Reimagine And Redefine Your Career To Stay Relevant - Part 1

16 Jul

Milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, client wins, promotions, and so forth always make me stop and reflect and rethink if where I’m going next and what I’m doing today are still aligned with the person i’m becoming. I know this sounds a little woohoo but stay with me because if you’re anything like me, you enjoy the next and new, the challenge to tackle bigger projects, clients, assignments and everything in between.

Over the years, for the first time when I got into recruitment and then when I started my own businesses - I realised that I love the chase, not so much the nurturing part of it. I enjoy the thrill in figuring something out that wasn’t there before but when it comes to refining and fine-tuning something existing - i’m out.

This constant innovation and reinvention was always my calling card and got me promoted in my first career, in brand and product marketing for the FMCG industry because it’s all about coming up with new ideas, products and promotions all the time and that has always felt easy.

Now when it came to my career however, it felt like this heavy burden because in the second the (usually) 18 months mark rolled around, I started to look around to see what’s next because I already felt that I got tired of what I was doing. It wasn’t too bad in hindsight in the first 10 years of my career because the roles I went for, were always a step up to where I was and that got me to a senior role very early on. It was also easy back then to know what’s next because I was following the traditional career path where the next roles and possibilities within the career were pretty much laid out and you simply worked toward it.

But the days of predictability in the economy and with that, traditional career paths are gone and studies from the OECD show that 1.1 Bio jobs will be transformed by 2030, over 50% of us need to reskill to stay relevant by 2023 (which I think will be even more thanks to the rapid evolution of AI) and other studies predict that Gen Z will stay in a role for 1.8 years on average because of changed skills in demand, changed economic conditions and changed ways of what it means to provide value as a business.

Covid was already the first major shake up for most of us (especially those who’ve been in the professional world for more than a decade) but certainly not the last.

Many took Covid as good excuse to change, pivot and reinvent themselves whereas others weren’t impacted at all. However, based on the sentiment that I’m currently seeing in the market working with my coaching clients as well as high-growth companies, there is some change mentality / appetite in the air but since we’re all human beings and change isn’t our default reaction, it’s also daunting for many as they’re not sure where to start and how to navigate the transition and are scared for what’s next.

Our brain is wired to be safe, not happy so too many stay in role,s careers, even relationships that don’t serve them anymore and don’t fullfill them and yet, they stay because their fear and pain of the unknown is greater than the fear and pain of having a predictable life.

I must admin - the older I get, the more risk-averse I get which I have to call myself out all the time because I never used to be like that at all. I bought apartments on my own in my 20’s, booked spontaneous trips overseas by myself with 24h notice, quit jobs without having anywhere to go, pitched myself to speak at stages and to audiences that were way beyond me and yet - these moments were the exact defining moments that forced me to grow (up), figure things out and become innovative.

The saying ‘innovation comes from necessity’ has certainly been the case in my life and although I’m more comfortable in terms of financials, network, skills and client portfolio - I certainly weigh up the consequences a whole lot more. It may be maturity, it may be the wake up call that I’m getting old - whatever it is, I’m embracing it and adjust my strategy to prepare for my next chapter so you can get a behind the scenes glimpse which hopefully also sparks some inspiration and ideas how to navigate your next chapter.

So let’s start with knowing when it’s time to pivot, to change, whatever you want to call it.

Disclaimer: this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list but it’s a combination of my own experience as well as working with nearly 400 One on One coaching clients over the years. So here we go:

Dissatisfaction or lack of fulfilment:
If you find yourself constantly feeling unfulfilled, unhappy, or uninspired in your current situation, it may be a sign that you need a change. It can come out in the form of not wanting to wake up or waling up and feeling tired already (which was in my case). Even already feeling bored or annoyed with a project or a task is a good indicator that you may have grown out of the role, the environment or the network. In my first career, in brand and product marketing, I was dreading certain days to come because I knew the type of tasks I had to do that day which were completely misaligned to my personal values but because I had never done any personal development work, I didn’t know it was a thing. It completely shifted when I got into recruitment for the first time, working in an environment of high performers who were all after the same goal whilst working independently. I felt in my element as I was the only one responsible for my level of success and I progressed in the next 3 years quicker than in the first 10 years in brand and product marketing.

However, it didn’t last forever as the next time I had this massive dissatisfaction was when I was in recruitment agency land (when I got poached by another agency to where I started) and their environment exhausted me so i was dreading coming to work because they were all extraverts and extremely loud, it was an open plan office where i couldn’t hear my own thoughts so i was in super early (around 6/6.30am) and didn’t leave until 6pm/7pm again although everyone else came around 9am and left at 4pm.

I simply couldn’t get actual work done during the official work hours because I had so many meetings and when I didn't have meetings, the noise in the office distracted me so much that I simply did busy work and did the meaningful work before and after everyone came/ left.

This was draining and exhausting to say the least but again, even to that stage (and that’s only 8 years ago), I had never invested in coaching or any other form of personal development so I was daunting my own commitment and capability to stick it out and perform. This was the tipping point to starting my own business and let’s just say - I’ve been running it for nearly 8 years, have never been bored since then and certainly never feel unfulfilled.

So think about your own environment, the people you’re with and the tasks you’re working on - what and who energises you and what and who drains you? This exercise can be a massive eye opener and that puts you in the driver’s seat to make a change.

