Haveo · Networking when you need a job

Networking when you are changing fields

Stop explaining the gap and start asking about the work. "What would make someone from my background credible here?" turns your resume from a problem you are defending into a question they can help with — and people are far more willing to answer that.

Lead with the destination, not the history

"I am moving into X" is a much better opening than "I have spent eight years in Y." The first is a direction; the second is a thing to be explained.

Your history becomes an advantage once the direction is established, and a liability if it arrives first.

Get Haveo free on the App Store →

The question that does the most work

"What would make someone with my background credible for this?" It is specific, they know the answer, and it makes them a collaborator instead of an assessor.

It also gets you the real hiring criteria, which is rarely what the job posting says.

Get Haveo free on the App Store →

Find the people who already made the same move

They have made your argument before, to someone who eventually said yes. They know which parts of your history to foreground and which to drop.

They are also unusually willing to help, because somebody did it for them.

Get Haveo free on the App Store →

Build one visible thing

A project, a piece of writing, a small piece of real work in the new field. It converts "wants to move into X" into "has done X", which is a different conversation entirely.

This does more than any number of coffees, and it makes the coffees go better.

Get Haveo free on the App Store →

Expect it to take longer

A change of field runs on months of small contact, not a burst of applications. The people who make it are usually the ones who kept talking to the same handful of contacts over a year.

Get Haveo free on the App Store →

Rehearse it before you walk in.

Haveo builds your intro, lets you practice out loud with an AI coach, and keeps your notes one tap away in the room. Free on iPhone and iPad.

Download Haveo — free

Common questions

Do I need to retrain first?
Often no, and it is the most common way people delay. Ask three people in the field before you spend money on a course — they will tell you whether it is the actual barrier.
How do I explain the change?
One sentence, forward-looking. "I want to work on X and this is the closest I can get" needs no defense and invites no follow-up.
Is it worth going to events in the new field if I know nobody?
Yes, and being new is a usable position: "I am moving into this and trying to work out who does what" is a legitimate reason to talk to anyone in the room.
Get Haveo — free on the App Store