Career Transition - Winning Lessons from Women who have Gone Before You | WXW & AnnArbor.com
Deb: My year started in June 2009, leaving a secure, internal consulting job after being in the higher education bubble for 30 years. It's has been an invigorating, energizing move that validates a lot of what Carrie Hensel, co-founder of the Women's Exchange of Washtenaw, has experienced. Here are a few excerpts from her article. Also check out the great video about WXW Spring 2010 conference below. Beth Stoner is writing another article connected to a panel of 5 of us that will happen in November, 2010. Here's my Facebook post:
- Writing a bio for the Women's Exchange of Washtenaw (WXW.) I'm a panelist. Nov 18th (3 - 6 PM), WXW is having an interactive event at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti. The topic is "Career & Life Transitions."
Here's the panel line-up. More details to follow:
- Jennifer Albaum - Geographer, Entrepreneur, Founder of the Shadow Art Fair
- Theresa Carroll - Chief Mothering Officer, Carroll Family Inc. (formerly a Partner with Dykema)
- Natalie Myers - Box Office Manager / Operations Assistant, Michigan Theater
- Deb Nystrom - (that's me) Organization Development Consultant and Leadership Coach, Reveln Consulting
- Gloria Thomas, Ph.D. - Director, Center for the Education of Women
Carrie: Whether by choice or circumstance, many of my friends and colleagues spent summer 2010 making dramatic career transitions and life changing decisions.
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Take the time to identify and learn about the things that are new and/or scary to you because these things might be most meaningful and vital to your future plans....
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Two friends were laid off from jobs they’d held for decades. Several moms decided that spending time with their kids was more important than a big salary or management position.
One friend decided that after 10 years of running her own business, she’d like to pursue an entirely new path. And a friend in her 60s decided to take the risk and change jobs with the hope that she’d finally find the job satisfaction that had eluded her all her life.
When I asked these women for their advice to others who are considering or actually going through career transitions, here’s what they said:
1. Seek out help and guidance. Each of my friends talked about how they initially felt alone and uncertain. But when they started asking for help, they found that people of all career stages wanted them to succeed and were willing to share, mentor, and guide. Start asking for help in the beginning of your transition process; don’t wait until you are in a crisis.
2. Try “experiments” to test your new path. In her book “Working Identity,” Herminia Ibarra recommends that you identify short term projects or “experiments” that can help you to get a feel for a new line of work, gain experience in a new field, and make connections with others who are doing what you want to do. ...
3. Learn about what you don’t know and recognize what scares you. ...Take the time to identify and learn about the things that are new and/or scary to you because these things might be most meaningful and vital to your future plans....4. Understand that life is just a series of transitions. Each of my friends said they felt reassured when they realized that life is always changing, and they were free to adapt, evolve, and seek out what was best for them...
Carrie Hensel is co-founder and CEO of Inner Circle Media and Co-Founder and President of the Women’s Exchange of Washtenaw.
The full video of the terrific 2010 WXW Spring Conference is here. I'm after the 2:40 mark:
