Introduction
A career change to personal training is something that many of our students have done, coming from completely different career backgrounds and corporate roles. Whilst some may see the move to a different industry, and one as demanding as personal training as daunting, coming from a different background can be an advantage. In this article we will break down what these advantages for personal trainers are.
Life Experience Brings Relatability With It
One of the main qualities of a good personal trainer is that they are able to connect and empathise with their clients well. Personal trainers that come from different careers can mean that they bring a wealth of life experience, making them more relatable to their clients. For example, the nature of personal training work life balance is very different from most other 9-5 jobs, and so someone who has previously worked in a different industry can understand that and empathise with clients who struggle to fit their fitness into their daily routine. Having this common ground of understanding and relatability can help improve the personal trainer and client relationship.
Transferable Skills
Having a career before personal training can set you up with transferable skills which will be an asset in personal training. Things like communication, problem solving and leadership are all essential personal training skills which can be acquired from other jobs. People who have worked in sales, teaching or been in management positions are likely to have strong communication skills, which are required to enable personal trainers to explain workout programming or exercise form properly, as well as handling more sensitive conversations.
Similarly, backgrounds in careers which require analytical thinking can be well applied to personal training, as these skills are needed for the programme design side, as well as analysing clients’ current position, goals, and the path to get there. Finally, anyone from a previous leadership position will benefit from the skills acquired in that job, as clients will often look to the coach as a guiding figure, and so being able to motivate your clients is key for a successful career.
A Different Perspective
In many cases, personal trainers enter the industry straight away from school or university. Whilst this early exposure is certainly beneficial in some ways, it can also lead to a more narrow viewpoint, as they only know what they have experienced or learned. Personal Trainers that have come from another career can bring with them perspectives and frames of reference from that previous role. Furthermore, whilst personal training is a very personal job, in that you’re constantly client facing, in many ways it is also a solo job as many of your interactions will be 1-1 with a single client at a time (unless you do small group or large group PT.) People that have come from different backgrounds have often had years of experience working with diverse teams of people and so may develop a better skill at recognising emotional states in people. This emotional awareness is something that only comes with exposure and time with a range of people and personalities.
Higher Stakes Lead to Greater Drive
Changing your career isn’t something to take lightly, as it can involve not just stepping out of your comfort zone, but also financial risk.This massive commitment can often translate into more determination to make it work and resilience to continuously learn and grow, both qualities that your clients will admire and be inspired by. The willingness to go from having fitness as a passionate part of your life and downtime to making it your career to change people’s lives shows a true authenticity that can set you apart from other new personal trainers in the industry.
Utilisation of Backstory in Marketing
In today’s industry, social media and personal branding has become a far more important part of growing your personal training business; talking about your backstory and previous career can be a talking point to differentiate yourself in your marketing efforts, helping you acquire more personal training clients. You can talk about why you decided to leave your career, how what you’ve previously done has helped to shape your personal training approach, how you managed to balance work and fitness etc.
This is all part of the relatability aspect we discussed earlier, but by integrating your story into your wider marketing efforts, it can become part of your growth strategy as well as 1-1 relationship management.
You’ll Have a Pre-existing Network
Something that you may not have considered is that your previous career will have left you with a whole network of colleagues, industry contacts and previous clients. These existing connections could become part of your first cohort of personal training clients, or at least help you with referrals by sending others’ your way. This is an incredibly valuable asset to have.
Conclusion
Whilst we acknowledge a career change to personal training can be incredibly scary, you should also understand that it is a great opportunity to use your background and previous knowledge and skillset to set you apart from others in the personal training industry, If you’re thinking of making the change, then be sure to check out our level 3 personal trainer course, CPT, the complete package to take you from no qualifications or previous experience to a fully qualified personal trainer.