Career Shift Blog
by Rachel B. Garrett
Career Change Tools for Life
Some of my favorite emails I receive are from former clients who share:
“I was reviewing my notes from the work we did three years ago and I smiled realizing again that my role now is everything I said I wanted (but wasn’t sure I could have) back then.”
Or
“I got a new role that’s a great fit (yes, through networking!) and I used all of the tools you taught me in my last search for this latest change. They remain so important to me!”
That’s the goal. You internalize the tools. I work myself out of a job.
Some may say that’s not the best business strategy, but I haven’t found that to be true.
This way, I get to help more people.
And the people I help, build self-trust and faith in their own ability to move confidently into any career shift. They have a step-by-step process in their back pocket–and practice experimenting in the midst of uncertainty.
Oftentimes this agency in their careers translates to advocating for themselves in romantic partnerships, to setting different boundaries in friendships, to making time for a creative project–just because it’s energizing and not because it has side-hustle potential.
Be warned–the side effect of defining your terms and unapologetically negotiating for them in your career, is that you will believe you are worthy of those terms in all areas of your life.
I don’t promise those results on our initial call, but I’m so grateful when I get the updates on the ripple effect, months or years after we’ve completed our work.
Here for you when you’re ready to find your agency in your career–and in your life
Some Side-Hustle Ideas to Help You With All That Money Anxiety
I’m beyond thrilled to be featured in The Cut – talking all things side hustle. Their rise in popularity, the why behind the ones that work and many ideas for folks to start thinking about how to launch their own.
Read the article and get your side-hustley juices flowing…
Some Side-Hustle Ideas to Help You With All That Money Anxiety
I had so much fun contributing to this article and full transparency was brimming with ideas about the potential of having more than one revenue stream in these unstable times.
Avoid this job searching mistake
With the mass layoffs in certain sectors right now, many of my clients and job seekers in my workshops are making bigger shifts than they have at other times in their careers.
Their resumes and their LinkedIn profiles are focused in one sector with progressing titles within that industry.
Yet – they’re looking at job postings for new opportunities within another sector. They’re connecting the dots in their heads, so they’re assuming when they apply (often cold without a contact) others also will.
Sorry, but they won’t.
Applying to job postings on LinkedIn without a contact is ineffective when you’re applying within the same industry you’ve worked in for the last 5+ years.
It’s even worse, dare I say, a total waste of time when you’re applying in a new industry.
Please stop doing that if that’s how you’ve been spending your unemployed days.
So, what should you do instead?
Talk to people and ask for help.
This is the way successful career shifters make it happen.
Get your story down. Build the bridge from your strengths to the role you want.
Set a goal or and ask for the conversation.
Do it again and again.
You will get better and sharper and more dynamic in how you tell your story.
And people want to help you.
Even if you haven’t spoken to them in ten years. Even if you never met them, but they went to the same college or worked at the same company or grew up in the same town.
The biggest job searching mistake people make is keeping the search to themselves. A shameful little secret they don’t want to burden others with.
Another way to see your search is as - a problem or puzzle to solve. An adventure where you can learn something new.
Which way sounds more fun to bring into conversations?
If you’re struggling with how to have these conversations, check out my Elevator Pitch Mini Course. At its core, it gives you the language to go out and start connecting with people…today.
So, get talking and asking – and I’ll be here when you need support.
How you can help others right now
This is a moment in time when many of us are feeling helpless.
Colleagues, friends and workers across the country are losing jobs without notice, without any cushion of even one more day’s pay.
If you’re like many in my network, you want to support these talented employees in critical sectors with deep expertise who are feeling lost and panicked, but you’re not sure how.
So, guess what.
I have a way.
I know something you can do right now that will not take a lot of effort on your part AND will be invaluable in the life of someone else.
When someone who has lost their job in one of the career tracks decimated by this administration gets up the courage to reach out to you on LinkedIn–write back.
Even if you don’t know them.
Even if they’re not in your industry.
Even if you’re not sure how you can help them.
If you can jump on a 30-min zoom call, that would be great too.
And if you can make intro’s to others who could open doors for them–that would make them feel like they are not alone. Their careers and their expertise have meant something. And still mean something.
I’m always blown away by the generosity of my network and how they show up for my clients with informational interviews and coffee chats. I’m so grateful when you share your time, your wisdom and your expertise.
Yet this ask isn’t about me or my clients per say. It’s about thinking creatively about what you have to offer the people who reach out to you–and what you can proactively do to show them that you’re available to help–even if they may worry about asking.
I appreciate you being part of this community.