When Prestige Isn’t Enough: Rebecca’s Career Change From Politics to Purpose

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 I remember people saying, oh man, but you've got the dream.

spk_0 And it kind of raises a red flag.

spk_0 People say, you have the dream.

spk_0 You think, yeah, there's a lot of truth to that,

spk_0 but something built off right now, at least for what

spk_0 I think I'm looking for.

spk_0 One unexpected obstacle that you might have to overcome

spk_0 when making a career change is dealing with reactions

spk_0 from the people closest to you.

spk_0 OK, surprisingly, these reactions

spk_0 are not always positive and encouraging.

spk_0 Your friends and family likely want what is best for you.

spk_0 And they may not think that a career change is smart move.

spk_0 So how do you navigate these conversations

spk_0 with people closest to you and get them on board

spk_0 to support you as you make this big life change?

spk_0 Know who's supporting you.

spk_0 Surround yourself with those people,

spk_0 chunk in with those people.

spk_0 You need support.

spk_0 And if you need their support,

spk_0 so you can accomplish your dream,

spk_0 bring them forward or to do anything challenging,

spk_0 whether that's loose by pals or move across the country,

spk_0 check in with those people every so often

spk_0 to know that you're supported.

spk_0 That's Rebecca Maddox.

spk_0 Rebecca was a lawyer working in a political arena

spk_0 in Washington, DC when she decided

spk_0 she needed a change for many reasons.

spk_0 One of those included health problems

spk_0 that were surfacing from the stress.

spk_0 When it came time to let her support system know

spk_0 she was working on making a career change,

spk_0 she was met with some surprising reactions,

spk_0 which ranged from nervously happy for her

spk_0 to angry and argumentative.

spk_0 I want you to listen to how Rebecca

spk_0 navigated these conversations

spk_0 because she gives an almost exact script

spk_0 for what to say to your support system

spk_0 when you're making a career change.

spk_0 Here's Rebecca taking us back to when her law journey began.

spk_0 I decided to go to law school back.

spk_0 I think it was my junior year of college.

spk_0 No one else in my family had gone to law school

spk_0 and before all of this I'd actually been thinking,

spk_0 I don't want to go to med school.

spk_0 And then I took calculus and chemistry

spk_0 at the same time freshman year

spk_0 and that there's nothing quite like that

spk_0 to really make you reconsider your priorities in life.

spk_0 So, I don't know if this is right for me.

spk_0 So I reconsidered everything.

spk_0 I went on a longer journey with taking

spk_0 environmental science courses,

spk_0 learning more about environmental policy,

spk_0 going into women gender classes and policy,

spk_0 I took a class, I think on feminist jurors'

spk_0 prudence and that opened my eyes the idea of,

spk_0 huh, I find this fascinating.

spk_0 What if the law is actually something I want to do?

spk_0 And I remember telling my parents,

spk_0 I want to go to law school and they said,

spk_0 really?

spk_0 Really?

spk_0 Sure.

spk_0 And I took the LSAT.

spk_0 I did an internship where attorney was representing

spk_0 the community group in front of his own commission

spk_0 and I thought this is just incredible.

spk_0 So I ended up going to law school

spk_0 because I like the idea of how you could use advocacy

spk_0 and arguments to build a foundation

spk_0 to achieve something for someone.

spk_0 Because I think ultimately at the end of the day,

spk_0 I wanted to help people and that's where,

spk_0 and that's what moved me towards law school.

spk_0 I ended up going to law school at the University of Maryland

spk_0 and after I went to school there,

spk_0 I realized I've never been involved in politics

spk_0 against mass forwarding.

spk_0 I realized I've had experience

spk_0 and I'm undergrad with some environmental sort

spk_0 of organizing stuff back in the day.

spk_0 I now have experience in the law,

spk_0 but I've never looked at politics

spk_0 which feels like another factor

spk_0 in something that's close to me now that I'm in Maryland

spk_0 and DC is not very far away.

spk_0 Oh no.

spk_0 What if, like, I don't have kids, I don't have a house.

spk_0 What if that's something worth trying?

spk_0 And I ended up connecting with an office in DC

spk_0 and then I did that for a couple of years.

spk_0 Who were the types of people that you sought out

spk_0 to try and find out, hey, what even this politics?

spk_0 Like what does this mean?

spk_0 Like, who were those types of people

spk_0 or who were those folks in your life?

spk_0 Oh yeah, that's a great question

spk_0 because coming from my family,

spk_0 my family is filled, my extended family,

spk_0 my immediate family, it's filled with teachers,

spk_0 some doctors, no one can do anything,

spk_0 much about connecting in with politics.

