Power in the Pivot
I recently had an ah-ha moment when I reflected to a friend that there’s “power in the pivot”. It was the first time I had framed a career pivot in those exact words, and it’s one of the more accurate descriptions I’ve verbalized. So much so that I wanted to unpack it here in the context of my own career pivot from 2016 -- warning: personal insights below!
In my current life, I spend hours each week coaching people through their own career pivots (and am about to launch an entire course on the subject!) -- identifying how they define work and success, what is present and missing in their careers, and what the possibilities are for them moving forward and charting out how to get there. We reach AMAZING results, like pivoting into an entirely new industry and finding a role that utilizes all their skills AND pushes them to improve, realizing it’s the right time to launch their business and getting their first clients, deciding to invest in their education and going back to grad school, or negotiating a higher salary AND more management responsibility. Aside from these outcomes there is also deep personal growth - increased confidence, improved health, renewed passion, less fear, more courage, and more!
However, this wasn’t always my reality. And man oh man, could I have used my own help just over four years ago! In 2016 I was stuck in a career (management consulting), feeling pretty isolated and overwhelmed at the prospect of figuring what it was that I wanted to do next. I was 3+ years out of undergrad, had done 2+ years in consulting as well as 1 year living in Malaysia on a Fulbright Fellowship. I didn’t have all that much work experience outside of building excel models and powerpoints across a handful of disparate industries (consultants out there, you know what I’m talking about!), and it felt, to a certain degree, like I was back at square one.
In all honesty, it took me a few months to really wrap my head around the fact that I was indeed going to leave, and then it took me another 6 months to get to a place where I had a clear path forward.
Thankfully I didn’t do it all on my own… and I want to share with you the things that I found most useful, as well as the insights I WISH I had known during that time in my life and career.
My goal in doing so is twofold:
Share resources that might also support you through a career pivot and...
NORMALIZE career pivots
Why normalize? Because for some reason career pivots are often viewed as a “failures”.. But they are ANYTHING BUT! There is SO much power in a career pivot. It’s one of the most potent life transitions that we get the opportunity to experience, and it’s in these moments that we often rocket ourselves furthest in the direction of our most meaningful work, best health, deepest relationships and most financial success!
So, let’s start here, what were some of my challenges when going through a career pivot that you might also experience?
I had to work to reestablish my identity outside of my job. If I didn’t work for some fancy consulting firm, was I still smart? Obviously, YES! AND it took me about a year to really get back to the level of confidence in my inherent skill, intelligence and worth without having a brand name behind me.
Structure was HARD to establish at first. I needed to create routine in my days to keep myself motivated and in a positive mental space. This included doing yoga every morning, having regular meetings with my career coach and mentors, and setting a timeline for each step in my career pivot.
Accepting I would be taking a huge salary cut in launching my own business, at least initially. This might not be the case for everyone, but personally I had to prioritize my happiness and alignment over making $$’s, especially in the short term. I had become accustomed to making a healthy consultant salary and decided it was worth giving that all up in order to pursue my most meaningful work. However, this meant budgeting more carefully and adjusting my expectations about how much and how frequently I could spend my money.
Embracing the transition (read this post for more detail). It wasn’t an overnight burst of clarity that led me to my career in coaching. Instead, it was a set of probably 8-10 small pivots that ultimately reoriented me in this direction.
What are the resources that most helped me through my career pivot?
Formal and informal mentors. I reached out to pretty much anyone who would speak to me about their career path, and focused on speaking to those people I admired as well as those working in industries I was interested in learning more about. This was really where it all began, because the conversations I had (with people inside my company at the time as well as those who had left), really influenced how I started to see the possibilities that were also open to me!
Working 1:1 with a career coach. I was lucky enough to be provided an incredible career coach inside my company, and speaking to hear over the course of 3 or 4 months was absolutely crucial in me being successful in my transition. She did a few things for me:
Held me accountable to my decision to leave.
Helped craft a timeline that I could work within and feel like there was structure behind my goals.
Reflected back to me as a neutral party the desires and goals that she heard me speaking about, that I wasn’t even necessarily conscious of.
Asked deep questions about the impact that I personally wanted to have and how I could find career paths that supported those goals.
Time for personal growth and reflection without an explicit goal in mind
I spent about 1.5 months traveling and in nature to clear my mind and reconnect with who I was OUTSIDE of my career. This is so essential, as our culture in the U.S. in particular places so much of our IDENTITY in our work. Yet, that is ultimately a false frame and can flatten our beliefs about who we are and what is possible for us.
Today, four years on, I’ve studied adult development psychology at my dream grad school (Harvard Graduate School of Education), launched my private coaching practice, worked with 100’s of other people on their own career pivots and career navigation, started a national network of 600+ young professional women, incubated my business at one of the most prestigious incubators in the country (Harvard Innovation Labs), invested in a home and rental property, and, most importantly for me, created a work life that leaves room for me to prioritize my health, spiritual and personal development, being outdoors, giving back to my community through mentorship and volunteering and spending time with loved ones.
I’m sharing all of this not to brag but to tell you that YOU CAN DO THIS TOO! If you are searching for more meaningful work, a higher salary, a more balanced life, higher levels of inspiration, energy and passion, opportunities to learn and grow, or something else outside your current reality, a career pivot could be exactly what you’re looking for!
I’m going to be sharing more about how to know if the time is right for you to make a career pivot in the coming weeks, and I am SO EXCITED to be launching my first ever online course in a few short weeks, Career Camp, which will guide you to finding YOUR most meaningful work. If you want to make sure you’re up-to-date on all these resources and the course launch, please learn more and get your name on our early access list here.
And, as always, feel free to comment below or send me an email directly (julia@juliastarrcoaching.com), with any insights or questions this post has stimulated for you! I love hearing from you directly and can’t wait to continue down this path or learning and growth with you!
Julia
