What I Learned Pivoting Careers (More Than Once)

I've pivoted industries more than once. Stock photography. Then specialty coffee. Then recruitment, which I moved into after relocating to Australia just over a decade ago.

On the surface, those moves look big. In reality, the underlying skills weren't changing as much as I thought - client relationships, commercial thinking, sales conversations, managing accounts. What did change was my confidence.

The first six to nine months in recruitment were harder than I expected. Deals fell over. Candidates turned down offers. And almost the final straw - one accepted, only to pull out the day before the start date. I remember thinking: I'm doing everything right. Why isn't this working?

That's the bit people don't always talk about. When you pivot mid-career, you go from being experienced and certain to learning again. Slower. Less confident. Questioning yourself. There were moments I was close to quitting.

What kept me in was this: I genuinely enjoyed the fundamentals of the job, and I was clear on why I'd made the move.

So if you're considering a pivot, expect it to be harder than you think. Expect a confidence dip. Expect outcomes that don't always reflect your effort. Expect to feel more junior than you're used to. To manage that:

• Be very clear on why you're moving.

• Speak to people already doing the role - properly, not casually.

• Look closely at the support around the job: onboarding, structure, mentors.

• Give yourself longer than you think to bed in.

Every pivot has a phase where progress feels invisible. That's usually where people turn back. If you stay long enough to move from novice to competent, the trajectory shifts. Just make sure the direction matters to you.