Career Pivot? Why Your CV Isn’t the Best Place to Start

If you're considering a career pivot — especially after years in a specialized field like the UN or international development — it can be tempting to start with your CV. In fact, many people come to coaching asking how to rework their resume or highlight their transferable skills. These are valid and important questions. But they’re not the best place to start.

Focusing too quickly on your CV can keep you anchored in your past and blind you to what your future could hold. It frames the transition in terms of what you’ve already done — rather than what you now want to create.

A more powerful way to begin is to reconnect with your values — the deeper motivations that energize and direct you when you’re at your best. Your values are your inner compass. They illuminate what kind of work gives you meaning, the types of people and environments that nourish you, and the kind of impact you genuinely want to have. When you lead with values, you’re not just asking, “What can I do?” You’re asking, “What do I want to do — and why?”

When we rush to focus on skills and job titles, we often end up contorting ourselves to fit existing roles, rather than expanding our vision to explore what might actually fulfill us. And whether your pivot is by choice or prompted by circumstances like downsizing, it can still be an opportunity to ask what truly fits now — and what you want to create next.

This approach doesn’t mean ignoring practicalities. It means grounding them. When you’re clear on your values, the rest of your strategy — networking, applications, interviews — becomes sharper and more authentic. A CV that is built on your values tells a coherent story. One that others can connect with. One that energizes you — even before it leads to the next opportunity.