Lindsay Sapowicz had a good job in her late 30s as the chief of operations at a plumbing and heating company. She’d also had a good career: She previously was the vice president of operations at a cannabis company. Her employment was so stable throughout her life that she rarely thought about the future until last summer, when she was laid off.
She didn’t have hard feelings about it. She even trained an employee, who would work on an hourly wage instead of her higher salary, to replace her. But she was shocked. At age 38, she found herself in a position that many workers dread: She needed to find a new job.
There are a number of reasons why people change careers, aside from losing their job. Maybe they want more money, greater job satisfaction, more flexible hours or a shorter commute. Laborers may not be able to physically do their job any longer, and others might feel like AI could take their job away. Those exiting the military might be on the hunt for civilian jobs.
Sapowicz, of Timnath, found the Larimer County Workforce Center after applying for unemployment benefits. Those at the center offered reassurance and helped her discover her strengths through career testing.
Career coaches and job centers run by county governments can make it easier to look for employment. That’s why the state requires workers to register at a job center to receive unemployment benefits.
“It just felt like the community was behind me,” Sapowicz says. “I’d never had to ask for anything like that before. You don’t feel like you deserve it. It’s very humbling.”
Looking for a new job can be a scary and humbling experience, even if you’re just looking to scale up your career while you work your current role. It can take up to six months and dozens of inquiries to land a new job, says Elizabeth Mahoney, a career coach and the owner of Complete Professional Development in Greeley. That’s just one of the challenges facing workers as they ponder a career change or actively seek a new role.
“It’s an emotional process,” Mahoney says. “The feelings of rejection can be real when you’re applying for a job.”
Challenges of new careers
When Sapowicz lost her job, it felt like an earthquake had upended the stability in her life. Many adults feel the same way, says Mimi Pfaff, a job counselor for the Larimer County Workforce Center.
“You see adults who are a little lost,” she says, and many don’t know where to start.
A job services center or career coach can get you on the right track. There are many job search websites that help with resumes and cover letters, and AI can help with written tasks as well. There are also businesses that will write your resume or cover letters for you.
The cost of a new education may frighten some, but it’s rare when workers need to get a college degree to transition into a new career, Mahoney says. They might need to take some classes or get a certificate, many of which can be obtained in a year or less.
“Some may get a master’s degree,” Mahoney says, “but not nearly as frequently (as a certificate).”
Job centers specialize in helping workers brush up on their skills or obtain new ones without the huge time commitment that getting a degree requires, says Charlotte DeBrock, the adult employment and training supervisor for Employment Services of Weld County, which offers the same services as the Larimer County Workforce Center.
“It’s all about helping workers upscale their skills,” she says.
Workers might also view losing a job as an opportunity to explore their dream career. While there’s nothing wrong with that, the harsh reality for most people is that their second career still needs to be as viable (or even more so) as their previous one.
“Sometimes it’s tricky when passion comes before practicality,” Pfaff says.
Tips for a smooth transition
Christa Menning hopes that workers who are unsure about their future can find help, partially because she was once one of them.
Menning is now the program supervisor for the Larimer County Workforce Center, but nearly 25 years ago, she walked through those same doors in need of unemployment assistance after a layoff. She went through the system and discovered that she had the skills, experience and desire to do case management. She started working for the center in 2001.
She and other career experts offer the following tips to make finding a new job easier.
• Work the internet. Many apps and job search sites can alert you when a job you might be interested in opens up. Make sure to update your LinkedIn profile as well.
• Take a career assessment. Job coaches and workforce centers offer these, but there are some available online too. Career assessments can help you target your interests and find a job that matches them.
• Identify transferable skills. Workers usually have skills, even a very particular set of skills, that are helpful in vastly different careers. Job experts call these “transferable skills,” and Mahoney says many workers undervalue them.
“Can you help with building trust with people?” she says. “Can you listen to people as they come in when they’re having a bad day? Do you have problem-solving skills?”
In fact, many employers value these so-called “soft” skills as much as someone’s expertise in a specific area. It’s true that half the battle is just showing up, and if you can work well with others, that’s even better.
Transferable skills can come in many forms: For example, stay-at-home moms have a lot of skills that are valuable in the workplace, DeBrock says.
• Lean on your contacts. Who you know is important, Mahoney says. Mentioning to people in your network that you’re looking for a new position can open doors.
• Learn what AI wants. Many companies now use AI to sort through stacks of applications for a job. Write a resume that AI won’t weed out, or find someone who can.
• Know your “burnout skills.” Consider setting aside skills that align with jobs you don’t want to do, even if you’re really good at them.
“Say you don’t like doing it because you’ve done it for such a long time,” Mahoney says. “If you have it on your resume, businesses might target you for that skill, so you might just want to leave it off.”
• Remember you aren’t alone. Job centers offer free help to anyone who requests it, and they see all kinds of people, from those with PhDs to those who didn’t graduate high school.
“We have people in all places of life,” Menning says. “We have people come in who say, ‘I’ve had the same career for 30 years, and I haven’t job searched for 20 years.’ People have to start over pretty frequently.”
That group included Sapowicz, but she has a job now and is thinking about expanding into other fields. She even got a certificate in project management through the Larimer County Workforce Center.
“It helped me consider what’s next for me,” she says. “There’s so much more in my career that I can have now.”
