We recently had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the Power to Fly community on our first ever, partnered Live Chat (check out the recording!). Not only did we get to share our “Getting out of your OH F*CK Career Moment” 5-step framework, but we also answer a lot of your questions, live during the session. The caliber of questions was outstanding so we are sharing a few here.

Not familiar with our awesome partner? Power to Fly was founded by Milena Berry and Katharine Zaleski in 2014 to connect Fortune 500 companies and fast growing startups with women who are looking to work for companies that value gender diversity and inclusion. They are building the platform to propel diversity recruiting and hiring (and they are a team of awesome humans).

Have a question we didn’t answer below? Email us at hello@thecrabwalk.com!

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Q&A

How do you convince a future employer you can do a job when your past job titles do not match the open position?

In our experience, job titles are mattering less and less - for one, they're not standard across companies or industries any longer. So, don't let that stop you. What can you say about your past experience that demonstrates not only that you are currently a great fit for this open position, but also shows that you will be able to learn and adapt to any new challenges or skills required?

Do you have tips on motivating myself to apply to jobs during busy season at my current job?

I am a huge fan of time blocking which means not only that you schedule a specific block of time to focus on applying to jobs, but also putting a time limit on it! For me, it's less helpful to put time on the calendar to complete a task (especially one as wide open as this!) without an end time. Without this took, I often feel like "I don't know when I've done enough." Knowing there is an end time provides a forcing function for me to be as efficient with that time as possible (i.e., not turn to twitter, instagram, or anything else that distracts me)! Even if it's only 20 minutes every day or 2 hours a week, schedule the time and you'll be surprised how much you can get done!

While navigating a career pivot, what are your thoughts on deciding whether to stay in your current job while searching for another job versus leaving to pursue your transition full time?

The situation is unique for everyone. A few questions to ask yourself to determine which of those 2 options are best for you: 

• Do you do well with unstructured time (because you'll have a lot of it if you quit cold turkey)? 

• What can you afford financially? 

• Do you think that your current employer/colleagues would be a material help to you in this search (if so, maybe it's time to tell them that you're leaving - maybe that doesn't mean you have to run out the door though)? 

• A third option..could you find a part-time gig? Either asking your current employer to hire you in a consulting capacity, finding some side gigs, or getting an arbitrary job? This could alleviate some financial burden and also provide some structure. 

When transitioning to a drastically new industry, role, or experience level, how do you best think one can explain that when applying for roles in which you are senior in other non-related fields and don’t want the “overqualified” or “non enough applicable experience” filter applied to you when it’s too late for internships to get time under your belt?

Let's go back one step. How can you get warmly connected to the companies that you're applying to? Do you have a 2nd or 3rd degree connection on LinkedIn with any current employees of those companies? Or, can you mine your own network to find them? If you can make contact with a human being at the company as opposed to solely relying on paper (i.e., resume + cover letter) to represent you, you'll have a much better chance of making your case. We have some structured exercises to help you uncover who’s already in your network and how to reach out to them for help: The 5-Step Crabwalk Framework: How to leverage who you already know to help you move forward in your career.

Is there a "normal" time frame for making a career shift?

Nope! Definitely no prescribed time frame. A couple of thoughts: 

1) When are you aiming to make a transition? Say it's 9 months - set smaller, digestible goals to help you meet that ideal date. What do you want to learn or do in the next 30 days that would make a big difference for you in this search? 

2) You're going to have moments of "I feel stuck" during this process. We all do. So, who can you talk to and what can you do when you get stuck? If you have a plan in advance for how to get yourself "unstuck", then you will not get in your own way of hitting your goals!

Should there be an objective at the top of a resume? Or a brief summary of yourself or should you just jump into experience/achievements?

Do you have a single, specific objective that you want to communicate to employers? If yes, definitely include it! It will help ensure that you're filtering out irrelevant opportunities that might take a lot of energy and time to vet and respond to otherwise. But, if you don't have a single, specific objective, don't spend your energy trying to fake one!

Have another question?

Did this spark a question in your mind that’s not answered here? Email us at hello@thecrabwalk.com and we’ll be sure to answer! Or, sign up for our newsletter to hear about our upcoming free live chats or webinars.

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