Thinking About Pivoting Into Information Management? Here's My Advice: Just Try It

I get asked this question a lot: "How do I transition into information management?"

People seem to expect a complicated answer—a specific degree requirement, years of prerequisite experience, or some secret formula. But my advice is actually pretty simple: just try it.

Okay, let me unpack that a bit more.

You've Probably Already Done Information Management

Most people don't realize that if you're a knowledge worker, you've probably already done information management work. You've created file systems. You've come up with naming conventions. You've organized shared drives. You've figured out how to make information findable for your team.

Those are all tasks that information management professionals execute. We just do it on a much larger, more complicated scale, with more formal methodologies and across entire enterprises.

So if you're worried you don't have experience—you probably have more than you think.

Start With Your Professional Community

My first piece of real advice: join a professional association in an area that interests you. For information management, that's AIIM. But the principle applies to any specialty area you're exploring.

Why start there? Because one of the most valuable things you can do is talk to current professionals in the field. Ask them: What was your journey? How did you get to where you are now?

The stories you'll hear are amazing. And incredibly varied. There's no single path into this profession, which means there's room for your unique background too.

Explore Before You Commit

You don't need to enroll in a master's program before you know if information management is right for you. Instead:
Attend educational webinars: Associations like AIIM host them regularly, but you can also find them on LinkedIn and other platforms. This is a low-commitment way to explore different topics and see what resonates.

Take a course or two: Many organizations offer virtual or in-person courses in specific areas. Pick something that aligns with your interests or goals. And here's a tip: go up to the instructor afterward and ask them how they got into the field. Why are they so excited about this particular topic?

Have conversations: Reach out to people doing work you find interesting. Most professionals are happy to share their experience, especially if you're genuinely curious.

The Real Value of an Information Professional

Here's what makes information professionals valuable: we know how to organize information in any discipline. It's not about having subject matter expertise in every possible domain (though you can certainly have that too). It's about understanding the approach to organizing, making information accessible, and solving problems.

It's about making connections and seeing ways to help that others might miss.

Information Professionals Are "People People"

Something that surprised me about this field: so much of the job is about talking to people. You're constantly:

• Finding out what people need

• Discovering problems they didn't know you could solve

• Translating technical requirements into business outcomes

• Collaborating on common goals

• Helping others see how they could get better access to information

It's a back-and-forth, circular conversation where everyone contributes. You're not locked in a room with file systems all day (though that can be part of it). You're navigating relationships and connecting dots between people, problems, and solutions.

The Navigator Mindset

I've heard information management practitioners described as "navigators" or "wayfinders," and I love that framing. You don't just point people in the right direction—you explain why one path might be better than another. You help them understand what that path means and what will probably happen at the end of it.

That's incredibly valuable in an organization drowning in data and overwhelmed by technology choices.

What It Takes to Thrive

If you're thinking about making this pivot, here's what will help you succeed:

• Curiosity: Love learning new things. This field is constantly evolving, especially with AI and automation changing how we work.

• Problem-solving mindset: You need to enjoy analyzing challenges and opportunities, especially when it comes to technology.

• Communication skills: You're bridging gaps between technical and non-technical stakeholders constantly.

• Comfort with complexity: Organizations are messy. Information is messy. You need to be okay working in that reality.

The Opportunity Right Now

We're in the middle of a massive shift with artificial intelligence and the overwhelming volume of data organizations are trying to manage. There's a feeling of being underwater, of not being able to keep up.

That's exactly where information professionals can step in and say: "We got this."

We can help automate repetitive tasks. We can take all those things that people thought they had to do manually and say, "Okay, great. Done. Now you can move on to the really interesting stuff."

The demand for people who understand both the information lifecycle and the technology that enables it has never been higher.

So, Just Try It

Seriously. Attend a webinar. Join AIIM. Have a conversation with someone in the field. Take an introductory course.
You don't need permission, and you don't need a perfect plan. You just need to start exploring.

Because here's the thing about pivoting into information management: the field is broad enough and evolving fast enough that there's room for all kinds of backgrounds and perspectives. Your unique combination of skills and experiences might be exactly what an organization needs.

And you won't know until you try.

This blog post is based on an original AIIM OnAir podcast. When recording podcasts, AIIM uses AI-enabled transcription in Zoom. We then use that transcription as part of a prompt with Claude Pro, Anthropic’s AI assistant. AIIM staff (aka humans) then edit the output from Claude for accuracy, completeness, and tone. In this way, we use AI to increase the accessibility of our podcast and extend the value of great content.