Managing the Cold Start Problem in Nonlinear Career Transitions

Research Seminar

Management & Human Resources

Speaker: Ece Kaynak

Bayes Business School, University of London

room Bernard Ramanantsoa 

Abstract: As the traditional employment relationship has destabilized in much of the Western world, the nature of careers has been in flux. While there are a growing number of studies examining the challenges of contemporary careers, our understanding of nonlinear career transitions—transitions that entail both organizational and occupational changes—is underdeveloped. Existing studies of nonlinear career transitions tend to focus on identity transformation processes that both underpin and propel such transitions. How career switchers gain entry to occupational domains with esoteric expertise and skills requirements remains understudied, especially when career switchers pursue alternative modes of reskilling rather than going back to school. This paper examines how career switchers who have reskilled themselves by attending short term vocational training programs transitioned into software development careers. We found that most career switchers accomplished their desired transitions despite not having the educational credentials or relevant professional experience that employers typically look for in job candidates. However, finding their first jobs was a significant challenge. We theorize this as a case of the cold start problem that is inherent to nonlinear career transitions.  We found that career switchers employed a range of tactics to overcome the cold start problem. These tactics included educating potential employers, targeting receptive employers, hustling for opportunities to demonstrate skills, trying to pass as a member of a taken for granted occupational entrant category, and finally, accepting bridge roles. Together, these tactics helped careers switchers break into a new occupational domain without the credentials or relevant professional experience that employers typically seek in job candidates.