Sales Skills Are Transferable—9 Growth Industries in 2025 (And How to Break In)

What's my next move? Have you ever thought about that? You know, if you're, you're stuck in your role or maybe you've been laid off recently or you've just lost the spark, you think, time to do something different. Sometimes it feels like you're standing still while the world is moving on. But here is some good news. Not only is the world moving, but it's moving in directions that need you. In this episode of the Cam Club podcast, I am going to take a look at pivoting to a new industry in your career. And I'll share the results of a deep dive that I did using Google's new Gemini AI deep research feature to uncover the industries that are growing fast in 2025 and where key account managers are in demand. So if you're job hunting, career shifting, or just wondering what's next, this one's for you. So sit tight. I will be right back. Hey, can fam. I'm Warwick Brown, your favorite cam coach. And today's episode is all about helping you spot opportunity. In a time when you gotta be real, things can feel uncertain. I've analyzed the data, I've done the research and I've pulled together a list of industries that are booming right now with plenty of room for skilled account managers to grow just like you. So let's get into it. First, why look at new industries? Sometimes it's burnout, sometimes it's layoffs, sometimes it's boredom, and sometimes, you know, you just know deep down it's time for something new. And a fresh start doesn't mean having to start over. Especially when you've got the kind of skills key account managers bring to the table. Strategic thinking, commercial focus, client relationships, problem solving. These kind of skills translate beautifully into new sectors. And that's what this episode is all about. Helping you spot where those opportunities, those next opportunities might be hiding. So I wanted to get some up to the minute research upstate. Right now we're in April 2025. So I thought let's not go to some dusty old global workforce report. Let's go to something fresh, new and current. And I thought what better place to do that with Gemini Deep research. So Gemini has a brand new feature Google Gemini AI, you know, generative AI has a new feature which allows you to do deep research. Like I say, I'm very impressed. So I asked you to do some deep research on areas of opportunity for a that are growth industries in the UK and the US and also where there is demand for key account managers that are hiring right now, now, what does it come up with? Let me talk you through the the industries that are opportunities and then we'll go do a deeper dive into each of them. So renewal, renewable energy, healthcare and biotech, AI and technology, fintech, logistics and E commerce, immersive tech that's like VR AI, that kind of stuff. Cybersecurity, business admin and support services and property and construction. Now these aren't just hot takes, these aren't just my, you know, musings. These are based on evidence. They're based on real economic shifts, company investment and talent shortages. So I'm excited to share these with you. Now I'm going to share with you the reports that I put together through Gemini and there is a separate report for the US and a separate report for the UK. Each runs to about 20 pages. This is full on research, right? This isn't just a quick little Google search. It's going, it's very in depth. It goes through the economic landscape, it goes through the top growing industries. Then there is an industry deep dive, some essential skills, some regional analysis and also all of the work cited which runs to quite a few pages as well. So it gives you places you can go to look if you want to dig deeper into certain sectors or to validate the research from the reports. So feel free to check that out. Link will be in the show notes which you can find in the episode description. Okay, so having said that, where the growth and the key account management jobs are in 2025, starting with in no particular order by the way, renewable energy and sustainability. So this sector is exploding. We've got massive government targets, public pressure and corporate sustainability pledges. So this is a huge focus both in the UK and was up until recently in the US talking massive investments in solar, wind, hydrogen, battery tech, all that kind of stuff. And when projects are this big, there are so many moving parts, there are so many dependencies and the supply chain is so complex and big. And that's where key account managers come in. You'll be managing long term client relationships. Think like utility companies, government buyers, big infrastructure firms, making sure everyone's aligned, contracts stay solid and and value keeps flowing. I'm also going to give you some companies to watch for each of these sections. Now whether or not those are companies you want to work for or they are in your area, worth checking out their websites because you will be able to see what they do. Learn a bit more about this sector by looking at what these, these organizations do and the kind of customers they deal with. So I will Put a master list of all of those in the show notes as well. But companies to watch for renewable energy, sustainability companies, SSE, renewables, PowerFlex systems and renewable parts. Let's move on. Healthcare and biotech is another growing area. We've got aging population, huge digital health innovation and lots of sort of post pandemic urgency around healthcare, around potentially future, you know, zoonotic viruses, lots of viruses, keeping those under control, epidemics, pandemics. Healthcare is in serious growth mode, but it's also very highly regulated. It's also very incredibly complex