on your deepest aspirations, it won't last in the long term. I think back to a finance executive I worked with about 1 year after his failed career transition. He had left his stressful job to become a freelance consultant, thinking he would gain more freedom. Six months later, he realised that he hated prospecting and taking on the day-to-day responsibility of his business alone. It was another six months before he contacted me: he had returned to the company totally frustrated and was struggling to reintegrate.
3. Underestimating the learning curve
Changing profession is not just about transferring skills. Each sector has its own codes, challenges and jargon. Many people think that their experience will be enough to master everything quickly. Not so! Retraining means becoming a learner again.
This means accepting that you're just starting out again, even after a brilliant career. You may even need to do some serious training before taking the plunge, depending on your career path (for example, if you want to become a professional coach!). And for others, finding a mentor to guide you.
This was the case for the client of one of my coach friends: she had been a sales manager in a large group, and had decided to go into the pastry business, which was her passion, thinking that her management skills would be enough. But between mastering the techniques, the logistics and the competition in the area in which she had set up shop, she quickly realised that she hadn't anticipated the effort involved in adapting... and that she needed to be accompanied as she learnt about her new professional life.
Similarly, many people believe that once the conversion confirmedapprenticeships come to an end. However, we must constantly adapt to changes in the market, without neglecting to continually upgrade our skills.
4. Neglecting your network and your image
Many people make the mistake of believing that a well-done CV is all it takes to change career easily. In reality, the overwhelming majority (80 %?) of opportunities come from networking, from people you know. Too many executives don't communicate about their career transition with those around them, aren't active on LinkedIn, don't identify the influential players in their future sector, don't connect with them and don't interact with their future professional community.
This is the best way to find yourself alone in the job market, with no opportunities, no job leads and no future customers.
5. Wanting to do everything on your own
Do you think you have to manage everything yourself? Do you refuse to ask for help? Do you bypass voluntary associations or support groups to help you succeed? (and I'm not even talking about the services of professional coaches whose job it is!) Don't want to surround yourself with people who have already made a successful transition?
Retraining takes time, skills and methodology. A successful career change relies on advice and feedback... If you don't agree to delegate certain tasks to avoid exhaustion, you'll be juggling "production", "administrative paperwork", "sales" and "strategic management of your business". And you'll find out the hard way how your days (and weekends) will be eaten up!
6. Not adapting your professional discourse
Some candidates who are changing careers and applying in their new sector still present themselves with their old professional identity, which blurs their message.
An example of what not to do? If you are, say, a financial director and you want to become an HR manager. After the appropriate training, you start looking for a job. During job interviews, what happens if, out of habit, you insist on your mastery of figures and your experience in performance management... and you forget to demonstrate your sensitivity to human issues and to developing the skills of your staff and teams? Recruiters won't see you as a future HR director, but as a financier who wants to 'tinker' with HR.
Instead, it would be wiser to prepare your interviews by reformulating your experience with transferable skills, saying, for example, that your strategic approach to human resources enables you to optimise employee development and align HR policy with the company's business vision. And to highlight relevant experiences of interactions with HR teams, using a vocabulary and storytelling that are adapted to HR. In other words, you don't have to retrace your entire career path, but prioritise the most relevant elements in line with your new career aspirations.
The 4 most underestimated errors
1. Not taking into account the impact on those around you
Changing career affects not only yourself, but also those around you.
You don't discuss it openly with those close to you before making a decision. This can lead to a good deal of unnecessary extra stress.
You don't work out an action plan with your partner to ensure a smooth financial transition while your professional situation stabilises. You realise too late that your spouse is not comfortable with the financial instability of the career change project, which creates conflict.
In short, you're neglecting the impact of support from family and friends. A change of career affects your life balance, and those around you can be an ally... or a hindrance.
2. Overestimate your ability to manage uncertainty
Retraining often involves a period of uncertainty where not everything is clear from the outset. How many people don't accept that doubt is part of the process? How many don't set clear, realistic milestones? How many don't work on their adaptability in preparation for their transition?
After three months without a customer, it's hard not to panic when you become a solopreneur. And as soon as the first difficulties arise, you give up, because you weren't prepared, or weren't prepared properly, for this temporary limbo, and you avoided asking yourself the right questions about your conversion path and your new professional environment.
3. Underestimating the emotional transition
Changing career also means going through a form of mourning: for your status, your expertise, your habits. Some people get discouraged at the first sign of difficulty, due to a lack of psychological preparation.
I'm thinking back to a marketing manager I met in an association that helps managers retrain, who lost confidence in herself and ended up doubting her decision to become a digital project manager in a large company. She was very enthusiastic about the idea of exploring this new field and underestimated the shock of change. She went from managing a team to being an individual contributor, with no direct authority over her projects. And although she was used to being recognised as an expert in marketing, for a long time she felt like a beginner asking lots of questions.
