How to Position Experience for Career Growth

The job market is changing fast. Driven by reorgs, layoffs, role eliminations, the impact of AI, and shifting career interests, more of us are exploring new roles and industries. My own career journey reflects this. I started in Public Relations (PR), working at agencies like Elmore Public Relations and companies like CenterPoint Energy, FMC Technologies, and Dow. My initial plan? Stay in communications. My experience was a good fit for my resume, but I wanted something different. Then, #Amazon came to my university recruiting for Operations Managers. I had a Supply Chain Management degree, some classes, and a capstone project—but no real operations experience. I needed a new approach. Here's what I did: - Job Description Deep Dive: I didn't just read the job description, I dissected it. I focused on the type of candidate they wanted—team dynamics, responsibilities, culture. It wasn't about matching my existing experience, but understanding the target. - Skill Categorization: I broke down the job description into key skills: communication, problem-solving, stakeholder management, leadership, etc. This gave me a framework to evaluate my strengths. - Experience Alignment: This was the toughest part. I had some great PR wins (1M media impressions, 25% social media growth), but they didn't directly translate to operations. It was a hard lesson: past wins DON’T guarantee future success if they're not relevant. My resume needed to reflect where I wanted to go, not just where I'd been. Key takeaways: 1) Thoroughly assess your target role. 2) Categorize skills. 3) Even huge wins might not be relevant if they don't align with your goals. My journey in tech at #Amazon, #Uber, #PayPal, and #Google has required me to repeatedly apply and adapt these steps. It wasn't easy, but it taught me about strategic thinking, adaptability, and the value of #transferableskills. What are your career transition tips? Share in the comments! 👇 #myjourneyintech #careerchange #operations #techcareers #google #jobsearch #careeradvice #pivot #skills #resumetips #transferableskills #careertransition #jobhunt #careerjourney #blackintech

Considering a Career Transition? Doing this one thing can make the difference between being overlooked or being selected for an interview and landing an offer. ✅ Be the obvious choice – Don’t assume recruiters will connect the dots. They’re often scanning for an exact title match. Your job? Bridge the gap for them. Translate your past experience into the language of your target role so they see you as a natural fit. Example:  Transition from a Project Manager → Product Manager Let’s say you’ve been a Project Manager for years but want to move into a Product Manager role. A recruiter or hiring manager might not immediately see the connection because they’re looking for candidates with direct Product Management titles. Instead of listing: ❌ “Managed project timelines, budgets, and stakeholder communications.” Reframe it to match Product Management language: ✅ “Led cross-functional teams to deliver customer-focused solutions, prioritizing features based on business impact and user needs.” Why this works: “Led cross-functional teams” aligns with how product managers work across engineering, design, and marketing. “Customer-focused solutions” signals an understanding of product development, not just project execution. “Prioritizing features based on business impact and user needs” shows a product mindset—something critical for a PM role. ✨ Bonus: 📎📄 Attached is an in-depth example of how to identify your transferable skills and effectively highlight them as relevant experience. This can be a tool that assists you with your resume, interviewing and negotiating. 💡 Need guidance? Assisting clients with career pivots and transitions is something I excel at. Plus - I’ve successfully navigated several transitions in my own career, so I’ve lived it. Let’s connect! #CareerChange #CareerAdvice #JobSearch #CareerTransition #Laidoff #CareerDevelopment #CareerGrowth #JobSeeker #CareerPivot

Unfortunately, many job seekers aren’t comfortable with self-promotion because they equate it with bragging. Or they don’t do it because they lack confidence or certainty in their value as a candidate. I’ve spoken to thousands of job seekers who underestimate their skills and accomplishments. The problem is that we are passed over for great opportunities and higher earnings when we don't share them. Employers can't guess or assume your abilities; you must make them clear and compelling. Self-promotion is a powerful tool for career advancement when done authentically and effectively. Here are 5 ways to draw attention to your qualifications and skills without sounding arrogant. 1. Quantify Achievements: Show the impact of your leadership by quantifying your achievements. Did you increase revenue or reduce costs? By how much? Did you lead a team? How big was it and what were the results of your team's work? Use concrete numbers where possible to illustrate your effectiveness. 2. Highlight Leadership and Strategic Skills: As an executive, it's important to demonstrate not only your ability to manage, but also to lead and strategize. Highlight experiences where you've set strategy, guided teams through change, or demonstrated thought leadership. 3. Tailor Your Resume: Customize your resume for each application, highlighting the most relevant experiences and accomplishments. 4. Use Action Verbs and Power Words: Start each bullet point with a strong action verb like "led," "spearheaded," "orchestrated," etc. This helps create a powerful image of you as a proactive leader. 5. Showcase Your Executive Presence: Executive presence is a blend of temperament, competencies, and skills that send all the right signals. Show instances where you've had to make tough decisions, guide a team, or navigate a company through challenging times. If you found these tips helpful save this post and reshare with your network to help others. #LinkedInTopVoices #Careers #PersonalBranding