and it is packed with decision makers. And that's where key account managers become essential because we're great at navigating those relationships across places like hospitals, clinics, insurers and research bodies. In biotech especially, clients need help understanding not just what the product does, but how it solves real problems. You got hot topics like AI, diagnostics, telehealth, personalized medicine. So plenty of areas for you to Explore. Who's hiring? GlaxoSmithKline, Teladoc Health and smaller mid tech startups. So again, might be an area that you're interested in. AI and tech. Massive big wave AI is not niche, it is a tsunami. It's infiltrating every sector. Recruitment, marketing, logistics, healthcare, finance, you name it. Whether it's a SaaS, platform, automation tools or cybersecurity tech, these companies need key account managers who can translate features into outcomes. You're not just managing a contract, you're the bridge between the technical teams and clients trying to solve problems fast. So if you've got any interest or aptitude in technology and AI, this could be the space for you. Big names that are hiring are Salesforce, RingCentral, Darktrace, LexisNexis, Risk Solutions and more. Another area of growth is fintech. Fintech is eating traditional banking alive and it's only speeding up open banking, embedded finance, crypto, fraud detection. This space is complex, crowded and competitive. There is so much going on here. Very major in terms of the new frontier of banking. Right? Geek out. Managers here manage partnerships with banks, merchants and tech platforms. They nurture very high value accounts where trust is everything. And if there's anything we're good at, it's building trust. You'll also need to be savvy with integrations, compliance and product evolution. So a lot of expertise required here. But you can learn that, right? You may already have a lot of that already. And who doesn't love a challenge? Growth companies here might be companies, you know, like Resolute, Stripe Wise, Paypal funding circle those kind of companies. Again, reminder, even if you're not interested right now in those industries or you're not sure what they do, check out all of these websites of these companies and go to their careers pages because it may open your mind to things that you didn't even know existed in terms of industries or things that you could do. You might look at some of these things and think, huh, who knew? I'd be great at that and I'm really interested. So I encourage you just to explore and open your mind about other industries. All right, next, logistics and E commerce. E commerce is not slowing down. If anything, it's getting bigger and it's getting smarter. Drone delivery I think in the UK they're about to start testing drone deliveries to front doors. Wild AI powered fulfillment, supply chain digitalization. Key account managers in this space are going to be the glue between retailers, platforms and last mile logistics providers. Solving those delivery bottlenecks and keeping customers happy at scale. This could be a really exciting space as well. Who's growing? Kuhner, Nagel, Maersk, Red Bull? Yeah, not just the drink, they have a huge logistics wing as well. Next up, immersive tech, virtual reality, augmented reality, that sort of thing. You might have thought this is for the geeks, but to be honest, this industry is emerging fast, especially in areas of like training, education, healthcare, experience, design. VR and AR are no longer toys, they're tools. Gear count managers here help clients understand the use case, pilot the tech and roll it out effectively. Think onboarding, stakeholder, buy in and post sales support. It's a consultative role so you need to be a storyteller, you need to be empathetic. Those are the skills that really matter now. This sector's in the early stage. I couldn't, you know, you're going to maybe have to do a bit, bit more digging to find people that are hiring and recruiting this area. But if it's an area you want to get in like a growth industry and you want to get on the ground floor, that could be one to explore. So imagine, and I've seen these, you know where you ikea, right, where you can take a picture of a room and you can decorate it virtually in two finger, a snap of two fingers, that sort of thing. Fascinating. Lots of, lots of opportunities where the AR could add some immense value to organizations. So yeah, keep a, keep an eye out for that. Another industry worth thinking about is cybersecurity. Cyber threats are a daily headline. They're not going anywhere. And hackers are only getting more sophisticated that means every business, no matter the size, is looking for reliable partners to protect their data, their IP and their infrastructure. So in this space, keycap managers act more like almost like security advisors. You know, they're building trust, they're demystifying tech. And you don't have to be a major tech head, right? You'll get a technical engineer or a solutions specialist to come and help you talk talk details. But it's a great industry if you want to develop sort of mission critical relationships, if you want to become integral partners and you really want to be key strategic partner with the client, cybersecurity is a perfect industry for that. And you're going to be working with CTOs and CIOs and those types of stakeholders. Big recruiters here are going to be Palo Alto Networks, Crowdstrike, Darktrace, Sophos, those kinds of companies. Okay, let's move on. Yeah. Next industry is business admin and support services. Think outsourcing, remote work tools, hr, tech, payroll, IT help desks. With businesses under pressure to stay lean and agile, this space is growing fast. Key account managers