A professional’s diverse career path across multiple industries has started a conversation about how people view experience and skills. After a recruiter called his CV the “most unusual” they had seen, he reflected on whether changing industries was really a weakness.
His answer highlighted how careers are often shaped by the problems people solve, rather than the sectors they work in.
The post was shared by LinkedIn user Harshavardhan T. Sharing a conversation with a recruiter, he wrote, “You have the most unusual CV I’ve ever seen.”
When he asked why, the recruiter pointed out his varied experience across industries. “Advertising. Digital Media. Sports Streaming. Hyperlocal Commerce. News. OTT. EdTech. FinTech... it looks like you’ve changed industries every few years,” the recruiter said.
Harshavardhan said he laughed because he had asked himself the same question for years but did not have an answer.
He explained that his perspective changed when he was leaving Scootsy during the Swiggy acquisition and received a call to lead the transformation of Indian Express Digital.
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{{/usCountry}}“The company was different. The industry was different. But the challenge felt strangely familiar,” he wrote.
Over time, he realised he was not simply moving between industries. Instead, he was drawn to businesses going through moments of change, whether it was building something new, transforming existing systems, or helping organisations reinvent themselves.
“The industry was simply the context. The work was always transformation,” he wrote.
Professional’s unusual career journey sparks debate
Harshavardhan said this realisation also changed how he viewed talent. He wrote that he is now less interested in the industries someone has worked in and more interested in the problems they have consistently solved.
“Industries change. Technology changes. The ability to lead through change doesn’t,” he wrote.
He added that careers are not defined by the sectors people work in but by the problems they become known for solving.
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How did social media react?
Many LinkedIn users related to his thoughts and shared their opinions on how recruiters should look beyond industry experience.
One user wrote, “Apparently, business problems are expected to stay politely inside their industry boxes. Skills can be taught. The kind of problem someone repeatedly runs towards is much harder to coach. A CV shows the sectors. Real behaviour shows the pattern.”
Another commented, “Love this! Industry experience might give you a head-start in a new company. However, if the vision to think big and transformative, and the attitude to build through chaos isn’t there, the advantage fizzles out pretty quickly too.”
A user shared a personal connection with the post, writing, “Hard relate. Especially love the last para. Maverick. Incorrigible. Reckless. Irreverent. Unorthodox. Inconsistent. All the adjectives that have been used for me. Still the same. Nothing has changed.”
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Another user added, “Hope HR and hiring managers understand this.”
One more comment read, “One of the most relatable posts I’ve read. Business and product challenges largely remain industrially and behaviourally agnostic.”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. Hindustantimes.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)