How I Changed My Career and Why You Can Too

When I worked as a recruiter, I heard it all the time: “It’s too late to change careers” or “I ended up in this field, and now I’m stuck.” But I have seen countless people prove otherwise.

For context, I recruited for senior positions within the UK’s health and social care sectors, and almost every day, I’d listen to a candidate’s story about how they switched career lanes. This was often due to a moral calling to enter that particular industry, or to the sheer amount of stress or dissatisfaction they felt in their sterile corporate desk jobs.

On the flip side, I also spoke with plenty of people who had chosen to leave the health and social care industry. The most memorable of which was a director-level candidate who had been on a six-figure salary; one day, he decided that enough was enough, and became an HGV Driver.

If you’re still having doubts about whether it’s possible for you to change careers, then take it from me. As I alluded to earlier, I’m a former recruiter – as in, I have since changed careers and now do something else that I enjoy much more. Even if it does involve writing articles about my former job ad nauseam.

So let’s dive into my career change story. In this blog, I’ll tell you how I went from being a suited and booted senior recruiter in a high-rise city office to being a freelance writer, usually working from the comfort of my own sun-trapped balcony.

The Inciting Incident

Most stories have what we call an ‘inciting incident’. It’s the pivotal point at the start of a story that disrupts the protagonist’s life and launches them into the throes of the main plot. So, just as Frodo was given a ring, I was given a cancer diagnosis.

Though I was 28 years old and tragically young, I like to think that I took the whole thing in my stride, though I still milk it to this day and reserve the right to do so for the rest of my life. The diagnosis and subsequent recovery gave me a hell of a wake-up call that forced me to be present.

Life was giving me a lot to be grateful for. I had people who supported me, meaningful relationships, and a solid foundation. That is why it stood out so clearly when one part of my life no longer felt right.

Before I had cancer, I knew deep down that I didn’t want to recruit for the rest of my career. But I always put it off in favor of counting my commission money, with a shrug and a ‘maybe someday’.

Well, when your life’s hanging in the balance, the whole concept of ‘someday’ soon evaporates. When I recovered, I knew I had to pluck up some courage and have a horrible conversation with my then-boss.

Coming Up With a Plan

I was pretty good at my old job, which helps in a situation like this. As another former colleague noted, ‘it helps to have more deposits than withdrawals in the professional bank account’. So, on a Monday morning in January, I entered a meeting room with my boss and told him that I was going to leave.

“When?”

“I don’t know. Probably in a few months.”

“Ok. What do you want to do next?”

“Freelance writing. Copywriting. Something like that.”

“How are you going to get into that?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question to which I had no answer. And it took a while for one to come to me. Now, pay attention, because I’m about to give you the biggest piece of advice I can that’s applicable to every profession under the sun, no matter what career you want to switch to.

If you are serious about making a career change, bet on yourself. Every career move comes with some uncertainty, so start with a clear plan. The more prepared you are, the better your chances of creating the outcome you want.

So what did I do next? I reduced my work hours and set aside Fridays to focus on building my new career. It was a short-term sacrifice with a long-term goal. I used that time to earn professional certifications, strengthen my skills, and make my resume more competitive.

After that, I put together a portfolio of sample work that highlighted my skills and strengths. With my qualifications completed and my portfolio ready, I felt prepared to take the next step and start reaching out for new opportunities.

The Hunt

Starting a writing career during the rise of AI came with its challenges, but I never expected the process to be quick. I had spent years building my previous career, so I was comfortable giving myself a few extra months to create the future I wanted.

As a quick aside, yes, I was still at my job four days a week, feeling completely disconnected. I was actively training my replacements, and yet I somehow outbilled all but two of my full-time colleagues. That is an accomplishment I will always be proud of. But the glass had completely shattered, and I had zero energy left in the tank.

At one point, my former boss told me to drop my usual projects for a week to set up a bunch of new computers. If you enjoy getting lost in an audiobook as much as I do, you know that it is actually a pretty peaceful way to spend the week.

Anyway, I digress. Every Friday, I had a full day to hunt for entry-level opportunities for a noob like myself. My pride somewhat swallowed, I’d already made my peace with the reality that I’d be looking at a significant pay cut.

In the end, it turned out to be around $20k. For lots of you reading this, that might be too much, but I was lucky enough to come from a commission-based job that allowed me to save in preparation for the financial iceberg that I was about to hit.

It took an entire month of dedicated searching before I finally landed my first interview. And when I say a month, I really mean that my Friday job hunting eventually spilled over into my regular free time. I ended up spending every single day submitting applications, just trying to get a foot in the door.

Some days were more productive than others, sure, but I never fell into the trap of just sending template cover letters and responses. Every single one that I filled out was bespoke, and I did my research on each company, which was usually some kind of marketing agency.

Whether an application led somewhere or not, I knew I had given it my full attention. The time I spent researching companies also helped me make smarter decisions and focus on opportunities that were the right fit.

My first interview was a video call, my second was face-to-face, and there was a writing task in between. Being a recruiter, I finally had to follow a lot of my own interview advice that I’d been dishing out over the years.

Be open-minded. Be genuine. Be interested. Sit like a human being. Shake everyone’s hand. Have a question or two prepared. Smile.

In the end, it paid off, and I landed my first full-time copywriting job.

The Next Chapter

With my career genuinely shifted, I was finally engaging in something I truly felt in my bones I wanted to pursue. It was a surprising feeling, particularly after growing up with the belief that “work is simply work and enjoyment is not part of the equation”.

Well, it turns out you can. Though I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a lingering pressure that came from desperately trying not to squander the months of work I’d put into getting the job, I was finally happy.

Over the following years, I gained a reputation through freelancing after hours, which eventually allowed me to become my own boss. Today, I have my own clients spanning several different industries. Sometimes bouncing between them gives me total whiplash. One morning, I will be writing a children’s menu for a small, family-owned restaurant, and by the afternoon, I will be buried in a thick wall of legalese for a legal client like Bond Turner.

It turns out that the AI revolution has reached a point where being a human writer has become a USP. Now here I am, writing this on my balcony, on what will apparently be the hottest day of the year so far.

Changing your career is possible, no matter the stage or age. I’ve seen it done by other people, and I’ve done it myself.

So, what are you waiting for?