After almost two years of uncertainty about what our work lives would look like, a shocking amount of people decide to take the future of their careers into their own hands. In September, 2021, a record breaking number of Americans joined what is being coined “The Great Resignation” and quit their jobs. 4.4 million people put in their notice and there is no sign that this trend is going to slow down in 2022.
This willingness to shake things up has employers shaking in their boots. Many employers are now beginning to recognize the value that comes with having tenured employers and they are more willing than ever before to allow employees to make internal pivots in order to retain them. In fact, 51% of learning and development professionals agree that internal mobility is more of a priority now than it was before the pandemic began.
Because employers are extremely motivated to retain their current employees, there is no better time than right now than to make an internal pivot. Even if you know you want to leave your current company eventually, there is a lot to be gained from an internal pivot that can help you pursue new opportunities down the line.
Keep reading to learn why internal pivots matter and how to make one!
When you picture making a big career change, you’re probably not picturing staying at your current company. We get why you think you need to look elsewhere to make a major transition in your work life, but an internal pivot is a pivot just the same. An internal pivot is just as strong of a move as an external one.
When you pivot from one role or department to another at your current company you can grow new skills, solve new problems, and work with new disciplines, all while building your domain expertise and company knowledge. You just expanded your value internally and externally in one fell swoop.
Making an internal pivot allows you to shift your career to better fit your needs while retaining the hard earned benefits that come with your current role.
Making an internal pivot allows you to shift your career to better fit your needs while retaining the hard earned benefits that come with your current role.
For example, if you love your company’s culture, you can preserve that by pivoting internally and taking on new responsibilities and expanding your skillset.
An internal pivot is also a convenient and safer way to try out new responsibilities to make sure they excite you enough to make the leap into finding a new job externally (if that’s something you want to do). Even if you don’t make a full shift into a new role at your current company, you can ask to assist on a different team’s project or to shadow someone whose role interests you (we’ll walk you through how to do that shortly). The discovery process is just as important as the actual pivot. At Zeit, we take the discovery process seriously as it gives you a chance to explore career paths that may be a good fit for you.
Not to mention, once your company sees how much value you can bring across multiple roles or departments, you can build the case for a nice raise.
Pursuing an internal pivot can feel intimidating, especially when you don’t know where to start or are afraid of ruffling feathers with your boss. Don’t worry about that last bit too much. 53% of workers focused on learning reported that their boss supports their career goals.
To make the process feel more approachable, let’s break down what you need to do in actionable steps.
Before you approach the appropriate players about making a move to a different team or role, you need to know what you want. Do your research, reflect, and take some time to define what you want to change about your job and career path.
With a little self reflection, you may realize that a creative role doesn’t fulfill you like you thought it would and that a position rooted in analytics is what best suits you. Maybe you’ve found yourself in a management role but prefer more independent work to people management.
Ask yourself the following questions to begin to gain clarity about the change you want to make:
Try this exercise
What do I love about my current day-to-day responsibilities?
What do I hate about my current day-to-day responsibilities?
Which of my current areas of focus do I want to dive deeper into?
What roles at my company, outside of my own, do I want to learn more about?
What type of role do I absolutely not want to step into?
Who do I work with that excites me?
What other pockets of the organization interest me?
We walk all of our cohorts through our Dial exercise which helps them reflect on their current state so they can break down the change they’re looking for. Here’s a sneak peek at what that exercise looks like in our Discovery Program!
The questions we just prompted you with should have got the ball rolling in regards to what areas about your role and other roles at your company excite you. To take the work a step further, you need to dive even deeper.
Throughout Zeit programs, we engage our cohorts in our Ways to Grow exercise which is a 2x2 exercise that looks at experience on one axis and desirability on the other to help our cohorts better understand their relationship with their skills.
Try it yourself. Draw out 2 axis and map your daily tasks
To make a successful internal pivot, you need to be able to convince relevant stakeholders that you have the transferable skills needed to get the job done. What’s a transferable skill? A transferable skill is a skill you’ve built from past educational and work experiences that you can take with you into a new role, even if that role isn’t the same as previous ones you’ve held or is in an entirely new industry.