here manage diverse client portfolios, mostly made up of SMEs. And your goal here is really to help clients reduce costs, improve efficiency and stay compliant. It's often high volume but also high trust. People that are hiring in this space are companies like Randstad, Velocity, EHS and Capital One. Next up, growth industry. Final growth industry that I've captured in this study or this research is property and construction. Infrastructure investment is urban regeneration on the rise. Green building is hot, hot, hot. So combine that with new technology and sustainable materials and the property world is changing very, very fast here. Account managers here work with developers, contractors and government bodies helping manage complex multi stakeholder projects. So if you are good at relationship wrangling then this could be the sweet spot. Companies here that are recruiting are Barrett Developments, United Rentals, Trimble, Instagrid. So now that I've run through the list, any grab your attention, any spark your interest, I'd love to hear about them. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, Warwick Brown or drop me an email. Hello, the gameclub.com but I think this is an interesting list and if you want to go dig a bit deeper, I'm sure there are others. But certainly a great place to start to get your mind ticking thinking hey, I could do more because I'm not trapped in this industry just because I've been in it 20 years. I've got skills that others would want and I'm going to go out and show them why they need me. All right, so now you've got this list, you know where the growth is. But what if you've never worked in these industries, Fintech, biotech, construction, whatever. How do you get in? Let's let me break down some practical moves that you can start today because this is tough. Don't get me wrong, it's not going to be a piece of cake, unfortunately. I'm going to do a future episode on this. Hiring managers can often be very narrow minded. They'll often think industry experience first instead of, hey, we can learn that. But in any case, not impossible. So let me give you some, some tips for new players here. Number one is to pivot at 25 degrees, not 180 degrees. A lot of people think they need to burn their whole CV and start from scratch. You do not. You don't need a complete reinvention, you need a strategic shift. So for example, let's say you've worked with recruitment clients. Well, something that's in that same orbit is going to be HR tech companies. Let's say you've managed retail chains. Well, a sort of a pivot would be towards e commerce platforms or supply chain solutions. Let's say you've sold print media. Well, a pivot would then be, you know, digital advertising technology or marketing technology. So the goal is to leverage your client experience into adjacent industries. Not completely different. Not to be working in HR one day and medical technology the next, which is a complete 180. Not that it's impossible, I have friends that have done this before. But you're going to make your job a lot harder. So think what's nearby, what's next? Adjacent, next door, maybe a block or two away from where I'm at now. Industry wise, make your job much easier because it won't be as hard, it won't be as big a stretch for the recruiter to see the relevance of your cv. Reframe your story. You're not just a key account manager from the health industry, the travel industry, the, you know, banking industry. You're a relationship builder, a revenue driver, a trusted advisor. And that's valuable in any sector. What hiring managers care about. Can you understand complex needs? Check. Can you manage big relationships? Check. Can you drive retention and growth? Check. So this might mean taking another swipe at your CV and your LinkedIn profile because it may look very weighted towards some of the language you've used and some of the terms you've used may be very, what's the word? God, Mental, blank, Jargon. Oh my God, took me ages to come up with that jargon. You might have way too much jargon, so you might want to, you know, soften it a bit and make it look a little bit more broad. So craft your LinkedIn and CV to highlight that transferable value. As an example, managed a 1 billion client portfolio in a highly regulated environment delivering 120% year on year growth. That works in finance, tech, healthcare, anywhere. So it's taking out the industry or inserting highly regulated environment broadens the appeal of your CV and your LinkedIn profile. By the way, if you're in the camp club, we have the key Account Manager LinkedIn Profile Optimizer. You can just upload your CV and it will automatically create an outstanding LinkedIn profile for you. Not just your about section, but all of your experience section as well. So check out the playbook in the in the game club. You'll find it there. All right, number three. Third tip is to reskill where it counts. You don't need to go back to uni, you don't have to go get a degree. But if you are looking at moving into a new sector, then picking up one or two sector specific skills or certifications can certainly tip the scale in your favor. You know, a micro course on AI, fintech or medtech basics, for example, learning the language terms, tech stacks, compliance issues, being able to speak in the same vernacular as your potential future hiring manager, asking your network for insights. Coursera is a great resource. It's a vocational service. Tons and tons and tons of free courses available which are in all sorts of industries and all sorts of functions. And I think you only pay if you want the certificate. Like the certificate, but usually to do the course itself is free. Even with the certificate it's pretty cheap. I'll put a