Creating your Career Change Bridge: 5 Essentials

Because moving forward shouldn’t mean starting from scratch.

Andrew James looks at essential things someone should do when building their bridge to career change.

As someone trying to navigate my own change later in life, I've come across a few obstacles, but have also learnt a few things in the process. In fact, I'm still learning. These five essential things are what I've found to be the case, sometimes as a result of a misaligned mindset.

1. Have Solid Foundations
   

Your bridge needs these - foundations in the mind built on acceptance and NOT self-blame. This is not always easy to maintain. Another application, another rejection and the thoughts of self-doubt grow - "Maybe I’ve left it too late. Maybe I’m not what they’re looking for anymore."

But the truth is often simpler: something has changed. Maybe it’s the job market. Maybe it’s your priorities. Or maybe it’s that you’ve decided to act rather than stay still. That matters.

What’s needed is a foundation of clarity and intention — not an apology. A clear-eyed understanding of the realities you’re facing, paired with your permission to move forward anyway.

Are you building from fear or intention?

Owning your truth — even if it feels uncertain — gives you a firmer place to build from than any polished CV ever could.

2.  Know What You're Carrying Over

   
   

Your experience matters. It’s not about reinventing yourself completely — it’s about identifying what’s worth carrying to the other side. Your new bridge can hold this. Skills, values, ways of working. Changing course later in life isn’t a reset — it’s a reroute.

This might mean recognising that your years managing complex workloads in education, care, or the arts have direct applications in operations, community engagement, or digital roles. Or that the way you’ve supported others through change is itself a powerful skill — even if it doesn’t have a neat job title attached.

Consider the problems you’ve solved rather than the jobs you've done, the people you’ve supported, and the values you’ve upheld. What patterns show up?

What do others consistently rely on you for?

This is your inventory. And it’s what gives your new direction weight and texture.

Career change later in life isn’t a reset. It’s a reroute.

3. Build in Stages — and Don’t Build Alone

   
   

A bridge isn’t built in a single day. And it’s difficult to build in isolation.

One of the hardest parts of transition is the sense of being between things — no longer fully in your old world, not yet secure in your new one. That’s where scaffolding helps, people who get it, places you can try things out without judgment.

You need to find opportunities to learn by doing. Peer support, mentors, practical experiences — these are your temporary supports as you construct something lasting.

When I first began this journey, I thought I had to figure it out quietly on my own. But what helped most wasn’t more quiet — it was connection. It was hearing someone else say, “I’ve been there,” or “That sounds familiar.”

ELE Hub exists to be that kind of space — where career changers and early career builders can explore, test, and grow in community. There’s no hard sell. Just space to build.

Who’s in your corner right now? What kind of support do you still need?

4. Test the Strength Along the Way
   

You don’t have to wait until the bridge is 'finished' to step on it. In fact, you shouldn't, because confidence doesn't come from theory. It comes from practice.

Attend a session. Offer to help a friend with a piece of work that interests you, or explore a new task.

These are low-risk ways to gain clarity — not just about what you can do, but what you actually enjoy doing. Here are some more:

• Volunteer in a different setting. Offer your time to a cause or organisation that operates in a sector you’re curious about — even if it’s just a few hours a week. It can give you exposure to different work styles, tools, and people without the pressure of a formal role. If you're already volunteering or part of a community, ask if you can support in a new capacity — helping with logistics, digital tools, or mentoring.

• Shadow someone. Ask someone in a role you’re interested in if you can shadow them for a few hours or days. Many people are surprisingly open to this — and it gives you a direct window into a role or sector.

• Conduct informal interviews. Reach out to people doing work you admire and ask for 20 minutes of their time to hear about their journey. This can be incredibly illuminating — and it helps build your network without having to ‘sell’ yourself.

• Start a micro-project. Set yourself a small challenge related to the area you're exploring. Want to move into content creation? Write a short article. Curious about community management? Start a local discussion group. It doesn’t need to go viral — it just needs to go live.

• Experiment with online challenges. There are free and short online challenges that can give you a taster of a field — for tech-curious people, or writing, design, or UX challenges that stretch your thinking and get you into action.

• Reflect publicly. Writing a blog post or a LinkedIn with a reflection on what you're learning — even if you’re still in progress — can both clarify your own thinking and spark conversations with people who relate.

• Join a cohort-based course or learning community. These often focus on practical work and shared accountability, and can help you dip a toe into a new field with structured support.

  
  

One person I know tested their interest in coaching by running a free session for a few friends. It didn’t need to be perfect. It just needed to happen. That one action opened the door to more.

The act of doing builds trust — not just in the bridge, but in yourself.

5. Make It Yours

   
   

No two bridges look the same — and that’s a strength, not a flaw.

Your path may not match anyone else’s. It may zigzag, stall, or take a turn you didn’t expect. What matters is that it’s honest, achievable, and rooted in where you are now.

This might be the most challenging of all, and truthfully one I'm still working on: Let go of the comparison trap. The curated journeys you see online are rarely the full story. Instead, stay close to what’s true for you. What kind of work do you want to do now? What does success look like for you, not just on paper, but in life?

A good bridge reflects the needs of the person building it. So make it yours.

Final Thoughts

Your career transformation isn’t a cliff edge. It’s a crossing. And the bridge can be built.

You don’t need to rush. You don’t need to go it alone. And you certainly don’t need to start from scratch.

If you’re looking for a way to begin, ELE Hub offers Hands-On Experience Programmes designed to support that first step — no pressure, just people who understand.