Changing Passions, Changing Careers

Several months ago, a client approached us with a bold request. She wanted to transition out of her current position as an esthetician – a job she’d held for more than a decade – into an administrative role with a much larger company. Our initial reaction was confusion as she seemed to have dedicated a good portion of her working life to esthetics.

On paper, she had all the experience and credentials. She had been at a high-end salon for quite a while. In our discussions, she seemed convinced that a change was needed. She had lost her passion for the work; it was time for a change.

Burnt out and bummed out

Burn out has been defined as “a state of emotional, mental and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress, most often caused by problems at work.” Bummed out has a less clinical definition but relates to being in low spirits, depressed, weighted down, worried. The combination of the two makes for a not too happy daily existence. This is how our client described her situation. Years of being in the industry and dealing with the high demands of the work had taken its toll and she no longer had the energy or commitment to do the work. She decided to act.

Taking a practical approach

The big question was: what skills and abilities translate from esthetics to the office? Through a quick email exchange and researching job postings, we conducted a skills mapping exercise:

Skills in current role	Transferrable skill	Admin Assistant Skill Requirements
Customer Service	Customer Service	Customer Service
Time Management	Time Management	Time Management
Attention to Detail	Attention to Detail	Attention to Detail
Product Knowledge	Office Knowledge	Office Knowledge
Sales and Upselling	Vendor Management	Vendor Management
Communication Skills	Communication Skills	Communication Skills

Most of the skills transferred easily between roles with a lot of overlap – this is the good news. There were two areas where gaps could be found:

• Office knowledge (systems, procedures)

• Vendor management (ordering supplies, negotiating contracts etc.)

When we spoke about these gaps to determine a plan to close them, new information emerged.

The client had worked with office software in her current role, often helping to reconcile daily books, using scheduling software and had even written some of the standard operating procedures for the salon. This information was missing from her existing resume as she didn’t see it as relevant to the esthetics services she was providing. Additionally, when covering for the owner, she did the ordering, inventory counts and worked with many of the suppliers to confirm deliveries. All of these skills were related to her target role but were not represented in her current resume. By taking a step-by-step practical approach, we were able to help her uncover these skills and boost her credibility.

It's not unusual for people to forget about and/or omit certain content from their resume. However, when looking at a significant change of roles, it is critical to thoughtfully assess and evaluate where your existing experience can translate to your target role.

Focused rewrite

The new resume became the foundation for change. Experience and skills were cast in a new light, creating a focus on new opportunities and roles. A hybrid or combination format resume was chosen due to the flexibility of showcasing consistency in work experience while simultaneously highlighting transferable skills.

The result

Three months later, we checked in to see how she was doing. At this point she was a month into her new job as an administrative assistant at a university hospital. She told us she expected to be working for a business, but when she saw the position at the hospital, she realized that she liked the idea of working in an environment dedicated to helping people. Her passion for care and wellness was still there and this was a perfect fit.