Pivot! How Recruiters Can Help Job seekers Navigate Career Changes

The world of work no longer follows the same old career timeline of: school → tertiary education → life sentence with one company. Particularly in white collar industries, it’s now very rare that an employee will get the gold watch for thirty years of loyalty to an organisation. Most people in the corporate world today will change jobs every two years and nine months on average, so they’re very unlikely to start and end their career working for the same company.  

This shift has given rise to the career pivot trend, opening doors for everyone involved. Candidates are discovering roles that match their evolving goals, employers are gaining adaptable and forward-thinking talent, and recruiters are solidifying their value as strategic partners in navigating this new job market reality.  

Why is Job-Hopping the New Norm?  

There are plenty of good reasons for job-hopping. Job security, work-life balance, burnout, and higher salary growth.  Another is the growing need for candidates to accrue a wide range of experience and skills to get ahead. 

It’s no longer just a perk for a candidate to be a jack of many trades, but an expectation. 

While the employment market of today has more *kinds* of roles than in previous generations, there is also a lot more competition. Candidates are rarely hired for just one skill or role, and employers are starting to look for that certain X-factor when bringing aboard their new hires.   

This is the challenge set for recruiters, to find the roles best suited to candidates in a job market which no longer expects candidates to do just what is printed on a job description. But that also means that jobseekers are no longer defined by what exactly is printed on their CV: there is scope for a role to be moulded around the skills and experiences of a candidate at earlier stages of their career.   

When recruiters rise to this challenge, the rewards are immense. Candidates feel valued for their unique skills, fostering trust and loyalty, while employers appreciate the ability to find adaptable talent that fits their evolving needs. We become problem solvers who are indispensable in an ever-changing job market.

No matter what rung of the corporate ladder a candidate stands upon, moving to a new field is always going to be a turbulent process. While new jobseekers will be shifting roles at a higher rate to accrue as much industry experience as they can across a range of organisations, it’s not just Millennials and Zoomers shifting roles every few years.

Late Stage Career Pivots 

While nearly a third of under-30s are looking at a career change, there is also plenty of migration in the more seasoned end of the candidate pool.  

Evolving industries and technology advances are often the biggest drivers of late-stage career pivots, as older career climbers may find their hard skills becoming outdated. For others, a very physically demanding career may need to be transitioned into more stationary work due to aches and pains. Finding the right way to translate skills across roles or industries is crucial to maintaining a sense of purpose for these candidates. 

Change of pace also plays a role, with many late-career professionals having spent decades in high-stress roles. New positions that offer better work/life balance, or less demanding performance metrics can be appealing to those in the workforce who have pulled in the hard graft for years.   

Another reason why a candidate might make a late-start career change is the pursuit of a lifelong dream. The rat race of early-stage career development often means that passion is pushed to the wayside by the financial realities of early adulthood.   

Once professionals reach a certain stage of financial freedom, they may find themselves better able to pursue a passion – as a consultant in a non-profit organisation, for instance – or moving to more casual work.  

For candidates, the challenge of where to go and what to do next is the hardest part of the process. As recruiters, it’s your job to help point them in the right direction. By breaking down the key learnings of what they’ve done in previous roles, and where they want to go next, you can be the instrumental factor in helping a candidate make a successful career pivot.   

How Recruiters Can Help Jobseekers Navigate a Career Change 

As a recruiter, guiding candidates through career pivots isn’t just about helping them, it’s also key to your success. Jobseekers navigating transitions need more support than ever, and the recruiters who provide it build stronger reputations, deeper client relationships, and long-term career growth. This is how you become the go-to recruiter for both candidates and clients.   

Entry-Level Jobseekers  

• Guidance and mentorship: for those newly emerging on the job market, you’ll help guide new grads and corporate newbies toward roles that play to their natural passions. You can recognise their transferable skills and how best to underline them in job applications.
• Insights into the employment market: with extensive industry knowledge, you have unique insights into current hiring trends. This insight is vital for junior candidates finding high-value opportunities across a range of sectors.

Mid-Career Professionals

• Skill mapping and CV tailoring: as candidates accrue more experience in a range of roles, it can be hard to streamline those skills into one clear narrative. This is where a recruiter can translate a career of seemingly disparate roles into one unified showcase of professional development.
• Interview coaching and pitch prep: with a stronger idea of their preferred industries, a recruiter can guide jobseekers to tailor their interview style. Boiling down their experience into a succinct, compelling pitch is an important factor of mid-stage career growth.

Late-Stage Career Pivots

• Networking refreshers: recruiters have a wealth of contacts at their disposal, allowing late-stage professionals to really focus on their specialist interests in more specific fields. These large networks ensure a candidate can be made aware of a role even if it’s not publicly advertised. 
• Strategic skills positioning: jobseekers at the senior end of the corporate ladder bring with them some very niche skills, making them valuable candidates for a range of positions. A recruiter can leverage these skills and strategically place them within desired industries.  

The challenge for any jobseeker, no matter how far along they are in the world of work, is recognising what they’re best suited to. This is where a recruiter can make the difference, elevating a candidate beyond a surface-level perspective of their skills and enabling them to see the bigger picture.

Career Pivots Are a Win-Win for Recruiters

Career pivots present a unique opportunity for recruiters to enhance their role as strategic connectors and job market experts. By embracing candidates transitioning into new fields, recruiters gain access to a broader, more diverse talent pool. This can help fill those hard-to-fill roles and meet client needs in emerging or underserved industries.

As industries evolve and demand for adaptable, multi-skilled workers increases, recruiters who champion career pivots position themselves as invaluable partners to both clients and candidates, ensuring their relevance and success in an ever-changing job market.