Dear J.T. & Dale: I started doing part-time recruiting in college for a friend, having no intention of staying in the placement industry. Once I graduated, I found that the only companies calling me were for jobs as a recruiter. I am miserable in my position and have been job hunting, but once again, the only companies calling are recruiting firms. Would it be best for me to erase my history on my resume and show just my education? — Steve

Dale: Thanks for your question, Steve — it makes a useful cautionary tale. Let’s review the three ways to end up in career misery: First, you make a BAD DECISION, like becoming a lawyer just because Dad wanted you to be one. Second, you make a GOOD DECISION, but it wears out, leaving you in a career you’re no longer interested in. Third, you make NO DECISION, stumbling into a career. The last path is the most common, and the no-decision mistake hardens like glue — every year in a given career, it becomes stickier. Experience becomes stereotyping. Thus, we can appreciate your impulse to just rip that experience off your resume. However, do so and you’re left with a hole — all your professional experience gone. So, instead of removing them, you’ll need to “reframe” them.

J.T.: You do that by looking inside your experience and finding your most transferable skills — for instance, selling. A recruiter knows how to find and sell people on the idea of working for their firm. Now, couple your sales skills with one of your passions in life, and start knocking on doors. Set up informational interviews and ask the people you meet for advice on how to break in. This is what will get you a new job faster than any other method.

Dale: Perhaps, Steve, you’ll realize that selling is one of the things you dislike about recruiting — then what? If so, you may have to make a two-stage career transformation. You keep selling, but within an industry you love. Then, once you’re an insider in a new industry, you can look to move into project management or some other field that will invigorate your career.

J.T.: Doing so, you will have been able to keep progressing in a career, without erasing and starting over.

Dale: You don’t even have to know for sure what it is that you ultimately want to do; just keep experimenting and evolving until you spot those places where your skills and passions intersect.