spk_0 And I remember a friend at school was involved more

spk_0 with politics and there was an intern coordinator

spk_0 who handled more political internships for the school

spk_0 and she said, you should go talk to her.

spk_0 I said, okay.

spk_0 And I think my, in general, my best,

spk_0 the way I found most of my internships or experiences

spk_0 while in school was definitely through teachers.

spk_0 Teachers saying, hey, you should be connecting

spk_0 into externships, hey, you should be connecting

spk_0 into these things.

spk_0 They kind of acted as mentors to shepherd me through.

spk_0 And getting into politics in general is just,

spk_0 it's a tough game.

spk_0 I mean, everyone's coming in trying to prove their self worth

spk_0 and it's a lot of networking

spk_0 and it's a lot of mean people for coffee

spk_0 and trying to figure out you have a connection

spk_0 to their state, to their political beliefs,

spk_0 to their office, to someone in their office.

spk_0 It's a, it kind of shifts the greenness off

spk_0 to come a little bit thicker.

spk_0 I'll view very quickly.

spk_0 Exactly.

spk_0 You can't no longer green almost immediately

spk_0 as you move into that.

spk_0 Yeah.

spk_0 You and I had a conversation, maybe,

spk_0 I don't know, seven, eight months ago or something

spk_0 which was the first time you and I had met

spk_0 after you found H2IceE and at that point in time,

spk_0 you were less excited.

spk_0 So I say about being in DC and being involved

spk_0 in the political arena.

spk_0 Is that fair to say?

spk_0 Yeah, that's fair to say.

spk_0 I would say during my time there,

spk_0 it was, it is really exciting and it's really interesting

spk_0 because you're dealing with some very big issues

spk_0 and everything's in there, it's changing all the time

spk_0 and you work with some very motivated,

spk_0 very intelligent people and some very diplomatic

spk_0 and great people to work with.

spk_0 But the same time, it's sometimes working at 50,000 feet.

spk_0 Feeling like you're kind of hovering above ground.

spk_0 You start, I think, after a while,

spk_0 starting to wonder about my impact

spk_0 and connecting with people and wondering,

spk_0 is this the best use of my skills?

spk_0 And I remember people saying,

spk_0 oh, man, but you've got the dream.

spk_0 And it kind of raises a red flag.

spk_0 If people say, you have the dream,

spk_0 you think, yeah, there's a lot of truth to that,

spk_0 but something feels off right now,

spk_0 at least for what I think I'm looking for.

spk_0

spk_0 And I think in that moment,

spk_0 I started looking for a career coach

spk_0 because when you're in a position,

spk_0 especially that you've worked really hard to get,

spk_0 they've put in a lot of time, a lot of years

spk_0 in your thinking, okay, right?

spk_0 This feels right.

spk_0 It feels like I'm gaining experience

spk_0 and gaining some a little bit of good reputation here.

spk_0 I've got something going.

spk_0 It's hard to talk to other people.

spk_0 It's hard to know who to talk to you to say,

spk_0 hey, I'm wondering if there's something else out there for me

spk_0 or to say, hey, even to your family, to your loved ones,

spk_0 say, hey, I'm not sure if this will be my forever fit

spk_0 or maybe this is the best fit for me

spk_0 in terms of like my goals are what I'm thinking right now.

spk_0 Because everybody has their own bias.

spk_0 But if your family supported you

spk_0 and getting used to this position,

spk_0 they want to see you happy,

spk_0 but they also are wondering why would you leave?

spk_0 So it kind of...

spk_0 It's the dream.

spk_0 And granted, there were a lot of opportunities,

spk_0 great opportunities, great people to record again.

spk_0 It's just kind of thinking, okay,

spk_0 so before me and my skills

spk_0 and what I'm thinking next for my personal move,

spk_0 what are my options?

spk_0 How should I be thinking about this?

spk_0 I think having a little bit of an outside perspective

spk_0 there of someone who can call you out,

spk_0 maybe when you're not taking accountability

spk_0 for everything in your sphere.

spk_0 I mean, maybe someone who can point things out

spk_0 or help you navigate it.

spk_0 I think that's what I was looking for.

spk_0 Interesting.

spk_0 So I'm curious just diving back for a half a second.

spk_0 As, because it sounds like you were having fun

spk_0 with some areas of it.

spk_0 And as you got in there,

spk_0 there was different levels of excitement

spk_0 and things that totally jived with what you were interested

spk_0 and at least at the time,

spk_0 what really started you down the path

spk_0 of either realizing that it had changed

spk_0 or that you wanted something different?

spk_0 What happened in between there

spk_0 that caused you to have a difference of opinion

spk_0 from when you went in

spk_0 and when you were having fun of it with it initially?

