HBR Guides to Managing Your Career Collection (6 Books)

CHAPTER 13

Turning Your Complex Career Path into a Coherent Story

by Anna Ranieri

It’s hard when you’ve had a nonstandard career trajectory and you want to reenter the workforce, move to a higher position, or enter a new field. Will a marketing firm see you as a good leadership candidate if you’ve always been a professional fund-raiser and small-business owner? Would a medical devices company view you as capable of learning their product line if you’ve worked in the automobile or hospitality industries? Will a corporate hiring manager take you seriously if you’ve spent the past 10 years mostly volunteering? In these cases, you may not be the slam-dunk candidate. But you’re more likely to persuade an enlightened hiring manager, venture funder, ...