Whether you plan to pivot internally or externally, being able to identify your transferable skills is a step you absolutely can’t skip during the pivot process. Learning how to identify and translate your skills in the right context is critical to making a pivot, even within your current company.
Want to try a mini version of our skill analysis?
To start identifying your transferable skills, write down all of the skills that you’ve honed over the years. Then think about the role you want to pivot into and how those skills can apply to that role.
For example, even though a Marketing Manager and a Product Manager have different responsibilities, they both require being able to plan, organize, navigate, and execute ongoing projects.
Transferable Skills:
Marketing Manager to Product Manager
Campaign management
Analytics
Planning
Organization
Communication
Adaptability
Budget management
Creative thinking
Now it’s your turn!
Before you get started, answer these questions to gain some insight into your transferable skills.
What is the relatable skill?
What is your experience?
How do you translate your experience in a forward looking context?
Transferable Skills:
______ to ______
List your amazing transferable skills
List your amazing transferable skills
List your amazing transferable skills
If you are pivoting internally you need to think about how you can sell your knowledge of the company’s culture, vision, and domain expertise as an asset to the company no matter what your role is or what team you are on.
Highlighting these major selling points will help you illustrate how you will be more efficient and effective than an outside hire and that you are able to hit the ground running.
Alright, it’s time to make a pivot plan and we’re back with a few more helpful questions to guide you. How the process of making an internal pivot looks will vary from company to company. In larger companies that hire often, internal pivots are quite common. At smaller companies, you may need to wait longer for the right opportunity to arise. That’s why it’s important to have a plan in place and the right players on your side.
Before you make your plan, ask yourself:
What does it include?
How can I approach the topic of a pivot with my manager?
Who can help me make my pivot?
Does my company offer a learning and development budget that I can use to pay for online classes, attend conferences, or to sign up for a Zeit program?
Is there anyone in my company I can shadow to learn more about their role?
Are there any new projects I can join or spearhead to help build my transferable skills?
Remember, before you broach the topic of an internal pivot with your manager or other colleagues, it’s important to have confidence.
It may feel like a betrayal to want to leave the role you were hired to do or the team you were hired onto, but internal pivots are good for companies.
Retaining employees is always more cost effective than hiring new ones and employers benefit by having long standing employees who understand their processes, culture, and history. There is no reason an internal pivot shouldn’t benefit all parties!
Once you’ve identified what you want and what steps you think you need to take to achieve your internal pivot, you can approach your manager about identifying areas of growth and developing a learning plan to help you reach your goals.
Zeit member, Kelly Chen recently made the transition from a strategy and operations role into a product focused role.
Tips for success:
She she shared the steps she took to make her internal pivot successfully:
Ensure great current performance. “Generally for a transition to go well, they should be doing good work and being recognized,” Kelly explained.
Choose a role related to your current scope of work. “There is a bigger chance of success if the new role is somewhat related to their current scope,” Kelly said, especially, “If there are really transferable skills, or the subject matter is aligned, or they have already been regularly involved with the other team.”
Be mindful of the company’s larger strategic goal and business context. “This is different by company, but even if their skills are transferable, if the desired transition does not fit well from a company impact standpoint (i.e. they will need to create a new role that isn't needed/lack of budget), it will also be a tough uphill battle,” Kelly explained.
Ask your manager or team leader to be a champion for your transition. Kelly advises that anyone looking to make an internal pivot ask their manager or team leader to be a champion for the transition. “Their manager (hopefully) should be interested in their personal/career development to support this move,” Kelly noted, “A happy tenured employee who can continue to grow within the company is a good story. However, if leadership fails to see that or do not want to create that kind of culture it can be difficult. If you feel good about the above, just simply ask! I definitely waited for too long to ask, because I was afraid about the optics and what it would mean for my situation at the company.”
