New Job, Different Industry. How to Succeed When You Make the Leap.

According to Rob Apatoff, a clinical professor at the Kellogg School and executive director of the Kellogg Executive Leadership Institute and former senior executive at several major brands, the biggest challenge in this transition is often not the work itself, where experience and transferrable skills can go a long way toward ensuring a smooth transition.

Sometimes, the biggest hurdle is fear—fear of stepping outside your comfort zone, of landing in a culture that does not fit, of starting over. “It is always a risk restarting your career and building credibility at another company.”

In his own career, Apatoff has made multiple high-profile jumps across sectors—from beverages (Anheuser-Busch) to athletic wear and shoes (Reebok) to insurance (Allstate) to floral and gifting (as CEO of FTD Companies Worldwide) and, most recently, to academia. Along the way, Apatoff has learned what it takes to succeed in unfamiliar territory.

Here, Apatoff shares five critical lessons for navigating a sector change—and landing on your feet.

1. Know when to jump

Apatoff warns that, while timing is important, changing sectors shouldn’t be a knee-jerk decision.

“You can be tired or frustrated with a job, but that’s not the best reason to shift sectors,” he says.

It takes more than timing—it takes clarity about what you offer and why it matters to make that commitment. He encourages leaders to dig into the real story behind any job opening.

“Are you replacing somebody? Exactly what went wrong? Is it a new position? If so, what are the criteria for success?” he says. “You have to dig deeper and ask what specifically this person or company didn’t have. Knowing this can help you convince the hiring company that whatever tools you are bringing with you can offer a fresh perspective and a clear path forward to achieve their goals.”

He also urges professionals to weigh their personal circumstances before making a move—especially when relocation is involved.

“When I left a great, secure job at Anheuser-Busch and went to Reebok, I moved my family to Boston with two children under three years old. Within three months, I knew the new company did not align with my personal integrity and values,” he says.

Without the flexibility to back out, he had no choice but to make it work.

“Seriously consider leaving yourself optionality at the start in a big sector change,” says Apatoff.

2. Do your homework

When you are plotting a move into a new sector, taking a rigorous dive into that sector’s dynamics should be your first step.

“You sure as heck better do your homework on that industry,” Apatoff says. “I don’t mean just about the company—I mean about its competitors, how transactions are done, what unmentioned potential problems the company you’re considering might be recruiting you to solve.”

One technique that helped Apatoff prepare for work in a new sector was going straight to the customer base to gather insights on the company and its products. Doing this kind of thoughtful “off-interview” research—especially the kind that is not readily available online—can help you stand out in the hiring process. It also shortens your learning curve when you arrive, which can be crucial when expectations are high.

“I would go and talk to retailers about the different beers, what they liked and what they didn’t like regarding product, distribution, and service,” he says of his transition to Anheuser-Busch, where he held executive marketing roles. “Bringing that knowledge with you shows the company you will be able to survive in the shark bowl they’re sending you into.”

3. Focus on culture

For Apatoff, the hardest part of switching sectors was not learning the business—it was learning the culture.

In the 1980s, he left Anheuser-Busch—a highly respected, traditional, tightly run beverage giant—for Reebok, a bold and fast-moving athletic brand. While the new role promised energy and visibility, the internal culture came as a shock.

“I went from a high-integrity environment at Anheuser-Busch to a place that felt completely different,” he recalls. “It was a bit stunning to me.”

Apatoff learned that even if the work itself feels familiar, the company’s culture might not be. And that environmental dissonance can quickly undermine your credibility and confidence.

“You have to make sure you have support all the way through the transition at all levels of the company, not just with the executive that hired you,” he adds. Without it, you are working without a safety net—especially if the person who hired you leaves shortly after your arrival.

4. Listen, learn, and adapt

Once you are through the door, your first instinct might be to immediately speak out in an effort to prove yourself. But Apatoff recommends the opposite: listen first.

When he transitioned from the private-sector corporate world to teaching at the Kellogg School, Apatoff realized why people who spent their career in industry often struggle to make the shift to academia.

“I quickly learned it’s because we came from a command-and-control, speed to market environment,” he explains. “The shift to a more collaborative academic culture was not automatic. So I spent my first several months listening, asking countless questions about the craft of teaching, sitting in classes from respected faculty, and gaining experience in a new world”

Even after a long career in the C-suite, Apatoff had to rethink how he shared what he knew. He arrived with detailed case studies from his own leadership career—stories he assumed would translate well to the classroom.

“I remember Eric Anderson—a professor who was one of the reasons I joined Kellogg—saying, “hey, these are great case studies, but you know that you can’t teach them this way, don’t you?”

That feedback forced a shift, Apatoff says. “I had to change my mindset and learn to adapt to that culture, versus trying to make that culture adapt to me.”

5. Build credibility fast

“As they say—a bit crudely—in corporate America, ‘the bullet leaves the chamber of the gun on your first day. It’s just a matter of when it’s going to get you,’” says Apatoff. It is a saying he picked up from friends at PepsiCo—and it means early wins are vital.

Executives are expected to make an impact quickly, especially when coming from outside the industry. This is where building credibility becomes even more important.

“At a higher level, you have to come to your new job with a playbook,” he says. “When I went from a department head to a VP of marketing and then CMO, the stakes got higher and the timeframe to figure things out and make positive impact got shorter. As a CMO, you’re expected to be up to speed immediately and bringing solutions to the table.”

That playbook—along with the relationships you’ve bult throughout your career—can help you execute your plan. This can make the difference between a successful pivot and a painful misstep. Focusing on internal relationships is also critical to building credibility in your new role. At the insurance firm Allstate, Apatoff was recruited by Allstate’s CEO/Chairman to serve as its first chief marketing officer. He immediately built strong alliances with the CFO and head of sales.

“I had to convince the CFO that I cared about the dollars as much as he did. I made sure he knew I was talking his language,” Apatoff says. “I went on sales calls with the head of sales and was able to speak with the major vendors. I never asked for anything in return; I just knew it would benefit the company and, ultimately, both of us.”

By showing humility and a concern for others’ success, Apatoff created the support system he needed to succeed himself.

“You have to bring others in and share credit with them,” he says. “Even if you may already know the answer better than they do, you need them to be receptive to your ideas.”