Getting into Change Management

Thinking about moving into Change Management? Read this first.

I still get a lot of calls and emails from people wanting to move into Change Management.

Some have done a course.
Some have worked alongside Change teams.
Some have simply been impacted by change and thought, “I could do that.”

And I get it. It’s an interesting space. It’s visible. It feels like a natural progression for people in project, comms, HR or operations roles.

But the reality right now is a little different to what it was a few years ago.

The market has shifted

Right now, there are a lot of applicants in the market.

And clients are no longer flexible.

Where previously a client might have taken someone with some of the requirements and helped them grow…
now they can choose someone who has done all of it before.

That means breaking into Change is harder than it used to be.

Not impossible – but you need to be more targeted and more realistic about how you do it.

First things first – do you actually have the foundations?

Before courses, before networking, before anything else – this matters.

Good Change practitioners aren’t just “good with people”.

They:

build trust quickly
genuinely listen (not just wait to talk)
can deal with ambiguity without needing constant direction
write clearly and practically (not just high-level theory)
influence without authority
understand how people actually behave, not how we wish they would

This is even more important now.

With AI and large-scale transformations happening, organisations are increasingly looking for people who understand behavioural change, not just comms and training.

Courses are helpful – but they won’t get you a job on their own

There are some great resources out there:

Prosci
PCI / Changefirst
Lean Change (Jason Little)
Agile Change Playbook (Jen Frahm & Lena Ross)
Casa de Cambio (Natasha Redman)
Earth2Mars (Andrew Butow)
Lata Hamilton’s courses for new to change

All valuable. All worth exploring.

But here’s the reality:

👉 A certification does not equal experience
👉 And right now, experience is what clients are hiring for

Use courses to build understanding, not as your only strategy.

So how do you actually break in?

This is where I see people get it wrong.

They jump straight to applying for Change Manager roles.

Don’t.

Instead:

1. Start where you are

If you’re in a business:

Put your hand up to be a Change Champion
Get involved in project activity
Support comms, training, stakeholder engagement

That is real, relevant experience.

2. Look for adjacencies

The most successful transitions I see come from:

Project environments
L&D
Communications roles
HR / People teams
Operational roles within transformation programs

Then gradually build Change responsibilities.

3. Be realistic about level

You may need to step into:

Change Analyst roles
Junior Change roles
Project roles with change exposure

That’s the bridge.

Tailor your CV (properly)

This is a big one right now.

With the volume of applications in the market, CVs are being screened quickly.

If your CV:

talks in theory
is full of generic statements
or doesn’t clearly show relevant experience

…it’s a quick no.

Instead:

Show what you actually did
Highlight any change-related activities
Be honest about your level

If you haven’t done Change work – don’t try to make it sound like you have.

It’s very obvious.

A note on applying

This might sting a bit.

Stop applying for roles that don’t match your experience.

It’s not a numbers game anymore.

If a role is asking for:

enterprise transformation experience
operating model change
global stakeholder engagement

…and you haven’t done that — it’s not the right role (yet).

Be selective.

A great example

One person who has made this transition successfully is Daniel Paulet.

I met Daniel early in his Change career, and he has gone on to build strong, practical experience and a clear point of view on the discipline.

His articles are worth a read:

Final thought

Change Management is a great career.

But right now, it’s a competitive one.

If you’re serious about moving into it:

build real experience
be honest about where you’re at
and take a targeted, practical approach

Do that -and you’ll give yourself a far better chance.