The Career Pivot Playbook: Design Before You Leap

Career pivoting is a strategic move—not a reset button. It’s about leveraging existing skills and experience to shift into a new role, industry, or field without starting from scratch.

The idea most often surfaces during moments of workplace distress. Being overworked, underpaid, or stuck under poor management can push even the most talented professionals to consider taking their career in a new direction.

In many cases, dissatisfaction doesn’t stem from the role itself, but from a misalignment between a person’s values and the way their work shows up in daily life.

Erin Erwin, BA’02, MS’04, director of career education at the IU Walter Center for Career Achievement, says she sees this scenario often.

“The first thing I do if someone says they want to pivot is gain an understanding of what's driving that decision,” she explains. “I need to understand the problem that we're solving so that we don't go change jobs and realize, ‘Oh, my life doesn’t look any better than what it looked like before.’”

Here’s how Erwin recommends approaching a career pivot—from assessing the risks to making a compelling case for yourself.

Understand the Risks

Erwin cautions that career pivots shouldn’t be taken lightly. They often demand significant investments of time—and sometimes money—and can be especially difficult in an employer’s market like the one we’re seeing today.

“We're in an economy where organizations are being cautious,” she explains. “If the unemployment rate is higher, you have more people looking for jobs, which makes it easier for an employer to say, ‘Well, I'm only going to hire the exact right person that I need.’ When it's a job seeker's market, employers are a little more open.”

Understanding the broader landscape, she says, helps set realistic expectations before taking the next step. Feeling uncertain or uncomfortable during this phase doesn’t necessarily mean a pivot is wrong—it often means you’re stretching into something new.

Experiment First

Erwin encourages exploration first in the pivot process. She subscribes to the philosophy taught in Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’ book Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, which frames career shifts not as dramatic, irreversible leaps, but as thoughtfully designed experiments.

Rather than quitting a job to chase a loosely defined passion, the book encourages people to prototype potential paths through small, low-risk actions like informational interviews, freelance projects, side gigs, or short-term commitments.

“To identify lives that are going to be really satisfying, we need to imagine many possibilities, not just go with our first idea,” Erwin says.

Start With a Single Change

Trying to change too much at once can quickly become overwhelming, which is why Erwin prefers focusing on a single variable when pivoting.

“I always tell clients, ‘Let's only change one item.’ If you want to change location, let's stay in the same industry. If you want to change industry, let's do it within our location because we can build a network,” she explains.

Limiting the scope of change, Erwin says, makes a pivot more manageable—and more sustainable.

Build Trust

As the direction of a pivot becomes clearer, relationships become increasingly important. Networking is a critical tool for all job seekers, but it’s especially essential for those making a non-linear move.

“Anytime we're making a transition that is not direct, networking becomes that much more important because you need to get people emotionally invested in your story and what you have to offer,” Erwin explains.

Taking your time with a career transition offers real benefits. It allows you to explore potential paths while forming authentic connections with people inside organizations you’re interested in. Volunteering, job shadowing, or serving on a board can help establish trust and credibility long before you submit an application.

Rethink Remote Work

For career pivoters, Erwin suggests avoiding remote roles whenever possible. When a résumé doesn’t perfectly align with what an employer is seeking, working remotely can add another layer of difficulty.

“It's too hard. You’re saying, ‘I want you to take a chance on me, even though I may never meet you in person.’” she explains.

Being on-site, she notes, can help bridge experience gaps by fostering stronger relationships and visibility.

Make Your Case

Once you’ve settled on the direction of your pivot, it’s critical to clearly articulate your reason for making the change in job applications—and reinforce it during interviews. A career evolution isn’t something to apologize for, it’s something to explain with confidence, intention, and clarity.

Erwin says that when candidates clearly communicate the motivation behind their career change, employers are often more willing to overlook résumé gaps or unconventional experience.

She also recommends subtly acknowledging where your skill set may fall short—while emphasizing determination and work ethic.

“Never say, ‘I don't have these skills.’ Instead, showcase how you’re going to work harder than the other candidates,” Erwin says. “Tenacity isn’t visible on a résumé.”