Retraining, even if you remain an employee, can be a shock to your identity. Changing from a position of knowing to that of learner is not easy. You need to prepare for this change mentally as well as technically, without neglecting the psychological aspect. Finding an internal mentor to provide support and structure your learning process can be a very useful boost.
4. Not anticipating long-term effects
A successful transition is not a sprint, but a marathon with strategic checkpoints. I'm thinking of two important elements in anticipating the long-term effects of a transition project:
First: don't regularly review your strategy. A career change is not a fixed plan. Those who refuse to adjust their approach in the face of unforeseen circumstances often end up in a dead end in terms of professional integration. It's like sailing without a compass, hoping to reach your destination safely!
But also: don't anticipate fatigue or changes in your aspirations. What motivates us today may no longer suit us in 5 or 10 years' time. Retraining also means accepting the idea of evolving again.
How can you use LinkedIn and your network to change careers?
LinkedIn now has over 30 million users in France (2024). It's obvious: the platform is much more than just an online CV for applying for jobs. It's the showcase for your professional experience, your digital business card, your space of influence. Yet many people settle for a basic profile and hope that opportunities will come their way. This is the wrong strategy! If you don't look after your image on LinkedIn, you'll be invisible in an ultra-connected world.
For professional retraining, it is useful :
- Optimise your profile with a professional photo, an attractive banner and a catchy headline that reflects your new direction
- Write a convincing summary highlighting your transferable skills using keywords relevant to your new field. An example? "Marketing expert switching to business development | Results-oriented creative strategist".
- Tell your story. Your career change is unique, so make it your strength by explaining the "why" behind your change of direction, highlighting your adaptability and motivation, and illustrating your skills with concrete examples. For example, it might look something like this: "After 10 years in finance, I discovered my passion for sustainable innovation. Today, I put my analytical expertise to work on eco-responsible projects.
- Publish regularly, sharing your thoughts and experiences on your transition
LinkedIn also lets you see the power of your network, so you can stop applying endlessly on anonymous platforms. Because your next opportunity may already be in your network. But if you don't activate it, no one will come looking for you.
How do you go about it?
- Expand your network using the concentric circles strategy. To break into your new field, start by identifying influencers and experts in your target sector.
- Send personalised messages to people in your target area, and interact intelligently with them before asking them for a service, contacts or anything concrete. For example, you could send an introductory message like this: "Hi Sarah, I'm inspired by your career in AI. As a retrained data analyst, would you have a moment to chat about your experience?"
- Join themed LinkedIn groups to interact with experts, and take part in discussions by commenting on posts by opinion leaders that will open up even more professional forums for you.
- Concentrate on the right contacts, by being strategic. Having more than 500 connections is useless if they are not relevant. It's better to find the right allies.
LinkedIn is a powerful tool, but it only works if you actively engage with it. Publish, interact, dare to contact strangers by making yourself visible.
How can you try out a new job with as little risk as possible?
Changing career does not necessarily mean abandoning everything overnight. It's essential to test out your future life project and your new profession before committing yourself fully to it, to minimise the risks of your career change. Because changing career without testing your project is like buying a car without testing it: big risks guaranteed!
How can you turn your curiosity into a concrete opportunity, without compromising your current stability?
- To do this, you can try voluntary work or one-off assignments. For example, if you want to become a CSR consultant, you could offer to support a small voluntary organisation on a voluntary basis to see if the job appeals to you.
- You can also try your dream job as a side-project. If you dream of becoming a photographer, for example, it might be a good idea to start with weekend shoots.
- You should also try immersive training courses such as bootcamps or online formats that involve real-life situations. I recently met someone who discovered his passion for UX design by taking part in virtual hackathons at the weekend. Without leaving his job, he was able to build up an impressive portfolio... with just a few hours less sleep at the weekends!
- You can also turn your network into a laboratory of opportunities, by reverse networking. For example, by taking part in "reverse mentoring" to learn from juniors in your target sector. Or by taking part in reverse job dating, where companies introduce themselves to you.
- If you get on well with your company, you can negotiate "intrapreneurship", i.e. internal exploration. Your current employer can be your best ally if you propose an innovative project linked to your new area of interest, either by asking for a temporary rotation in another department, or by creating an official "side project" within your company. This is what one of my customers, who trained as an accountant, did when she set up a financial digitisation project within her company. This enabled her to develop her IT project management skills while remaining with her company, without changing her professional status.
- Alongside these experiences, you can also use your free time to start building your new professional identity by launching a blog or podcast on your new area of expertise. For example, I came across an engineer's YouTube channel on industrial ecology. He talks about how it took him about a year to start being a recognised content creator, which opened the door to a career change as a sustainable development consultant.
All these avenues will help you explore new professional territory while keeping your feet on the ground. Remember: the key is to act with intention and strategy.
In conclusion
You can't improvise a career change. What's the key? Strategic preparation, good self-knowledge and a solid network. Because a successful career change is not just about choosing the right career, but also about thorough psychological, strategic and financial preparation.