spk_0 I started thinking about...

spk_0 I think I started feeling a little disconnected.

spk_0 Sometimes we would still working on an issue

spk_0 and then something else would become

spk_0 more politically important to be working on

spk_0 or focusing on jumping around.

spk_0 We have a lot of loose ends and I thought,

spk_0 okay, one of my accomplishing here.

spk_0 And I started feeling a little bit of that disconnect.

spk_0 And also there's the sort of...

spk_0 There's a thoroughness impact,

spk_0 but also the depth of the issue

spk_0 where when you're working on a higher level on the issues,

spk_0 you don't want to dive too deep into the weeds,

spk_0 but you also need to create something.

spk_0 So I became a very versatile generalist.

spk_0 Looking at different issues across the spectrum,

spk_0 but it was diving into,

spk_0 I think when you're running on an inch deep mile wide,

spk_0 some people thrive in that environment.

spk_0 They see the bigger forces

spk_0 and they enjoy just kind of

spk_0 staying a little bit in the substance,

spk_0 but mostly on the bigger forces and local forces

spk_0 and again, navigating that.

spk_0 But for me, I found that this is all very exciting.

spk_0 I would love to have something where I get to dive more into,

spk_0 be more of an expert on,

spk_0 sink my teeth into more.

spk_0 So I started reconsidering my impact

spk_0 and as well as my ultimately,

spk_0 how do I want my ideal office?

spk_0 How, at least sort of how I get my rewards out of work?

spk_0 What makes sense?

spk_0 Does it have a big policy issue work?

spk_0 Or is it more of a one-on-one relationship with a client?

spk_0 Like that kind of work?

spk_0 And I thought, actually, it's the client.

spk_0 I just started piece by piece, picking things off.

spk_0 And sometimes too, when you're in that environment,

spk_0 you know that something's not working,

spk_0 but you're not quite sure what.

spk_0 And it sometimes can be hard to hear your voice in that space.

spk_0 And I think I was in, too, on top of all of this,

spk_0 my heart was also somewhere else.

spk_0 Like my significant other,

spk_0 he was out on the campaign trail.

spk_0 And at that point in time, I thought,

spk_0 okay, how are I going to get ourselves in the same place?

spk_0 I've been doing long distance for a long time.

spk_0 So there was a little bit of that coming in,

spk_0 there was that coming into play as well,

spk_0 or is that okay?

spk_0 I'm trying to hold it all together,

spk_0 but something's going to get eventually.

spk_0 What makes sense for me?

spk_0 That's super interesting on a variety of levels.

spk_0 Partially because you began to recognize that

spk_0 being a overall generalist and not getting to go deep

spk_0 with something that you were missing quite a bit.

spk_0 And then at the same time,

spk_0 you had some needs and wants life changes.

spk_0 At like, how are we?

spk_0 How are we going to get?

spk_0 How are we going to stop doing this long distance relationship?

spk_0 And so you had a couple of things

spk_0 pulling in different areas.

spk_0 And for one, super cool that you recognized the need for change.

spk_0 Because I think a lot of people will just keep going.

spk_0 I mean, I encounter them all the time

spk_0 where people just keep on going rather than acting on that

spk_0 that need or want for change.

spk_0 So kudos to you, first of all.

spk_0 I mean, thanks.

spk_0 It's when you're in the zone,

spk_0 or when you're doing this,

spk_0 especially if you've had a lot of time and energy vested into it.

spk_0 And there are a lot of things,

spk_0 I'm not usually black and white.

spk_0 It's not like a voice from God comes down

spk_0 unless you just have a little.

spk_0 It's like you're cool, right?

spk_0 It's you burning flesh.

spk_0 You're like, oh, yeah, there's the burning flesh.

spk_0 Cool. I got my instructions.

spk_0 What's, what's grow?

spk_0 For me, it was, it's, I don't remember who told me this

spk_0 or where I read this,

spk_0 but it's like the little things.

spk_0 You start feeling a little itch.

spk_0 And you say, maybe, maybe, am I crazy?

spk_0 And so you think, yeah, you know, everything else is going on.

spk_0 Let's just keep going with this.

spk_0 Or maybe it's just me.

spk_0 Maybe like, I didn't, I did that for a while or I thought,

spk_0 okay, I'm not handling this correctly.

spk_0 I need to go running.

spk_0 I need to make sure I'm getting my energy out.

spk_0 I need to make sure I'm following up on where I've made mistakes

spk_0 and try not to do those again.

spk_0 I need to be like accountable.

spk_0 I need to, you know, you try to fix all the other things.

spk_0 But there was a moment for me, I think.

