How I changed my career from Finance to Tech.

Several years ago I was a Financial Markets Associate Director for one of the largest banks in Australia.

I was late 20's, nice title and pay packet. I’d hit some goals I thought would take a lot longer. But I I felt a calling with technology, a deep interest that wouldn’t go away. Some of you know what I’m talking about. I worked with some very talented people but I knew if I were to contribute my best, it would have to somehow be related to technology.

I had two options, either change to a tech career or stay where I was, and try my absolute best to ignore the tech dream. I tried the second option, and even said to my wife Kim “I’ve decided. I’m giving up the tech dream, I need to 100% focus on finance now”.

But the longing didn’t go away, and eventually I decided to start searching.

It was a defining moment. It was also made easier by the fact that we had no kids or mortgage, so we could happily (sort of) take a hit on salary, which ended up being over 50% and relocating to another city.

To be honest, it wasn’t an entirely unknown leap. I did study a Tech degree, had created web pages since before I was a teenager, and had run a web design company all through university. But, I couldn’t hide the fact I was still changing worlds.

Why you’ll succeed

After 9 months of trying to find a way into tech, I joined the Technology Consulting Practice of one of the biggest consulting firms in the world. They valued someone who had strong front-line industry experience, tech interest and “soft skills”.

Once I arrived, I was quickly thrown onto a project. I was labelled a high achiever and received a global award in my first 6 months. A Senior Manager told me this was “a big deal to pull off so early”. I however never told anyone I was brand new to the industry and felt like an imposter. In some ways I still do. I’ve since learnt that this isn’t uncommon and is prevalent among even some of our highest achievers.

The reason for my praise, I quickly realised, was that every industry is made up of a unique combination of individuals. Many of these are strong, some are disengaged, but only a small number are fresh and passionate. Arriving in a new job, hungry and eager, puts you in a great position to accelerate quickly.

The reason I say this, is that if you make a career change, and follow a calling, passion and purpose, you are likely to find yourself in the top 20% of the industry and rise up very quickly.

Where it leads to

The process of career change has helps you break through perceived mental barriers. You learn skills that we all possess, but sometimes forget to flex. Adapting quickly to change, thirst for knowledge, curiosity and asking hundreds of questions.

The process of career change has helps you break through perceived mental barriers. You learn strengths that we all possess, but sometimes forget to flex. Adapting quickly to change, thirst for knowledge, curiosity and asking hundreds of questions. Ignore all the negativity.

Now comes the real fun part. I get to finally use my former life. I can now combine my finance experience, my tech experience, my network and a passion to help disrupt an industry.

I recently wrote about how we’re planning on doing that with data democracy and analytics.

As Steve Jobs said in his famous 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, only in the future will you find the value of what you’re doing now. Only looking back will you see how valuable what you learnt in the past is. In Job’s case it was learning Typography, which led to designing the first computer with beautiful fonts.

How I did it

1. See if you can transfer within your company. I didn’t actually do this, but my boss was so disappointed to hear I didn’t ask to transfer, even though it was 90 degrees away from what I was currently doing.
2. Find someone who’s done it before. A mentor who can hold you accountable, keep you positive, and offer strong practical advice. Many people will tell you not to change careers and be negative. There will be resistance. My most negative critic was my father. Heck, contact me if you can’t find someone.
3. Find your cross transferrable skills. Everything in your experience can have value elsewhere. A credit analyst at a bank has analytical skills that could be used in Management Consulting. A sports coach has experience in high performing team management, how incredibly valuable is this for a sales team? The golden book for this is What Colour is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles. If there’s nothing else you get out of this, make sure you get this into your head.
4. Find a contact. I found a good friend in USA who put in a strong referral for me. Keep knocking on the door. Your best shot at a job is who you know, not what you know.
5. Reframe your Resume. Now that you have your cross transferrable skills, reframe your Resume to reflect the new skills. Use your contact to help you. Get lots of feedback from sources you trust and respect.
6. Think long term, you can always go back. You may have to take a big salary cut, downsize and relocate. BUT, it’s your career, and you still have decades to fill. Short term pain for incredible long term gain.
7. Hustle. Work hard to get an in somewhere, do your best to keep knocking on the door, eventually someone will answer.
8. Research. Learn as much as you can about the industry.
9. FAITH. It can be a tough road with lots of hurdles, but keep on going, even if it takes years.
10. IGNORE THE NAYSAYERS!