Use internal champions. “Hopefully the potential transition is exciting to others in the company as well, especially those on the new team,” Kelly explained, “Perhaps they worked closely with that person and can see a great fit. Those internal champions can help create excitement and add confidence to the hiring manager about the transition.”
Unlike an external pivot which you can make quietly if you so choose, to make an internal pivot, you must be ready to make some noise. That noise starts in the form of conversations with the people you need to help you navigate your internal pivot. We know these conversations can be scary, but you’ll be so happy once you rip off the bandaid. We’re always happy to coach you through how to have these conversations. It’s our goal to help you make an internal pivot that not just benefits you, but that benefits your company.
Script 1:
How to Approach an Internal Pivot with Your Manager
*Note: Email your manager asking for a time to sit down and chat.
Hi ____,
I’ve been thinking a lot about my career trajectory lately and want to chat with you about my career growth opportunities at the company.
I’ve learned so much in my role as a _____ and have particularly enjoyed my responsibilities surrounding ___, which made me realize I’m interested in pivoting into a role in ____.
I wanted to connect to talk about what my options are for working towards making a transition into that type of role.
Script 2:
How to ask a Colleague to Learn More About Their Role
Option 1:
If you don’t know you want to try out their role
Hi ____,
I’ve always thought your role as a _____ seems really interesting, so I’ve been doing some research into what it’s like to take on a role similar to yours. Would we be able to meet to chat more about what your day-to-day looks like and how you landed your role? Coffee’s on me!
Option 2:
If you know you want to try out their role
Hi ____,
I’ve always thought your role as a _____ seems really interesting, so I’ve been doing some research into what it’s like to take on a role like that. Would I be able to shadow you or assist you on a project to get some more real life insight into what your role entails?Want to ask someone you don’t know for an informational interview? Here’s a look at how we helped one of our cohort’s ask their network for help making new connections.
Want to ask someone you don’t know for an informational interview? Here’s a look at how we helped one of our cohort’s ask their network for help making new connections.
Let’s look at some numbers that illustrate just how important internal pivots are for companies.
A 2020 SHRM study analyzed 32 million profiles of active LinkedIn users who worked at a “larger company” (aka companies with more than 500 employees) since 2013. The study found that the likelihood of an employee staying with the same company decreases as the years go on.
1 year after being hired: 76% chance of employee retention
5 years after being hired: 38% chance of employee retention
The same study found that employees who were promoted within three years of being hired have a 70% chance of staying at the company and employees who pivoted internally to a lateral move had a 62% chance of remaining at the company. For employees who didn’t receive a promotion or weren’t allowed to make a pivot, the odds of them remaining employed at that company dropped to just 45%.
The takeaway? While an internal pivot may remove an employee you love from your team, supporting them in their career growth can keep them happy, engaged, and retained—all of which is good for your company.
The same study found that employees who were promoted within three years of being hired hava a 70% chance of staying at the company and employees who pivoted internally to a lateral move had a 62% chance of remaining at the company. For employees who didn’t receive a promotion or weren’t allowed to make a pivot, the odds of them remaining employed at that company dropped to just 45%. We spoke to the Head of People at large health and beauty startup who said, “Zeit is the kind of tool our hiring managers are looking to provide people on their teams to help them understand ways to grow.” Another L&D leader at a fintech start up said, “I love the thinking behind Zeit and the opportunities with it. I’m currently trying to define what career growth looks like here and this is it.”
The takeaway? While an internal pivot may remove an employee you love from your team, supporting them in their career growth can keep them happy, engaged, and retained—all of which is good for your company.
Most managers care about their employees’ happiness and want to support them in their career growth, but many don’t have the time to help their employees make a pivot.
Supporting your employees through internal pivots is good for retention, morale, innovation, and productivity. If your managers are coming to you with questions of "how to grow" people on their team, our coaching programs can help answer that question and help explore ways to make this growth happen within your organization.
Need more help making an internal pivot? We want to be with you every step of the way! Our programs are the best way to get tailored advice on how to navigate an internal pivot and these scripts can help you get Zeit paid for by your company.