Rethinking Experience Requirements: The Strategic Approach to Role Advancement   After decades in executive recruitment, I've observed a fundamental misunderstanding that limits professional growth: the perception that stated experience requirements are absolute barriers rather than negotiable guidelines.   The reality is more nuanced: hiring managers routinely select candidates who don't meet all stated requirements when those candidates effectively demonstrate capability through alternative means.   Successful candidates who advance despite experience gaps leverage several key approaches: • Problem-Centric Positioning: Focusing on the underlying business challenges rather than credential matching • Transferable Impact Demonstration: Highlighting directly relevant outcomes from seemingly different contexts • Learning Velocity Emphasis: Showcasing adaptability and quick mastery of new domains • Outcome Prioritization: Directing attention to result delivery rather than background requirements   What separates candidates who successfully transition industries or skip traditional experience steps isn't necessarily superior qualifications - it's superior positioning of existing qualifications.   This strategic approach requires understanding the fundamental difference between what organizations request (the formal requirements) and what they actually need (solutions to specific business problems).   For professionals looking to accelerate their career trajectory, the ability to reframe experience gaps as alternative perspective advantages represents a critical competitive edge in today's hiring landscape.   What unexpected career transitions have you witnessed where candidates successfully overcame traditional experience requirements?   Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careeradvancement #experiencerequirements #skillstransfer #careerstrategist

"You're competing with candidates who have 10 more years of experience." That's what the recruiter told her when she inquired about a failed Director interview. "Fine," she replied. "I'll compete on results instead." --- Six weeks later, she landed a Director role at a competitor. The uncomfortable truth about leadership positions: After a certain point, additional years of experience provide diminishing returns. The obsession with experience duration over experience quality keeps countless talented professionals from advancing. The data contradicts conventional wisdom: • 5 years of diverse, high-impact experience often beats 15 years of repetitive experience • Recent, relevant achievements predict success better than long tenure • Adaptability and learning agility matter more than accumulated knowledge • Innovation typically comes from those with less industry indoctrination So LeaderUP helped her flip the script: • Stopped defending her "limited" experience (8 solid years) • Started highlighting her faster learning curve • Emphasized her cross-industry perspective • Focused on recent innovations and achievements Her breakthrough moment came when she said: "I'm not applying for this role based on my years of experience. I'm applying based on the results I've delivered." The competitive edge isn't more years. It's better years. Are you still competing on longevity when you should be competing on impact? ♻️ Repost to help others stop letting perceived "experience gaps" limit their advancement. #leadership #careeradvancement #experience

STOP underestimating your "unrelated" skills and experience when you're looking for a new job. When I was in college, I had a bunch of odd jobs including working at UCLA’s Campus Call Center. My main objective was to jump on cold calls and convince high schoolers who got accepted to UCLA to come to the school. I knew I really wanted to work in sports, media and entertainment. And this job at the time didn't make any sense to my career growth, but I had to make some money one way or another to pay the bills because my financial aid only got me so far. But with this job, I didn’t see any route or direction that would lead me to my goals. Up to that point, my only "real" jobs were working at Forever 21 as a summer retail associate, YMCA as a referee, and as an afterschool assistant for an elementary school. So each day I’d dial 100+ of calls for work. Then I’d get home and apply for 100s of jobs for me. And it'd lead to rejection after rejection. I couldn’t figure out what I needed to say or do differently to get noticed by organizations. It wasn’t until I realized my current job wasn't just about me making calls. It was about me using skills like: - Relationship management  - Persuasive communication - Marketing strategies By reframing my experience, I transformed my “unrelated” job into a stepping stone for my career. This mindset shift was what helped me finally land a job at UCLA Athletics in student-athlete recruiting where I was now convincing high school athletes recruited by UCLA to commit to our programs. So keep in mind that every experience you’ve had, no matter how small, may already be the game changer you’ve been looking for. The key is identifying those transferable skills that align with your dream opportunities. Questions to ask yourself: - What skills am I truly developing? - How can I articulate these skills to potential employers? - Where else could these abilities be valuable?   What are “unrelated” skills / past experiences that have helped you in other roles? #CareerAdvice #SportsBiz #Media #Entertainment