The Careers Blog
.As a graduate who is at an early stage of your career it may feel as if the odds are stacked against you when it comes to taking ownership over determining your career success. It will feel as if you don’t have much way in progressing and pivoting with ease, shrinking yourself and going with the flow. I am indeed am a strong proponent of owning your career and pivoting when you are feeling interested to.
My story…
I studied Philosophy at Warwick and just like many of us, felt very lost and overwhelmed with prospect of graduating into the ‘real world’. I found the prospect of choosing a career intimidating. So I really got to a point where I had to make a choice. I had two options: give up or rise up.
I took option 2. I did EVERYTHING! I went for it, got opportunities in Tech, Finance, Law, Consulting, Marketing & more! So… with my own experience and expertise, here is my advice on pivoting with confidence!
Confidence
Let’s get foundational. Everything starts with confidence. Yet so tough and downplayed as an attribute to cultivate in your career. It’s why I started Career Confident – and why I continue to prioritise this for my career. As your confidence grows so does your ability to recognise the opportunities ahead and around you. There’s no limit to what you can do.
Mindset
To recognise you have no limit to your career opportunities, there’s a shift of mindset required. There’s a need to know you can achieve more than currently you see. And especially if you are looking to make a change you will need to start to open up your mind. How? Environment makes a big difference. Do your research on career opportunities, speak to people and also look for good examples where people have pivoted.
Leverage
Your current position will have given you skills and insights that you can leverage for the next career journey move you want to make. What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? How can these inform you next career choice? Why do you want to pivot? What are the advantages/ disadvantages your career development? The more you understand yourself as a professional the more you’ll know and have the confidence to make that pivot!
Network
It is proven that networking and getting referrals for job roles can increase your job role application success by over 25%! Therefore, it is key that in the industry you are looking to apply for, that you are building a network. I highly recommend networking events and LinkedIn. All in all you can really create your path to pivot just by creating a valuable and supportive network!
Go for it!
Final bit of advice…just get yourself out there! Try not to overthink a pivot, it really is a process. By doing your research, knowing the industry, your skills and with the support of a good network. You’ve got this!
Vera Okojie is a Warwick Alumni and also the founder of Career Confident (@career.confident)
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