Changing jobs is hard. Changing sectors is daunting. You’ve built a network, a reputation, skills, expertise, a firm grasp of how that industry operates. Maybe you even got a related degree or two! And to just leave all that behind…except that, you really are stuck or unfulfilled or simply underpaid.
After my conversation with Nina, I’ll talk to two women who made big career leaps. One transitioned from academia to tech, the other from government to consulting. They faced familiar hurdles like building new networks and showing how their skills translated. They emerged with careers that not only better reflect their values and talents, but also give them greater confidence in their ability to take risks and adapt. But first me and Nina.
NINA BOWMAN: That’s absolutely right. But we get in our own way when we’re trying to apply that logic.NINA BOWMAN: We get in our way because we think it just can’t be done. We look at all the hurdles of why it can’t work. We focus on what we’re missing versus what we can bring to the table. And so when we do that, we create all kinds of hurdles for ourselves. So the work is actually mindset work. It’s mental work to get out of our own way.
First of all, I wanted to understand the work I did. I wanted to believe in the work I did. I wanted to feel at home again in my work. I wanted to respect and learn from my colleagues and I wanted to understand the business. And the other thing I learned, what was really important is I wanted to do the main work of the company, whatever it was. I didn’t want to be garnish on the plate. I wanted to be the meat in the middle of the plate.
AMY BERNSTEIN: That sounds very good in theory. Now, give us an example of how you’ve helped someone to make these hard moves and deal with these really tough moments. AMY BERNSTEIN: How do you know someone’s ready? You’re waiting for this moment where they’re frustrated, but what is the tip-off to you?
AMY BERNSTEIN: I’m thinking about how you sort of prepare yourself to launch into a new industry. What if you know that you want to move away from where you are, but you don’t know where you want to go? NINA BOWMAN: Yeah. Certain skills can be moved in any industry. And so literally I take them through a work history, a personal history exercise. So let’s write down every job, every experience that you’ve had, and let’s work our way up from childhood, your schooling years to your work years. And let’s also talk about those side things that you did that maybe you didn’t give a lot of importance to.
NINA BOWMAN: And that’s likely the majority of folks. I mean, many folks don’t have the luxury of stopping work. So one individual that I worked with who had spent many years as a brand manager in sort of a traditional consumer products organization, really was interested in shifting to the tech sector and not doing that brand manager role. But what we started to look at was sort of more project management type in tech, and we saw that as a transferable skill.
Because it is not industry that makes us happy at what we do, it’s what we’re doing and who we’re engaging with all day long. That brings us some element of joy in our work. And so, let’s get clarity on role first. So, let’s talk about different kinds of roles and let’s have conversations with people who are in different kinds of roles.
Then it was, you still have a family to raise, you still have children at home. So maybe doing this work in the evenings is going to be a little bit challenging because you may not have the freedom to stay focused in the evenings with kids moving around. So, it was sort of, are there a couple of days where you might have the ability to go in a little bit later? Kids are dropped off at school.
NINA BOWMAN: Yeah. Sometimes we are excited about the change and then all of a sudden all that newness brings up that imposter syndrome.NINA BOWMAN: And so, you have to be really clear on who you’re trying to be. We have to recognize that we were selected for that role because we are bringing new energy, new information, new ideas, and sit in the strength of that—versus the fact that, Oh, I don’t know how to do this thing yet.
And so, the question for me was, how did I want to change it up? And again, sort of similar to Renee, I spent a lot of time thinking about what skills I’ve developed in government, how my government experience could be translated to the outside world, and then where the fit would be best for me. And so, I landed in this space now where I’m helping a tech company think through geopolitical issues and the impact it has upon the company. It’s something that I’m very passionate about.