spk_0 I don't know, I would say for other listeners,

spk_0 if there's a moment where you know something's really off,

spk_0 whether it's like that moment where you snap at someone

spk_0 you didn't realize you didn't mean to,

spk_0 and it went way beyond what you normally are.

spk_0 You think this is not where I'm supposed to be.

spk_0 This is something's wrong.

spk_0 I would say listen to that.

spk_0 I think my moment was, this was a long time before I made my move

spk_0 out of DC, but at the moment I went into the dentist's office.

spk_0 They did an X-ray of my molars and the nerves just looked

spk_0 like scrambled eggs.

spk_0 I'm not out of my 20s.

spk_0 And they said, look, you are clenching your teeth so hard at night

spk_0 from stress that you have messed up your nerve endings.

spk_0 And if you keep going like this,

spk_0 you're going to need root canals for all four teeth

spk_0 by the time you're 30.

spk_0 And I just, it kind of made me sit down and say,

spk_0 something's wrong.

spk_0 It's really wrong.

spk_0 And I kind of try to just keep swimming,

spk_0 just keep swimming, right?

spk_0 Keep going, keep going.

spk_0 You can do it.

spk_0 Just keep focused.

spk_0 Everyone goes into, runs into issues like this.

spk_0 And then eventually something starts to get and say,

spk_0 now maybe something is off.

spk_0 And I think the hard part of that for me was negotiating

spk_0 with my family and friends, not just in the workplace,

spk_0 so I'm trying to be a professional, right?

spk_0 You're trying to detect yourself.

spk_0 But then the hard part with family and friends

spk_0 is explaining, hey, I'm going to go work.

spk_0 I'm interested in this idea.

spk_0 I would really appreciate your support.

spk_0 I think it's worth a shot for me to kind of look into.

spk_0 How did you handle some of those conversations?

spk_0 Because I think that's a real thing

spk_0 for nearly everybody, even if you've got a fairly supportive family.

spk_0 Like if you're on that end of the spectrum

spk_0 and have family that understands, it's still like a big gap.

spk_0 And it's like, well, why?

spk_0 Or the other questions that come up.

spk_0 So I'm curious, how did you approach some of those conversations?

spk_0 Right.

spk_0 The hard part when you're thinking of making a change in your life

spk_0 is that either I've run into several reactions.

spk_0 People are usually nervous.

spk_0 And they want to be helpful.

spk_0 I loved ones in particular, want to be helpful.

spk_0 But they oftentimes don't know how to approach the issue.

spk_0 I've had ranging issues of people saying, well, just go do what you love.

spk_0 Go do what you love.

spk_0 And I think, well, that's kind of broad.

spk_0 I was the word.

spk_0 Do it.

spk_0 Or I even once had someone ask me,

spk_0 well, what's the one thing that you need in life?

spk_0 And I have to live back them honestly.

spk_0 And say, I don't know who clothing shelter.

spk_0 Where are we going with this?

spk_0 Water, obviously.

spk_0 Water.

spk_0 Thanks for that piece of information.

spk_0 Vote one for water.

spk_0 Water's not going to.

spk_0 So I would say I want to approach you that.

spk_0 I think I had to realize that why I was feeling vulnerable in my search

spk_0 or feeling and think trying to think broadly.

spk_0 I had to realize that other people are feeling a little thrown off

spk_0 of culture because they too are wanting good things for you

spk_0 but also think of you in a certain way.

spk_0 So having this honest, honest and open conversations is really important.

spk_0 And for people who truly didn't understand who are angry,

spk_0 which I ran into a fair amount as well.

spk_0 And I think that was one thing, you know, as I thought about coming,

spk_0 I was talking today, that was something that came up for me

spk_0 because I think that was something that threw me off

spk_0 culture in my job search.

spk_0 It was just the emotional impact of others not understanding

spk_0 or being frustrated.

spk_0 And there's validity there.

spk_0 It's I think my, my moment of wisdom was with what someone who's

spk_0 very close to me and he said, I think I'm making a mistake

spk_0 why you move across country.

spk_0 And I think number one, like they may be mad about certain things

spk_0 if you're making yourself vulnerable,

spk_0 making other people vulnerable financially.

spk_0 So that is one thing to put on the side backburners.

spk_0 But I personally had enough in savings to say,

spk_0 hey, I've saved up for this moment.

spk_0 I prepare for this moment.

spk_0 I can do this.

spk_0 So there was that.

spk_0 And then the other part, the logical support,

spk_0 wanting to support me where I was, I think I had to say,

spk_0 look, you're my friend, you're my loved one.

spk_0 I love you dearly and your support means so much to me.

spk_0 I mean, you give this a try.

