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For career changers, acquired skills find new expression

After his systems-engineer position was outsourced in late 2006, Korey Reid took his career in a new direction. He's now a sales manager at a company that provides computer-based training — a job he got by leveraging the expertise he gained during his 15 years in technology.

As the economy slows and job losses mount, many workers in fields like financial services, real estate and the auto industry are scrambling for a Plan B. Contemplating the odds that a career switch may be necessary can be daunting. But if you're in a sinking industry or staring down a corporate layoff, there's good news. With some creative attention to your resume and thought about where your talents can best be used, many skills are fairly easy to transfer from one profession to another, career experts say.

Reid, for example, says he thought of joining CBT Nuggets LLC in Eugene, Ore., because he had been a longtime customer and was adept at using the company's products. To land the job, he pointed this out and highlighted the communications skills he had gained from working on teams at employers like Hewlett-Packard Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp.

Changing careers may also be on the minds of many financial-services professionals. Several investment banks have already made significant job cuts, including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. Meanwhile, some top industry executives foresee layoffs as high as 20 percent for Wall Streeters.

One possible safe harbor: A consulting job at a financial-communications or investor-relations firm, says Roy Cohen, an executive coach in New York. It's a job that typically involves helping corporate clients prepare and publicize their financial news. And given their experience receiving that news, financial analysts, equity researchers and other Wall Street professionals are likely to be adept at determining what information is appropriate to divulge, Cohen says.

CMF Associates LLC, a small financial-consulting firm in Philadelphia, recently hired two people from large financial-services companies, says Tom Bonney, managing director. Both saw their responsibilities shrinking and were anticipating pink slips, he says. Meanwhile, for Bonney, it was an opportunity to recruit talent with the financial savvy and strong communications skills needed to help the firm's middle-market clients identify and evaluate business acquisitions. "If you work in the financial-services market, you are careful, and I needed people who have good judgment," he says.

For Wall Street traders, switching to the buy side at hedge funds, insurance companies and investment-management firms may be an option, says Cohen. The analytical and quantitative skills traders bring to the table, along with their knowledge of capital markets, position them for success in evaluating securities, he says. Switching to an analyst job in risk management could also make sense. "Risk management has a lot to do with identifying potential problems, and that's what traders are always doing instinctively," Cohen says.

Demand for professionals in this niche is healthy and expected to intensify toward the end of the second quarter, adds Michael Woodrow, president of Risk Talent Associates LLC, an executive-search firm. Last year, the small recruitment agency filled roughly 40 senior-level risk-management positions.

In the real-estate industry, the subprime mess, overbuilding, underwater mortgages and falling home prices are making it increasingly difficult to thrive in sales. But real-estate professionals tend to be salespeople at heart and the market for sales aces is growing, so making a switch to a sales role in more robust industries such as insurance, pharmaceuticals and computer software is usually possible, says Jay Hargis, founder and managing partner of Talent Insight Group, a human-resources consulting firm. In the corporate world, these jobs go by titles like account manager and client-services manager. A real-estate agent's experience in analyzing markets, building customer relationships and closing deals is highly applicable, says Hargis.

Business development is another avenue that makes sense for real-estate professionals, notes Hargis, who is also a human-resources adjunct professor at Suffolk University in Boston. These jobs involve identifying and securing new customers — tasks that are routine for agents who seek out homeowners in need of professional support. Almost every company that sells products or services will have business-development positions, says Hargis.

Chubb Corp. frequently recruits real-estate industry refugees and others for jobs in underwriting and customer service, says Val Aguirre, senior vice president for talent acquisition at the insurance company. Their financial acumen and communications skills prepare people with a real-estate background to articulate and negotiate insurance contracts with clients, she says.

Slumping sales in the auto industry have prompted many U.S. vehicle and parts makers to trim their work forces in recent years. Earlier this year, General Motors Corp. announced it would offer buyout packages to 74,000 workers. Meanwhile, Chrysler LLC is attempting to shed 10,000 workers through incentives by April 1. The moves have affected both line workers and white-collar professionals at auto makers and their suppliers.

But several manufacturing sectors, including heavy equipment, consumer products and petroleum, are healthy and expanding, says Rick Slayton, president of Slayton Search Partners, an executive-search firm based in Chicago. While companies serving these markets produce different goods, they have enough similarities to the auto makers to make for a smooth transition.

Many are complex, global organizations operating under tight profit margins, he says. As a result, workers skilled in common business functions such as finance, procurement, logistics, human resources and general management are likely to find comparable jobs. And floor workers can often transition into other line jobs.

Gas Station TV, a company that sets up and programs televisions at gasoline pumps, recently recruited three people who were laid off from companies that service the auto industry. They had worked in information technology, accounting and marketing, and their skills "translated incredibly well," says David Leider, the two-year-old company's chief executive. No additional training was required, he adds.

Some career changes can mean less pay. Or you might find yourself in need of additional training or course work to make your way back to the level you were at before.

Reid, the technology professional turned salesman, says he accepted a small pay cut. But switching careers brought him great satisfaction. "I wanted to be in an environment I enjoyed," he says. "And I was getting a little burned out (from) training other folks to take over my job."