With the world in flux, it’s easy to feel off-kilter and wonder if you’re on the right path. You might question if you’re making good choices, talking or listening to the “right” people, or on the yellow brick road to your career goals.
Some of us are struggling at work, some of us are struggling to find work, especially fulfilling and rewarding work. Some of us want work that makes a difference. Some of us aren’t sure what we want at the moment.
I ask all my guests on Electric Ladies Podcast – 490+ episodes of interviews with women leaders in energy, sustainability and climate – for career advice for mid-career women who want to make a difference, excel in their careers and make good money.
Here’s some career advice
Here’s some of the advice I heard from five accomplished women I spoke with recently in the midst of all this global, economic, political and cultural turmoil. They come from different industries, different perspectives and different roles.
Maybe there’s a nugget in here that shifts your perspective in a positive way, sheds light on a challenge you’re facing, or just brightens your day and helps you take a deep breath to move forward:
- “Open the aperture”: “I think a lot of times people in their mid-career have a very specific idea of this ladder that they have and this path specific to either the next job they want, or if they want to be in an impact job, (they think) that impact job looks like X.
“And what I have learned is that there are lots of different types of jobs that make a direct difference, and there’s a lot of different types of jobs that can drive impact. And so, kind of the first thing is, open the aperture and have lots of conversations with a lot of different kinds of groups. …Shadow, (ask) ‘Do you need help with that project?’ Experience what it is for a little bit, get a taste of it. Maybe you won’t like it. Maybe you will love it, and then plant seeds early.”
Page Motes, Chief Compliance and Sustainability Officer at Hertz on Electric Ladies Podcast
- Your wealth is also in your impact: “Create your wealth in a space where you can already have impact….(W)e all spend so much time working, so it’s much better if it’s aligned to what you actually care for. And then the other piece of advice that I would give is that I think there’s always a way of balancing between the need to make an income because we all have that need, with the impact.
“And very importantly…mid-career women are precisely in this inflection point where I think prioritizing and even thinking very consciously about this could be helpful…The value of your worth does not lie in your net worth.”
Silvia Bastante de Unverhau, of LGT Private Bankers International on Electric Ladies Podcast
- What’s easy for you is a clue: “I think the best thing you can do is define you first….what your values are at this time, and have been for probably since you were a child. And some definition to what your purpose is in the world….
“The second one I think is.…I would just encourage, especially midcareer women to think, ‘what if the things that were right for you, you knew they were right for you because they were easy, not hard?’ Because they came to you in a way that felt aligned versus you’re scraping and fighting for them.…Hard work is a core of success, but it’s not the only way to get there.…So what if we considered things that came to us and were at our feet as the right path for us to go down?”
Ann Canela, Head of Niagara Cares and Director of Corporate Giving at Niagara Bottling on Electric Ladies Podcast
- Ask more questions: “Your job isn’t to know the answer. Your job is to ask all the right questions of where the business is going and….Don’t be afraid….(Align) with people who could see the possibility of (your) experience….
“Take that stretch job and just remember you’re in the room to ask different questions, and that’s perfectly fine. So, take the stretch and then lean into your experience that allows you to have a different lens and a different perspective.”
Mandi McReynolds, Chief Sustainability Officer at Workiva on Electric Ladies Podcast
- Use all parts of who you are: “It’s about how you think about who you are. You can follow the script of what society says you should be thinking, feeling, or doing at this point. Or you can say, ‘I have this certain experience, these skills, and I want to fully utilize myself.’ And that often entails going out on your own and creating something that of course doesn’t exist.
“And it’s a risk. …You have to really take a look at yourself and say, ‘I believe in me and I don’t want to be limited. I want to use all parts of myself’.”
Yvonne Burton, President of Burton Consulting International on Electric Ladies Podcast
Each of these women has been in struggle mode too, and we are all in this moment of flux together. These are points they wanted to raise up to help other professional women who, like them, want meaningful work that also provides great intellectual and financial satisfaction.
You can listen to the full interviews with these women on Electric Ladies Podcast here or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.