link to that in the show notes. And beyond that, if you just, just read articles. Easiest places to go to a consulting firm like, well, PwC, Deloitte's, KPMG, those types of places and watch webinars, subscribe to newsletters, read their forecasts and their insights and their reports. You know, do some immersion. It's going to build your confidence and it's also going to reassure you this is the right move, this is the right space for me to get into. And when the time comes, you're going to be able to speak some of that language, even if you've never done it before and show up in the right places. Hiring managers are looking for people who are already engaged in that space. So follow industry leaders on LinkedIn, comment with insight. Not just, not just clapping or thumbs up or hearting, but leave some thoughtful comments and you can use ChatGPT to do that if you're, you know, short on time or short on insight. If there are virtual events and meetups, maybe these are virtual conferences, maybe there's in person conferences in your city. Go and join them. Join niche boards and slack groups. I'm members of some discord groups, Reddit sub forums. I'm learning about things that I want to learn about through these channels. Great places, way better than LinkedIn groups. I gotta say I'm really enjoying Reddit sub forum subreddits. And when you apply, you're gonna be in a better position to reference something that's that specific. It's gonna show that you've done your homework. You might even get noticed by people as you're interacting in these communities. So another easy way to start to ready yourself for that pivot. Okay, so let me just recap. You Wanna period at 25 degrees, not 180. So look for something in the neighborhood of what you're doing now. Reframe your story. So take out some of that very industry specific language from your CV and move more broad language into your CV into your LinkedIn profile. Take some courses, go to Coursera, go to YouTube, go to wherever you need to go to learn the language and what's going on in that space. And then join some forums, follow some leaders, do some commenting on social media, blah blah blah. Join subreddits, join slack groups. That's going to help you immensely. So I hope this is an interesting eye opening episode to help you think about your next move if and when the time comes. I've pulled together that two research backed reports, one for the UK and one for the us. Feel free to take a look and grab it and copy it yourself in Google Docs. You can grab the links to that in the show notes. They are a gold mine if you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed. Really really comprehensive. So it's going to be really really comprehensive stuff. So what's your gut telling you right now about your career? Is it time for change? Are you feeling excited? Are you feeling nervous? Maybe both completely normal. But here's what I want you to remember. You don't need to burn it all down. You don't need to get a new degree, you just need a new direction. You have the skills. It's just about repackaging them. That's all it is. You just want to find the right sector for you where you're at and you need to tell the right story to show the hiring manager you're a good fit. And I have to tell you, look, you do not talk yourself out of applying for a job. I always say there's a long way between application and offer or application and acceptance because there's many interviews, there's many things that may turn you on or off about the job along the way. Companies need people who can manage relationships, drive revenue and solve problems. And that's you. And often I have recruited people outside the industry. Often it's a matter of timing, right? So sometimes when I've been recruiting, I've been desperate, right? I've been three people down and I'm looking for somebody and I'm like, I have to get somebody that's done this before, super experienced. I do not have the time to be dealing with a new person, like new to the industry, whatever. And that's what I'm looking for. Other times I, I'm freer, I've got more opportunity, maybe I'm hiring in advance of when I need somebody and I've got more time to take someone. In fact, sometimes I'm specifically looking for outside the industry because I think we're going stale. Some fresh eyes would be useful and sometimes I've had no choice. I don't get anybody but people outside the industry applying and time is of the essence. I need a body, I need somebody starting. So just because it says you need all of this stuff doesn't mean that's ultimately who the hiring manager will recruit or push through for a first round interview. Now, our job when we submit our cvs, is to make sure that we make it as easy as possible for the hiring manager to see the relevance of our application. So don't take shortcuts in updating your cv, but don't put yourself off from applying just because you think, oh well, they'll never hire me, I don't have all that experience. You never know if you're interested, you're taking steps to educate yourself about that industry and, and you're committed to making a move in that direction. That's enough. So if you are even thinking about making a move, now is the time to explore it strategically, not desperately. That's when you make mistakes, when you're desperate, when it's like, shit, I need this job now. You end up in the wrong job. But thinking, huh, I don't know if I'm going to be in this job by the end of the year, then now's a good time to explore what's next. All right, so I think that's a wrap. Let's see if they can fam. Don't forget to check out the report in the show notes. All right, listen, I'm going to leave you there. I will see you in another episode real soon. Bye for now.