With over 15 years of experience in marketing, Lisa (name changed to respect her privacy) was recruited for a new role that initially seemed like a great opportunity. But, after she accepted the new job and got started, she began to realize the role was not what she expected. For over a year, she tried to make things work. She had many conversations with her manager, team members, and peers, attempting to adjust to the working style and culture of the firm. She began to feel very frustrated. She felt she was not fully using all the skills she had developed over the years and felt confined and stifled by the procedures of the company. She eventually accepted things were not working out and left the company.
When Lisa first reached out to Alida, she was feeling confused and worried. She was unsure why the job she just left had initially sounded so great but did not turn out to be. She worried there was something about her or something she did that caused things to go south. Could she have done anything to prevent this from happening? Her family depended on her income, so she knew she had to find something new quickly. Yet, the past year and a half had been so emotionally draining. She was dreading the job search and definitely did not want to jump into something that was not a good fit again.
I realized I needed to talk to someone outside my normal circle. I had confided in my family and friends about what was going on for me at work. They were able to provide emotional support, but I knew I needed to talk with someone who had an outside perspective. Someone who could help me process what had happened, honestly evaluate if and how I could have handled the situation differently, and help me create a plan for my job search.
And was Alida able to provide that type of support?
Oh my gosh. Yes! Alida really listened to what had happened and what was going on for me. She was so supportive and made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this experience. She gave me her undivided attention and through her questions and insight helped me gain clarity about what made my previous job such a mismatch for me.
After processing and learning from her experience, Lisa was able to begin dreaming about what could come next for her. Through conversations with Alida, Lisa began to remember how much she liked business development. Years ago, she had the opportunity to focus on marketing and business development. Since then, her jobs had narrowed to solely focus on marketing.
For so long, I had thought of myself as a marketing professional, but Alida helped me realize that business development was as much of a strength for me as marketing was, if not more.
Together, Alida and Lisa created a strategy to highlight her business development skills and successes, alongside her marketing experience. They tailored all aspects of her job search to focus on this new target, from her resume and LinkedIn profile to conversations she had with recruiters and hiring managers.
Alida also supported Lisa to start talking to her network and created a plan to do this. Lisa focused on reestablishing authentic relationships with former colleagues and partners and confidently talking about where she was in her career and what she was looking for next.
For me, the best thing about working with Alida is the confidence I gained in myself. When I started working with Alida I was really doubting myself. I wondered if I had made a mistake that would impact my career for years to come. But Alida helped me focus on all that I had accomplished so far in my career and how I could use my experience to really contribute to another company, one that was a better fit. Gaining that confidence in myself was critical in me being able to pursue this new direction in my career.
Through conversations with her network, Lisa reconnected with the CEO of a company she used to do business with. He was interested in talking more about how she could contribute to his growing business. Lisa and the CEO worked together to create a new position specifically tailored to her. With support from Alida, Lisa learned how to ask specific questions to get really clear about the expectations of the new role and to understand the company culture to be sure this opportunity would truly be the right fit.
The result? Lisa confidently created and then stepped into a new business development position at a company that values and supports its employees. In this new role, Lisa is using and expanding her business development skills to serve the needs of a growing company.
I am so happy in my new role! I love the autonomy the role gives me to use my specific skills and the people are great. I feel like I am finally doing work I was meant to do. I wish I would have had the courage to pursue this path earlier in my career, however, I now know how important it is to pursue the things that interest me and advocate for myself – these are lessons and skills I will use from now on!
