One of the most common challenges I hear from job seekers wanting to pivot into a new industry or niche is that they don’t know where to start.
If you grew up (like I did) outside of a large urban center, it’s hard to learn how to find your footing in a big city. If you’re a first generation college graduate, you might not have a close family network who can carry you beyond what happens next. Or if you’re mid-career and looking to pivot out of one industry into another, it might feel impossible to get a foot in the door.
But last week, a friend shared an approach that helped him pivot into a dream industry that really resonated with me. He called it “finding the kitchen.”
Our friend grew up in a deeply rural area with aspirations of being a button-pusher and engineer on Broadway as a sound designer. While he developed early interests in this area, he lacked local mentorship or access to senior Broadway designers who could hire him. Like many industries, Broadway is as much about who you know as it is about what you know, so he knew he needed to connect with people working on Broadway productions.
After college, he moved to New York City and got a job at a sound shop. Sound shops are giant warehouses outside the city, fully stocked with everything needed to amplify a Broadway show—speakers, microphones, cabling, intercoms, sound boards, you name it. For any new theatrical production, the sound team rents equipment from a shop, spends a few weeks assembling and testing it there, and then loads it all into the Broadway theater to set up for the show. It’s sort of like working in a Lego Factory.
The way he put it was: “To get a job on Broadway, first I got a job in the kitchen. That’s how I got a feel for the industry. I met people on all the shows, I got to know their workflows, I pitched in here and there, and ultimately, I got on my first show.”
If you’ve ever hosted a dinner party, you’re probably familiar with the gravitational pull of the kitchen. No matter how carefully you arrange the space, or where you set up food, people inevitably congregate where the cooking is happening. Why? It’s lively and vibrant. It frequently includes an invitation to roll up your sleeves and pitch in. Kitchens are where ingredients become meals, where the magic happens.
To my friend, the sound shop essentially represented a lab environment where he could meet key people, see what was happening on real Broadway builds, and ultimately network his way toward better opportunities.
Every industry has its own version of a "kitchen"—a behind-the-scenes hub where people naturally gravitate because it’s where the real work happens. Whether you’re just starting out in your career or looking for a mid-career pivot, I think the best thing you can do is to find the kitchen in your niche, and to spend a little time there.
So, if you don’t know where to start, find the kitchen. Just make sure you’re ready to roll up your sleeves.
