Pivoting Safety: Leaving the Restaurant Industry Behind (Part 1 of 10)
Week 1: The Rejection That Didn't Make Sense
One of the most frustrating parts of trying to pivot careers is being told you don't have the right experience.
Not because you're lacking the skills.
Not because you've never done the work.
But because your experience came from the "wrong" industry.
As I've explored opportunities in safety, I've seen job postings looking for experience with incident investigations, employee training, workers' compensation, regulatory compliance, risk assessments, coaching, and leadership development.
The frustrating part is that I've spent the last several years doing exactly those things.
Yet more often than not, the conversation changes once employers see "restaurant operations" on a resume.
What many people don't realize is that job titles rarely tell the whole story.
As a Chef Manager, I've worn a lot of hats. Operations leader, safety manager, trainer, HR partner, investigator, coach, and business leader, sometimes all in the same day.
One thing I've learned through this process is that career pivots aren't always about gaining new skills. Sometimes they're about helping others understand how the skills you already have transfer to a different environment.
So if you're working toward a career change, don't discount your experience just because it came from an industry people don't immediately recognize. Experience doesn't lose its value simply because it was gained somewhere unexpected.
I'd be interested to hear from others who have made a significant career pivot. What was the biggest challenge you faced?
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