spk_0 And if it doesn't work out, I'll be okay.

spk_0 Things will be okay.

spk_0 I just need for you to trust in me and my stills

spk_0 that things will be okay at this moment.

spk_0 And then something else comes up,

spk_0 we'll just troubleshoot it from there.

spk_0 But here's my plan, here's your work going.

spk_0 I really would appreciate your support in this.

spk_0 And so that's how I went about it.

spk_0 Whether it was the best move and the most comprehensive,

spk_0 yeah, I'm sure other people have other pointers,

spk_0 but like I think that's what helped for me.

spk_0 What you just verbalized, I think is a great script actually

spk_0 that we've found generally works.

spk_0 Because when you're explaining why,

spk_0 when you're explaining why you need to make the change

spk_0 and then asking specifically for support

spk_0 and then even explaining that ultimately, look,

spk_0 it's going to be okay because of these reasons,

spk_0 then I think that that helps people move from point A to point Z

spk_0 in terms of how they're looking at it.

spk_0 Right.

spk_0 And you know, it's hard.

spk_0 So that's a good point you have to kind of know who your main

spk_0 people are, who are known, who your main support

spk_0 are top to those people first.

spk_0 And then know just certain degree, it will percolate through.

spk_0 And then no over time, things get better.

spk_0 People ease off, especially if as you move on,

spk_0 if it works out, I mean, for me, as I've left,

spk_0 after I left, you see, there are little things

spk_0 people have noticed.

spk_0 Like I'm laughing more and my hair is blonde,

spk_0 and I'm going to have a lot more.

spk_0 And little things people say, maybe it's not so bad.

spk_0 I think to the idea of dropping things

spk_0 and moving on to a different opportunity

spk_0 is something that's risky and a lot of risk of worse,

spk_0 they're nervous.

spk_0 They wouldn't have missed sailor done this for themselves.

spk_0 So that's another, there's several hurdles

spk_0 of how people make their own decisions.

spk_0 In addition to the fact that like maybe they just want to do

spk_0 there, maybe they said, you know what,

spk_0 you have a great career and I'm embrading about you

spk_0 and maybe I just always thought this was who and what you want

spk_0 it and who are you anymore.

spk_0 So there's a little bit of that going on too.

spk_0 So that's kind of the untold story,

spk_0 along with career change, my experience is the

spk_0 how your support system works.

spk_0 And I would recommend a good piece of advice

spk_0 that was given to me and I would recommend to others

spk_0 is no who's supporting you.

spk_0 Surround yourself with those people,

spk_0 check in with those people.

spk_0 If you need their support to help you accomplish your dream

spk_0 or to move forward or to do anything challenging,

spk_0 whether that's loose by pounds or move across country,

spk_0 just have those people check in with those people

spk_0 every so often to know that you're supported.

spk_0 That is amazing advice, especially just coming off of this.

spk_0 It's like fresh, it's hot off the press.

spk_0 Because you're still intense of purpose

spk_0 is kind of like just been through this.

spk_0 And just gotten off the train, if you will.

spk_0 Even I forget, like I'm surrounded by this all the time

spk_0 and I've gone through this and I've found these same things

spk_0 for myself too.

spk_0 And I totally making multiple career changes myself

spk_0 did not anticipate like that emotional toll

spk_0 that you're talking about earlier

spk_0 and you mentioned where you're just having lots

spk_0 and lots of conversations with people

spk_0 and you're like not just taking the actions

spk_0 but you're also explaining the actions

spk_0 and then you're trying to help make it easy for them

spk_0 to support you in taking these actions

spk_0 and all the stuff that you just never imagined

spk_0 would go along with it.

spk_0 And I think that's part of the reason why so many people

spk_0 end up staying in the same place too, because that's hard.

spk_0 It's hard and it's risky because

spk_0 what's on the other end of the yellow brick road, right?

spk_0 Oh my goodness.

spk_0 What if the wizard's me?

spk_0 You never know.

spk_0 The cheap ant weep of faith, well, the brick,

spk_0 you know, if you lead out into the canyon,

spk_0 will the bridge build underneath you?

spk_0 Or will that scare you?

spk_0 Well, the other people will be there to support you.

spk_0 I know.

spk_0 You hope so.

spk_0 And I think for me, I made the decision to,

spk_0 for where I was, when my job ended,

spk_0 I didn't have anything else lined up

spk_0 and I think that made other people nervous too.

spk_0 And again, having that cushion, I think,

spk_0 it was like that financial cushion was the way

spk_0 it was almost like my first line of faith

spk_0 to say, you know what, we're fine.

spk_0 I think we're gonna work this out.

spk_0 I'm working diligently on this.