The reason we’re such a big fan of coaching at Zeit is because learning together is proven to increase learning engagement. A 2021 LinkedIn report found that learners who use social features during online education such as Q&A, course shares, and learning groups watch 30 times more hours of learning content than learners who don’t. Imagine how much engagement soars are when you have one-on-one coaching available to you.
Script 1:
How to Ask Your Manager to Pay for Zeit When They Don’t Want to Lose You to Another Team
Hello _____________,
I’m constantly thinking about how I can show up as a high performer, so I can add more value to the company. Improving my skills as a ____ [role] and rising leader seems like a natural next step for me and my career.
We’ve discussed ___ and ___ skills as potential opportunity areas for me to invest and grow. I’ve done some research on performance development coaching programs and I believe Zeit’s Discovery Program is what I need to get me to the next level. I'd like to use a portion of our professional development budget to invest in my development through a 2-month coaching engagement.
Regarding outcomes, I will sharpen my understanding of how and where I can use my skill set to have a stronger impact on the company. I will gain a clearer understanding of how to prioritize and address my skill gaps. I will gain the leadership and strategic communication to become a stronger cross-functional collaboration within the organization. This performance coaching will enable me to identify ways to grow with clarity and confidence within the organization.
What does it include?
6-group coaching sessions with like-minded peers at similar inflection points in their career
3-1:1 coaching sessions to unlock personal insights
Access to dozens of self reflection, skills reflection, and skills assessment frameworks and exercises
Access to dozens of self reflection, skills reflection, and skills assessment frameworks and exercises
Access to dozens of self reflection, skills reflection, and skills assessment frameworks and exercises
A recent 2021 LinkedIn Workplace survey cited the following statistics to underscore why this form of learning is critical to engaging and retaining employee growth:
84% of managers said that learning to identify skill gaps and adjacencies promotes retention and growth
83%+ of Millennial and Gen Z professionals said they want to learn more to better perform in their existing roles
30X lift in learner engagement when people learn together, like in Zeit’s group coaching setting
Zeit has been featured in Fortune, Maria Shriver’s newsletter, elpha, and Techladies as a prominent career discovery and coaching platform. They have a 95% net-promoter-score from members.
Who else is using this program?
A diverse range of members from big companies like PolicyGenius, Nomad Health, Achievement First, and Progressive are using this to develop professionally and sustain employee retention.
Best,
____
Script 2:
Asking Your HR Department to Use Your L&D Budget for Zeit Programs
Hi ____,
This year I’d like to use ___ [dollar amount] of my L&D budget to enroll in the ____ [Zeit program name] to help me develop as a professional and identify what skills I can leverage and strengthen as a part of my current role. I’m also hoping to build out my leadership skills so that I can continue to evolve and contribute in greater ways at ___ [current company name].
Best,
____
An internal pivot takes time, so patience is key here. Sometimes, you need to do a lot of legwork. It can take time to ramp up into a new role, while ramping down from an old one.
Here’s how you can execute this transition.
Chances are you have a thing or two to learn about your new desired role. An internal pivot can’t happen overnight, even if your company fully supports your transition. While you wait for everything to fall into place, head back to “school”.
Take online classes, attend webinars, pursue information webinars, and engage in career coaching.
Of course, you don’t just want the transition to be smooth for you. Ask your manager if you can devote some time each week to getting to know your new team (if applicable) and to assist on projects or attend training sessions. That way when you fully transition into your new role, you can hit the ground running. At the same time, you should also be supporting your current team and manager by outlining a clear transition plan and creating a training plan and helpful documentation for your replacement.
📅 Schedule some time with us to for some free guidance and to hear more about Zeit.
Discovery Path Program
Gain clarity and momentum.
You are ready to make a career shift but not sure what options and pathways are available to you. When it comes to job descriptions you are confused and overwhelmed by the different roles and titles. While you are confident you have many transferable skills, you need help zeroing in on the role, company, and industry to shift into.
