When you do not know what you want: turning experience into career options

1. Apart from the job title, write down what you have changed.

If you only have a work history of “having worked in sales” or “being in charge of projects,” it will be difficult to find connections with other jobs. This is because even within the same sales force, the person who developed new customers and the person who supported the use of the product after its introduction have different experiences.

First, choose one task that you felt was rewarding, and record it briefly in the following order.

• What situation was the other party in?
• What was I entrusted with?
• Where did you make the decision, who and what did you change?
• What has changed as a result? What hasn't been resolved?

It's not just the magnitude of the results, but also the decisions and actions that led to them. If you have “adjusted the people involved,” you can specify whether you have sorted out misaligned perceptions, determined priorities, and removed conditions that were stopping implementation. Distinguishing the accomplishments of those around you from the parts you were responsible for is also helpful in conveying your experience without too much or too little.

2. Differentiate between what you can do and what you want to continue doing.

I don't necessarily want to continue doing work that has been highly praised. There may be a slight discrepancy between the work you've been assigned because you're good at and the work you feel good about.

Once you have organized your experiences, try writing down “situations where you demonstrated your strengths” and “situations that you would like to be involved in again” separately. For example, if you are more satisfied with the process of being able to use the product on-site after implementing it than the moment the proposal is approved, the extent to which you can be involved in the results after the contract is an important condition when looking for your next job.

On the other hand, if there is a job you would like to work on even though you don't have a lot of experience, instead of canceling your hopes, check the difference between the experience and the required experience. By separating what you can already handle, what you can learn after joining, and what you can check before applying, you can get closer to options that you can consider.

3. Considering points of contact with different roles based on one experience

On the GCAP PIVOT public page, there is an example of a dialogue that captures the customer's purpose for implementation, aligns the understanding of the user department and the technical department, and delves into the experience of supporting the use after implementation.

Here, we check to see what was the most positive response to the proposal, implementation, and utilization, and what changes the person made. From there, we hypothesize the ability to organize the customer's objectives, connect parties with different expertise, and move forward with actual utilization.

You are not limited to one direction to explore.

customer success

Consider the connection with post-implementation usage and experience that supported customer outcomes. The next thing to check is to what extent the job is responsible for retention rates, sales, and utilization support.

Promotion of introduction/transformation projects

The experience of aligning objectives and roles between departments becomes a point of contact. On the other hand, experience in managing budgets, deadlines, and execution systems must be verified separately.

Partner business development

We will expand our efforts to create a system that delivers value across multiple organizations. In addition to their experience in building relationships, we look to see how much they have been responsible for starting up a business and generating revenue.

This does not mean that you can move into any profession with that experience. By separating the points of contact from the parts you haven't yet confirmed, you can specify the job opening you will read next and the person you will talk to.

4. Compare the job and conditions based on the impression of the company

Once you have your options in mind, don't compare just the name of each company's name or job title; instead, list the jobs you will actually be performing in the same category. Even if the job title is the same, the scope of responsibility varies depending on the company or team.

Comparison memos can be created from the following 5 items.

1. Response to the job: Who and what kind of change can I be involved in? How much responsibility do I have?
2. Point of contact with current experience: What judgments and actions can you make use of? What experience is the basis for this?
3. Skills to develop: What new skills will be needed? Is it connected to the work you will be assigned and the opportunities to learn?
4. Work style and lifestyle: Can it be compatible with time, location, business travel, and lifestyle constraints? Can you differentiate between what you have confirmed and what you have imagined?
5. Responsibility and remuneration: Can the required results, discretion, evaluation system, and remuneration be compared together?

There is no need to forcefully score each item. Just by listing “what we know”, “what we don't know yet”, and “who and how to check” will make it easier to separate the company's impression from the information you need to judge.

5. Verify your options through dialogue with job offers

The direction I found after organizing my experience is still a hypothesis. Read job openings for the role you're interested in and compare them with the job description and application requirements. Don't just decide that it's a good match just because the words are similar; check the expected results, people involved, authority, and how the work will be carried out.

If you find a difference, that in itself becomes a deciding factor. For example, you may be interested in a job in customer support, but you may actually have more responsibility for new sales. You can reconsider whether you want to take on that responsibility as well, or whether another role is more likely to suit your needs.

In some cases, your current job or a transfer within the company may be closer to what you want. Compare the possibilities of an external job offer and your current job on the same axis, and decide what to check next. Applying is one of the actions you choose during the process.

6. The first step is one experience and two options.

If you try to draw conclusions about your entire career at once, it's easy to stop just gathering information. Start by sorting out one experience that you found rewarding, and choosing two roles that seem to have some connection to that experience.

Regarding the two roles, write down the parts that you think you can handle based on your current experience, and the parts that you would like to confirm additionally. Focus on one specific next action, such as reading one job posting in detail, talking to someone who knows the actual job situation, or consulting your current job about the job you want.

At GCAP PIVOT, we delve into your experience and aspirations, expand your options to include companies and jobs that are difficult to find on your own, and proceed with comparisons and verification. The issues to be tackled will change between the stage of searching for a direction and the stage of deciding where to apply and preparing for selection. If you tell them what you are currently confused about and what you have already decided, it will be easier to ask for the support you need.