spk_0 Everything is paid.

spk_0 Everything is good.

spk_0 Yeah.

spk_0 So what's going on?

spk_0 I would also say during that time,

spk_0 because people are nervous

spk_0 and they project that nervousness onto you

spk_0 and it addition to your own like insecurities.

spk_0 Are you trying to deal with, oh my gosh,

spk_0 or am I, am I able to do this?

spk_0 Did I make the right decision?

spk_0 Oh my goodness.

spk_0 Ah!

spk_0 I would definitely, the negative voices come.

spk_0 And something I also, that was helpful for me,

spk_0 doing the coaching experience was,

spk_0 and something I learned along the way was that

spk_0 it's also very important to give yourself some grace,

spk_0 show yourself some grace.

spk_0 And I would totally recommend Elizabeth Gilbert, love her,

spk_0 love her.

spk_0 She has her book, Big Magic,

spk_0 and listening to that was actually very helpful.

spk_0 This idea that you have this creative muscle

spk_0 and you have to give a little space to breathe.

spk_0 And maybe during this process,

spk_0 finding your, I felt the great deal of pressure

spk_0 to find the job.

spk_0 Coming from this job that I was at

spk_0 and then moving into another job,

spk_0 I felt the great deal of pressure to find

spk_0 something that was justified as like the bigger, better thing.

spk_0 Right?

spk_0 And I, when Elizabeth Gilbert was talking about her,

spk_0 about how like don't, about artists

spk_0 who put so much pressure on themselves

spk_0 to try to create their whole career off of their art,

spk_0 but it kills your creative muscle.

spk_0 I, that resonated with me so deeply.

spk_0 I thought, oh my gosh, I feel the same,

spk_0 such similar pressure with finding the job.

spk_0 It's like finding this, where's your career trajectory going?

spk_0 Like finding, proving success.

spk_0 I thought, this is, this is about finding

spk_0 what is my best fit for my skills.

spk_0 This is about finding the next best step in my career

spk_0 for me to be successful, where I'll,

spk_0 where the average person might put in 100%

spk_0 and get 100% back, but maybe where I put out 100%

spk_0 and I get 150 to 200% back

spk_0 because I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do.

spk_0 And I thought, that's what I'm looking for here.

spk_0 So hearing that advice kind of ease off a little bit

spk_0 and realize, okay, if I have to define another job

spk_0 to be a bridge for the moment, that's fine.

spk_0 I can do that.

spk_0 What's most important is I focus on finding

spk_0 the next best step for me.

spk_0 So I would definitely recommend the list of skills

spk_0 or to anyone.

spk_0 Yeah.

spk_0 I have had several people recommend

spk_0 that same book in particular.

spk_0 Probably about, I don't know, 10 or 15 times or so.

spk_0 And I'm curious as you went through this process

spk_0 and as you were, you called it, trying to find the next,

spk_0 trying to find the next best step for you

spk_0 or something close to that.

spk_0 How did you end up working with Lisa

spk_0 and what were the one or two biggest things

spk_0 that you ended up taking away from your interactions

spk_0 with Lisa about your next best thing?

spk_0 Because it's certainly not everybody's, right?

spk_0 It's individualized.

spk_0 Yeah, working with Lisa.

spk_0 Which is great.

spk_0 Love working with Lisa.

spk_0 And by Lisa, we're talking about Lisa Lewis

spk_0 for context here.

spk_0 You can hear her story.

spk_0 Happened to her.com slash 147 on episode 147.

spk_0 Mm-hmm.

spk_0 Yeah, she was great.

spk_0 And I think something, so I just started,

spk_0 decided to start working with Lisa

spk_0 because as I was diving into the boot camp,

spk_0 the free boot camp, it happened to your career.

spk_0 And I was really trying to think broadly.

spk_0 I had this moment of thinking, okay,

spk_0 should I even, should I be a lawyer?

spk_0 What should I do?

spk_0 I just went, took the kind of,

spk_0 what color is your parachute approach

spk_0 found happened to your career?

spk_0 Really started trying to dig deep

spk_0 and lay a foundation.

spk_0 And I started working with Lisa

spk_0 when I got to a point of saying, okay,

spk_0 I'm pulling some of these things out,

spk_0 but it's like some of my strengths,

spk_0 some of my interests, but it's murky.

spk_0 I'm not sure how to move forward for this.

spk_0 And I think not knowing where you want to go.

spk_0 Like again, some people hear the burning bush.

spk_0 I see the burning bush.

spk_0 Some people don't.

spk_0 I did not.

spk_0 And I was wondering, I'm not quite sure

spk_0 how to what I'm looking for.

spk_0 How do I move forward?