Changes in personal or professional circumstances:
Significant life events, such as a relocation, a change in family situation, or a shift in personal priorities, can prompt the need for a pivot. For me, a big wake up call was when Don, my partner got diagnosed with cancer again in 2022.
Unexpected.
He did survive cancer 2x before then but that was way before we met. Situations like that certainly make you reassess whether you’re still doing what you’re meant to do or if you’ve gotten comfortable and simply do what you’re doing because you’ve been doing it for a while. Often, situations like that also puts some pressure on you to rethink how you do what you do. For me, it was reassessing if my personal brand coaching programs are still best delivered over a 3, respectively 6 months period especially when I don’t know if I can actually be available that day or if Don needs to go to chemo or what’s going on at home. It made me play around with alternative options and since one of the most common feedback that I’ve been getting literally since day dot when I started coaching is ‘it takes too much fo my time’.
I listened and I acted and condensed into a full day experience with done-for-you branding and marketing assets.
Everyone can make themselves available for a full day (or for some, it’s 2x ½ days) but since they’re out of their normal environment, the results we’re getting are so much better as I have their full attention and commitment whereas having coaching sessions that focus on developing a future state in between other meetings and work, was always tricky and felt like we made 2 steps forward, 3 steps back.
Plus- it also gave me another energy because not only can I plan my own energy level since I’m a massive introvert and have full days where I don’t talk to anyone but also because of the done-for-you aspects and elements, the results have just been another level. WOuld I have tried it without this situation to happen? Maybe. Maybe not. I didn’t see a need to revisit for the 6 years prior so again- this is kind of a wake up call when it is a good time to revisit what and how you’re doing what and how you’re doing it :)
Stagnation or lack of growth:
This is the current feeling that I have because despite growth across the 2 businesses in the last 2 years, I feel like I’ve hit a bit of a ceiling and feel stuck with how much further I can take it. What rekindled my motivation and inspiration was a conversation with one of my investor clients who I have been working with for a little while now and we discussed business opportunities that connect both of my businesses and change my involvement.
It basically is a business in a box solution (don’t judge - it’s a working title) but basically, it’s an end-to-end solution for high growth companies that brings all of my services together, from analysing business opportunities to product and brand development for those innovations to then putting together the business case and pitch deck, refining the pitch and coaching the founder on their executive presence and communication skills, mapping out the talent strategy for the business, recruiting the team and continuing to support the leaders with executive coaching.
I’ve been doing doing all of the above across the 2 businesses for nearly 8 and 6 years respectively but quite isolated and treated it very separately. Whilst impaCCCt, my B2C business which most of you would have come across in one of another way, has only been offering personal branding coaching, keynotes, workshops and online courses to individuals, The360talent.Co has been delivering everything talent and leadership related for companies, from recruitment marketing to the actual recruitment, talent development and leadership coaching.
Usually for large or fast-growth companies. The direction I’m most excited about though is to work closely with only a handful of scale ups across the end-to-end delivery which also forces me to learn new skills especially when it comes to VC and the entire investment world which I’ve only been part of in chunks like the pitch deck or the actual pitch presentation where I coached my clients.
Market or industry shifts:
External factors, such as changes in market dynamics, emerging technologies, or shifts in industry trends, can influence the need for a pivot. If your current field or industry is experiencing significant disruption or becoming obsolete, it may be necessary to pivot to remain relevant and seize new opportunities. Covid was certainly a catalyst for many but that shouldn’t be the only reason.
The current market is shifting massively especially due to AI so the question is: how can you disrupt yourself before you get disruptor? When I changed from marketing into recruitment - one of the eye opening moments was also me realising how much digital and social media marketing have caught up on.
The reason why I found roles so quickly early on was because of my quite niche specialisation, brand and product marketing for FMCG. However, because I progressed so quickly in my career, I was never hands on with the campaign management and always had a team and agency doing it.
When I found myself in this very toxic environment where I was forced to look for other opportunities, I realised that I kind of slept through the market change and every senior marketing role required proven digital and social media marketing skills.
So getting out of the industry and using the time to upskill was also a big blessing in disguise which is why I’m now so passionate about learning and development and have been teaching digital and social media marketing at various unis for the last 4 years. I never want anyone to realise that their - once so in demand skills - have become their biggest baggage.
Lack of alignment with long-term goals and/or your personal values:
Again, also this sounds a bit woohoo but I’m sure you have experienced the ripple effects of not being aligned. It may be that your body has shown symptoms that it wouldn’t usually show, like ulcers, weight gain, stress, constantly being a little unwell or have flu symptoms. It’s again nothing that we learn at school but if our personal values completely misalign with the company’s or even with your partner’s values, it can feel like an ongoing uphill battle that you can’t win and this is where a change can be a good call. The same goes when your current career path doesn’t align with your long-term goals or vision because you will eventually resent the role, the engagement, the client or whatever you’re working on and with. I also experienced that when I joined a team that praised themselves to be super innovative and state of the art everything. Reality was - they loved the status quo, the tried and tested ways of doing things and rejected literally every change suggestion. This is so the opposite of what I’m naturally drawn to and every day felt exhausting even before the day started.

Ok- there you have part one, the 5 most common reasons that justify a career pivot, change of direction or change of the status quo whatever this means to you.

Make sure you subscribe to the show to not miss an episode, especially when we come back with part 2 where I discuss the ‘what and how’ of career pivots and changes.