Hey Reader,

Every week in this newsletter, I answer a question from a reader. Today’s question comes from a Head of Internal Comms in Edinburgh, Scotland. He asks:

Hey thanks for sending in this and raising this as a topic. We should be talking about this more because this is so common and in my view, it’s so annoying!

I often despair when I see job ads that require years of experience in a specific sector. There’s really no need for it, and I always feel like the hiring manager is inadvertently limiting their ability to find the right person with this approach.

The idea that internal communicators need specific industry experience is pretty silly, because the core skills of a comms pro are highly transferable across sectors. Think about it, things like understanding your audience, tailoring messages to specific audiences, creating strategic campaigns linked to business goals, managing stakeholders, managing effective channels... all of these core skills apply whether you’re communicating with retail staff, financial analysts or manufacturing teams. You’re still fundamentally dealing with human beings who need clear, easy-to-understand and relevant information to do their jobs effectively.

So I really think that a good comms pro can work in any industry, no matter if they have experience in that industry or not. Industry knowledge can be learned on the job, it can often be learned pretty fast. Let's talk about today in today's newsletter and I'll give you some practical tips to help with your approach.

Deanna Zabel joined The Curious Tribe with a clear goal: get promoted.
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When she joined the tribe, Deanna was working as an Internal Comms Lead. She felt hungry for more; greater strategic responsibility, influence and impact.
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She knew she was capable and she was ready to go after it. So she set herself a clear goal:
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🎯 Get promoted.
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With that goal in mind, she joined the Tribe. And she got to work.
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She connected with peers who were already operating at the level she was reaching for. She worked with me directly, talking through her pitch for the promotion and getting advice and encouragement when it mattered most.
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And something clicked. Surrounded by people already doing the job she wanted, Deanna realised she was already operating at their level. She didn’t need to wonder if she could do a senior job; she KNEW she could.
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It didn’t take Deanna years to get a promotion.
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She did it in 6 months after joining the tribe.
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Deanna is now Senior Manager, Culture and Global Employee Communications at Broan-NuTone. And she renewed her membership of the tribe for another year because the community is so valuable for her.
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The Curious Tribe is my membership community for ambitious, curious internal comms pros who want to achieve more in their career and have more impact in their job.
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If you're looking for a place to connect, upskill and accelerate your career in internal comms, you've found your people.
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Are you the next member of The Curious Tribe? 👀

My own industry-hopping journey

I’m an industry job hopper, I’m also an award-winning comms pro. Yes you can be both! My career is probably evidence in itself that you can work across multiple industries as a comms professional and do a great job, despite a lack of specific industry experience in different areas.

Back in 2016, I took a job in financial services. I’d never worked in a finance company before, I didn’t know anything about pensions or income protection. I didn’t even know what the word “annuity” meant. But that was fine, because I wasn’t hired for my finance skills, I was hired for my comms skills.

And when I joined the company, I immersed myself in the business. I learned what the company did, I learned all the lingo and the jargon and learned about the financial products and what it all meant. I asked lots of questions and I read everything I could lay my hands on. I even sat some finance exams which helped increase my understanding (though sitting finance exams was a horrible experience, to be honest).

After that role, I switched industries again. I took up a job as Head of Internal Comms in the Irish national police force. Had I worked in policing before? Nope. Did I know anything about policing? Not really. (I don’t think watching true crime shows on youtube counts.)

Did this lack of industry-specific experience or knowledge stop me doing a great job? Nah. I won multiple awards for the work I did in that role.

And guess what I did after that role? I moved industries AGAIN! I took up a job in a small tech company that was fully remote across multiple countries and different time zones. I didn’t know anything about their software or about engineering or about what they sold or built. But no problem, because I learned it on the job and was able to do great work.

All the skills I needed were similar across all the roles, so it really didn't matter what the industry was. And I was often so surprised by how similar the comms challenges were across different sectors, things are more similar than you'd expect even in wildly different companies. For example, many companies are struggling with too many channels / a high volume of irrelevant comms / how to run effective leadership townhalls / how to build trust during tough times etc. These challenges are common across different industries.

What can you do if a job spec wants industry experience you don't have?

If you see your dream job advertised but it asks for industry experience you don’t have, don't let it stop you in your tracks completely. First thing to check is whether the experience is listed under "Essential" or under "Desirable". If it's "essential" then this job is not for you, you will most likely get screened out by their screening software and not get invited for interview.

But lots of job ads really only list this kind of specific industry experience under "Desirable". And in that case, I suggest you apply for the job. Here's a few tips to help you send in a strong application:

1. Talk about transferable skills

Relate your skills and experience directly to what they’re looking for in the job spec. If they’re looking for someone who can coach leaders and help managers communicate better, you can share a story and some data about how you’ve done that successfully in another role. If they’re looking for someone who can manage multiple communication channels and be responsible for high-quality content, you can talk about how you’ve done that before with great success.

This shows that your skills and experience are directly transferable to this role, despite a lack of industry-specific experience. They may get a lightbulb moment that you can do this job without having been in this industry before, because the work is the same despite the company type.

2. Turn your outsider status into an advantage

Tell them in your cover letter that they need you BECAUSE you are an outsider, not in spite of it. Explain that you’d bring fresh eyes to the company which would help to spot opportunities that industry veterans might miss. You’d be bringing a variety of insights, ideas and practices from other sectors that could benefit their organisation.

You could turn their entire approach on its head and argue that what they actually need is someone who has never worked in their industry before, someone who can see their challenges objectively without an insider bias.

3. Demonstrate your ability to learn

And of course, you want to communicate your swift ability to learn on the job. Tell a story of how you previously took a job in an industry you hadn't got any experience in before, but you were able to quickly get up to speed and learn about the business in your first few months in the role. Make sure to match it up to a story of how you delivered a great project or had great results in that role to show that your ability to learn makes you great at the job.

Don't get put off too soon

So I reckon you can still apply for these jobs, the hiring manager may well come to the conclusion that your broader perspective and proven communication track record is more valuable than the specific industry experience they thought they needed.

Thanks for reading and stay curious,

Joanna

Find me on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn and check out my book​

Want to work together?

• Join The Curious Tribe. This is my membership community for ambitious, curious communicators who want to achieve more in their roles and have fun at the same time. Membership allows you to work directly with me for 12 months, make deep connections with other communication pros who 'get it' and improve your skills through training and learning. More info here.
• Ready to review your channels and content but don't know where to start? Download my practical Internal Comms Audit Playbook to guide you through a DIY audit - no expensive consultant needed.​ This has ready-to-use templates and checklists to give you a systematic way to do your own audit which you can repeat every single year. Get it here.
• Take a shortcut. I've developed a collection of tried-and-tested templates, checklists and how-to guides for the key processes you'll need in your role as an internal communicator. You can download my Internal Comms Cheat Sheets here.​

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