spk_0 How do I develop this?

spk_0 How do I really, I was hoping to get that burning bush

spk_0 my wind and I didn't, I thought,

spk_0 oh gosh, I don't know what I'm doing.

spk_0 So that's when I started, I think,

spk_0 feeling stuck.

spk_0 How do I move forward with this?

spk_0 That's what I call,

spk_0 happens to your career.

spk_0 That's when I decided it's time to reach out to a coach

spk_0 who's impartial, who isn't like my family,

spk_0 because they don't have a vested interest in me

spk_0 being in one place or another,

spk_0 because they love me, but this makes them nervous.

spk_0 And it's not like other people on my network

spk_0 who see who might see me in a particular way

spk_0 and then say, oh, but don't you want to do X, Y, and Z?

spk_0 And then also some people are just so outside

spk_0 of the job search game that they just haven't.

spk_0 They have general advice,

spk_0 but it may not be what you need.

spk_0 So it was helpful working with her

spk_0 because she helped me think about structuring,

spk_0 how to structure talking with people,

spk_0 about what I'm looking for,

spk_0 how one of the next steps to move forward.

spk_0 And two, there are moments when I was avoiding an issue

spk_0 in my career search that she would even call me out,

spk_0 which was great.

spk_0 She can call me out and say,

spk_0 why do you think you're avoiding this?

spk_0 What are you protecting on yourself by avoiding this issue?

spk_0 That you're not just avoiding it

spk_0 because you're lazy or something.

spk_0 That's my phrasing.

spk_0 She never said that, but what are you trying to protect

spk_0 in yourself that you feel vulnerable about?

spk_0 Which was a way that no one had ever proposed to me before.

spk_0 And wow, actually, that's a really good point.

spk_0 I remember I had this breakthrough moment journaling about it.

spk_0 And I think too, in addition, it was helpful to have Lisa

spk_0 through the interviewing process

spk_0 because in addition to the pragmatic,

spk_0 oh, someone responded like this.

spk_0 How should I respond?

spk_0 How should I deal with some of the basic baseline things?

spk_0 There was also this question of,

spk_0 I think my inherent bias having gone through

spk_0 trying to find a job in DC as a lawyer in 2013,

spk_0 where there are tons of lawyers and people kept saying,

spk_0 like, where you felt generally kind of disposable.

spk_0 And at that point in time, having this great buy for a job,

spk_0 I had an inherent tendency to try to form myself

spk_0 into the person I thought that they were looking for

spk_0 for these interviews rather than presenting,

spk_0 here's where I am, here's what I'm looking for.

spk_0 I would love to work with you in the future

spk_0 if this opportunity works.

spk_0 I very much had this bias to try to get the job, right?

spk_0 Like, do whatever it takes to get the job.

spk_0 When in reality, just getting the job can lead to a mismatch

spk_0 and a miscommunication expectations and assumptions

spk_0 between you and the employers.

spk_0 The employer doesn't know what they want.

spk_0 You don't get what you want.

spk_0 There's just desperation in there.

spk_0 And even though I, which came through,

spk_0 even though I have money and I had money

spk_0 at the time to cover my bills, my baseline bills

spk_0 at that moment, but I was still just,

spk_0 I thought was just my inclination.

spk_0 And working with Lisa, it was helpful to strip down

spk_0 extraneous and get back to being more authentic

spk_0 without trying to preclude the opportunity,

spk_0 but just to be honest and say,

spk_0 hey, well, here's where I'm coming from.

spk_0 What do you think you're looking for?

spk_0 Which really changed the interview process for me.

spk_0 That's a huge mindset switch.

spk_0 That is a massive mindset switch.

spk_0 Huge.

spk_0 And it felt really bizarre at first

spk_0 because I thought, oh my gosh,

spk_0 I feel like I'm making it in the room.

spk_0 I got something out there.

spk_0 Cause it feels absurd at first.

spk_0 It really does.

spk_0 I think Lisa was calling it Radcloth Authenticity

spk_0 in the moment.

spk_0 And it was, it feels really bizarre

spk_0 because you're trying, you're realizing,

spk_0 like there was just one interview in particular

spk_0 that I thought, I know what one's to say this stuff,

spk_0 this thing's done.

spk_0 Like I know, cause I thought I'm interested in a job,

spk_0 but I don't know for how long they would be interested

spk_0 given like what this position is.

spk_0 I don't think I'd want to stay too terribly long.

spk_0 Yeah.

spk_0 Cause I would outgrow it pretty quickly.

spk_0 And they, I think, have a same concern.

spk_0 And I thought, but this would be like my foot in the door,

spk_0 at least get in the office.

