Think your experience is “too niche” to pivot? This is for you

If you’ve been in the same industry for 10, 15, 20 years, it can start to feel like a trap.

You hear things like “overqualified.”

You watch younger colleagues move up faster. And a quiet fear creeps in:

“My experience is too niche.”

“I’ve only ever worked in this one space.” “My skills don’t translate.”

I get it.

I spent almost two decades in corporate, leading sales teams for big consumer brands.

When I started thinking about doing something different, I had the exact same thought:

“Who’s going to hire someone with my specific background for something completely different?”

Here’s what I learned:

Your skills are more transferable than you think.

You just have to learn how to translate them.

Hiring managers don’t care about industry jargon. They care about outcomes.

Did you manage teams?
Did you solve complex problems?
Did you deliver results under pressure?
Did you make a difference, make an impact?

Those skills work everywhere.

Once I reframed my experience not as “CPG-specific” but as leadership, strategy, and execution, new doors started opening.

And I’ve watched the same thing happen with my clients in pharma, tech, finance, healthcare, hospitality and beyond.

The same positioning work that helps you move past the “overqualified” label also opens up entirely new industries.

If you’ve been avoiding opportunities because you think your background “does not fit”…

You’re not stuck in your industry.

You’re stuck in how you’re describing your value.

Once you know how to position your experience, new doors open fast.