The average person has 12 jobs throughout their professional life. Just as the seasons shift and months change, each will be ripe with promise, disappointment, challenge and celebration.
The tech sector continues to attract more career-changers than any other industry. Like any significant life decision, the potential risks and rewards weigh profoundly on the decision. According to Zippia, 58 percent of U.S. adults want a career change, but the risks are a barrier.
As professionals consider their next career move, some questions might weigh heavily on their minds. Is it financially advantageous? Will it be a positive challenge? Will it pay off — fiscally and otherwise? Will the before end up being better than the after?
Studies have shown that many career changers report higher levels of job satisfaction in their new roles. Still, even a low-risk bet is still a bet with risk.
For those who aspire to growth in their professional lives, nontraditional skill sets and growth potential can outweigh any initial gaps.
At ServiceNow, the diversity of its team members’ backgrounds has proven to be a strength. The company’s global talent outreach and engagement director explained why and how it sets the promising futures of career changers in motion.
ServiceNow is a cloud-based platform that delivers digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity for employees and the enterprise.
Describe the makeup of your team in terms of the diversity of backgrounds. What kind of unique experiences are represented?
My team is made up of professionals that range from early career to 20-plus years of experience. We have women, men and individuals who vary in religion, national origin and ethnicity. Most of their professional experience is steeped in talent acquisition. However, many have experience outside of human resources and talent acquisition, ranging from sales to nursing. We have team members with and without degrees; some are trained software engineers, while others have MBAs. Our work is infused with rich perspectives as a result of the diverse backgrounds and range of approaches on my team.
Our work is infused with rich perspectives as a result of the diverse backgrounds and range of approaches on my team.”
What is one major benefit of hiring people from outside tech?
The ultimate benefit of hiring someone from a background outside of tech is giving the person an opportunity to completely change the trajectory of not only their career but also their family’s lives. From the point of view of work, having a different perspective is always invaluable.
We have several instances of hiring colleagues from non-traditional backgrounds. They have proven to be hard workers, cross-functional champions and colleagues whose work ethic supersedes any contextual knowledge gaps. We have seen them lead cross-functional projects, receive department awards and influence strategy at the executive level.
How does ServiceNow onboard and support new hires who come from outside your industry?
The great thing about ServiceNow is that we truly practice our company purpose — to make the world work better for everyone — in every aspect of work. In this case, onboarding is the same. General onboarding looks about the same for everyone. Still, as you get deeper within each function, we meet people where they are and adjust accordingly by providing them with career development tools and resources to help them do their best work.
