Sales Representative

MTV, Business Development

This definitely isn’t what anyone would call critical work and it definitely isn’t the type of work these guys went to law school for.  So naturally, lawyers interested in joining the ranks of famous and not-so-famous talent agents need to be seriously prepared to perform an assortment of menial chores in the beginning of their transition. 

Another interesting thing worth pointing out is the fact that many corporate lawyers in New York start earning roughly $140K per year right out of law school.  Yet this figure is extremely different for lawyers first starting their careers as talent agents.  These guys take on a completely different career path from their corporate brothers, and subsequently, their pay is usually a lot less.

Why is all this important you might ask?  Well, for those of you who are considering changing careers, you must know that all careers don’t have the same track.  Some careers require very little in the way of special training or previous knowledge of the interested field.  Where as other areas might be completely cut off to career changers unless they go back to school and receive specialized training or earn an advanced degree, and truthfully, most of us can’t afford to stop everything we’re doing to go back to school for several more years. 

Moreover, some careers don’t always allow us to start with a preferential job title or at a higher salary simply because we’ve acquired an advanced degree, although it can certainly be a smooth way to transition into a new field.  In fact, one friend of mine, Laura, decided she wanted to go into television programming, marketing or production. Since she had a strictly finance background, she chose to attend Harvard Business School for two years. This direction was chosen because she preferred not to start at the bottom of a TV company as a production or marketing assistant.  However, acquiring the degree produced adverse affects.  Some people resented her for possessing the degree and it also miserably left her with a six-figure debt.  Ultimately, she still started as a free-lance production assistant.

The truth is that some career tracks involve starting as an assistant no matter what. This includes persons possessing professional degrees. And frankly, often we’ll find that the people in a position to hire us want to be sure we go through the same process they endured. Those dues must be paid! However, I will also say that most professionals recognize that when someone is already a level above the rest.  That is to say, part of the process for those who are truly new to the work force is learning corporate structure, follow-through, business writing, developing professional contacts, etc.  If you’re someone who already understands these things you are likely to advance more quickly anyway.

Moreover, there are times when we may start over at a lower position in a new field, but are brought in at a higher salary than the job generally pays. This can be done for several reasons. First, it may be that the person-in-charge, is really looking for someone with more business savvy, but must start any new hire at the bottom level. Secondly, sometimes we can convince a potential employer so profoundly that we are the only person for the job that she or he will make adjustments to accommodate salary needs, and sometimes the person simply has room in the budget and is willing to make a modification if prompted.

While the title change can sometimes make it seem as though we’ve taken a demotion, the fact is that titles are all relative.  During my tenure with a previous employer, I earned the prestigious title of senior vice president, which is several levels above the position I currently hold with my newest employer.  Even though my duties as SVP gave me a lot more say so concerning the company’s key operations and regularly included me in noteworthy news pieces, that position still didn’t stack up to the one I hold now.  My current employer, MTV, generates 12 times the amount of revenue yearly; it’s a household name amongst millions of television viewers and my salary is considerably higher.  So while many companies may have numerous figure heads on their payrolls and companies of a similar size may have less than a hand-full on theirs, accepting a title that is (on paper anyway) a lower level than your present job title should not be a deterrent when considering a change in your line of work.

Lastly, there are those who will tell you that changing fields too often can lead to the idea that you are a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none. Simply put, there are some people who will never see past an applicant’s resume not having the exact vertical experience for which they are looking. Nonetheless, an effective cover letter would state not that you’ve had a myriad of general experiences, but that you have very specific, unique experiences with highly transferable skills.  Often this kind of selling convinces a would-be employer/recruiter to at least take an interview, which is where the advantages of a different area of expertise can stand out. Telling a hiring manager that you want to change fields, will never be as engaging or intriguing as telling him or her about your passions and why you’re willing to shift directions in your career. 

One way or another, it will take a major selling job after a number of years rooted in one career to successfully shift gears.  So, it is best we start with ourselves, in order to make sure that when we go for that all-new career opportunity, we know honestly what to expect.