Discover the hidden selling points of your life experience for your job applications

When you look for a new job in the same industry that you’ve been working in for a while, you normally show your competence to prospective employers by presenting typical accomplishments from the recent past as the most convincing arguments.

However, if you want or need to get a new job in a different industry, this approach is doomed to fail because the typical accomplishments from your previous industry are likely not relevant enough to convince the hiring managers in the new industry that you can work successfully for them too.

On the page “How to get a good job in a different industry”, I explain how you can rise to this challenge and achieve your goal anyway. One of my tips in that article emphasizes the need to always consider all kinds of previous experiences you have and not only merely professional ones. This is what I explain further on this page using the examples below to illustrate the most important areas where additional convincing arguments for your job applications might be found.

The fact that you weren’t paid for those activities is of little interest to the prospective employers and therefore poses no problem in general. Hiring managers mainly care about the outcome: the knowledge, skills, and experience you’ve gained from those activities. Especially if you’ve invested a significant amount of your spare time in them over the recent years, the gained experience from those other parts of your life may be regarded as good as “official” work experience.

Hobbies

Are you known in your circle of friends as the “expert” to go to whenever someone has a problem with their computer? In this case, you can mention that to show relevant IT skills.
Do you regularly blog on the internet about a topic you’re interested in and have become knowledgeable about? This can help present your knowledge of the topic and writing skills.
Are you engaged in a team sport where you train with others weekly and participate in contests? This may be useful to convey your physical fitness, team spirit, and competitive mindset.

Involvement in non-profit organizations

Are you the treasurer of a local charity? This might be helpful to convince hiring managers of your integrity and suitability to handle finances.
Have you been in charge of coordinating a number of volunteers in a non-profit association for a while? In this case, you have leadership skills and management experience to showcase.

Networking

Are you very social and have built a considerably large personal network of relevant contacts over time? That network might be a resource that hiring managers also see value in. So may be the soft skills you’ve developed to build it.

Cultural background and experiences

While you may not regard your cultural background as an asset worth mentioning, you should reconsider that when applying for jobs in other parts of the world. Here, hiring managers could see it as something special that other candidates cannot offer. The same applies to the cultural experiences you might have gained from living in other parts of the world for a while.

Medical conditions and disabilities

Has a serious illness forced you to become a nutrition expert to cope with it? Although you’d never planned to gain this kind of knowledge, it’s a demonstrable fact now that you could use it in a job as well.
Have you tackled a disability by developing a special skill to compensate for it? That skill might be regarded as a rare valuable asset in your experience profile by prospective employers.

Extreme life experiences

Even extreme experiences in life, as unpleasant as they might have been, can turn out to be useful references when one needs to present evidence of their suitability for a particular job. For example, a prison term may have led to having expert skills in the use of a particular library administration software that the person acquired through their work in the prison library.

Conclusion

As these examples show, it’s worth becoming aware of all the life experience, knowledge, and skills you have. While these other elements alone might not suffice to fully convince the hiring managers of your suitability, some of them can still turn out to be decisive when combined smartly with the presentation of your “official” work experience.

On April 7th, Ms. Elveena Y. from Montréal wrote about it in her testimonial:

»For years, I knew I wanted to change industries, but I had no idea where to start. I had many interests, began different certifications, and kept going in circles without making any real progress. Then I came across Michael’s newsletter. Something he wrote resonated with me: the feeling of being stuck in a loop of overthinking, putting in effort but not moving forward. That was exactly where I was.

In just a few weeks of working with him, Michael guided me through a process of reflection that helped me align my values and interests with the realities of today’s job market. His questions and practical exercises brought a level of clarity I had not been able to achieve on my own.

By the end of our work together, I had a clear direction. I am now pursuing it, and I could not be more satisfied with where I have landed.

If you are someone who feels stuck and does not know which direction to take, I highly recommend working with Michael.«