spk_0 They're just so few opportunities.

spk_0 And I was like, ah, I'm not sure.

spk_0 And so talking to Lisa about it, I practiced it.

spk_0 And then went into the interview and then actually said,

spk_0 I would be practiced aligned to get ready for it.

spk_0 And once I gave my line of, I think I would be interested

spk_0 in growing from this experience

spk_0 into other opportunities in the office,

spk_0 what do you think you're looking for?

spk_0 Or if you do tell me what you're looking for exactly,

spk_0 it's like, it's centering.

spk_0 It centers where your position of power is.

spk_0 And when I walked out of that office,

spk_0 I knew I'm not gonna get a call back from this.

spk_0 But I still felt okay with that.

spk_0 Which is not the way I would have felt before.

spk_0 I felt like before if I had gone in and not conformed,

spk_0 or not conformed, like if I hadn't tried to meet

spk_0 what they're looking for to try to get the job,

spk_0 I would have felt like I was letting myself down

spk_0 because I wasn't keeping my options open.

spk_0 But then again, on this interview,

spk_0 I thought I'm being honest.

spk_0 They deserve to find someone that they think is their best fit.

spk_0 I deserve to have a job that works for me.

spk_0 I feel so much more comfortable with this.

spk_0 So it was kind of a different shift in narrative

spk_0 that I think ended up paying off for a different interview.

spk_0 And after I take the bar and looking forward

spk_0 to joining a firm in Fresno, California,

spk_0 where I will be doing essentially doing litigation

spk_0 and using all those tools and things

spk_0 that I learned in law school and putting them to good use.

spk_0 This is been super fun for me because you and I got to talk

spk_0 way back when as you were on the outset,

spk_0 looking at making this change.

spk_0 And then now we get to talk and Lisa's been keeping me

spk_0 up to date throughout the middle.

spk_0 But I didn't get all the juicy details.

spk_0 So this is super fun for me to get to find out a lot of this stuff

spk_0 after the fact.

spk_0 So congratulations again, by the way.

spk_0 Thank you.

spk_0 So I am here's my question for you.

spk_0 What advice would you give people as they're thinking

spk_0 about making this change?

spk_0 Right.

spk_0 If they're on the beginning portion,

spk_0 talk to somebody who reached out to someone,

spk_0 talk to friends, say, hey, you know what I mean?

spk_0 He does this sort of thing.

spk_0 I think it's interesting.

spk_0 And maybe meet up for coffee because a five minute conversation,

spk_0 because people are busy, right?

spk_0 Like last hour, great, last for five minutes, great.

spk_0 Saying, hi, I think what you do is amazing.

spk_0 I'm really curious when we speak to your job.

spk_0 I would say it's worth it.

spk_0 It's no pressure.

spk_0 And if it works out, that's how most people find their jobs

spk_0 anyways.

spk_0 And if you're in that moment in thinking,

spk_0 okay, there's nothing.

spk_0 Geez, I'm so entrenched to where I am.

spk_0 Like moving to a different opportunity is kind of a joke.

spk_0 I would say you're probably wrong,

spk_0 unless you're in an extremely neat field

spk_0 because skills are transferable.

spk_0 And it's worth saying trying the bootcamp stuff,

spk_0 maybe doing a strength finders analysis,

spk_0 doing something to just get a different perspective.

spk_0 And ultimately, like if people are telling you,

spk_0 you got the dream, but it's something doesn't feel right,

spk_0 that's fine.

spk_0 That's fine.

spk_0 Trust that.

spk_0 And if people are in real life, come around.

spk_0 Especially if you like, you know this wrong,

spk_0 you're going to make yourself happy.

spk_0 It's going to make everyone else happy, right?

spk_0 Like do the right thing.

spk_0 Hey, if you're ready to get clear on what you want

spk_0 and find what fits you, I would say just email me.

spk_0 You know, pause this right now.

spk_0 Scott at HappenYourCreer.com.

spk_0 Put conversation in the subject line.

spk_0 I'll connect you with somebody on my team,

spk_0 the right person on my team,

spk_0 who can help you discover your ideal crypto bag.

spk_0 Again, Scott at HappenYourCreer.com.

When Prestige Isn’t Enough: Rebecca’s Career Change From Politics to Purpose

Interactive Transcript

Topics Covered

Related Episodes

Is Trudeau to blame for Carney's disappointing budget?

What this week’s elections could mean for the midterms

Inside Call me Back SNEAK PEEK: Between Mamdani and Tucker, Are Jews Getting Squeezed? - with Jonah Goldberg

215: Inside the News Cycle: Comedy, Policy, and Real-World Climate Choices with Bill Kessler

Share Episode