Lessons from a Career Changer (Part I)

As a liberal arts double-major who went on to get a graduate degree in arts management, I suppose I was primed for some existential career questions and pivots. Challenging job markets, broader economic upsets, and evolving industries all contributed to the shifts in my professional path. 

Today I run my own business, LKH Talent Consulting, and consider every step before this to be an incredibly valuable part of the process - even if I didn't see it at the time. Here is part I of lessons I’ve learned as a career changer.

Hold your gift with an open hand

Encountering a career crisis - often, following a layoff - usually forces some tough self-assessment. What am I really good at? What transferable skills do I have? What kind of work truly fulfills me? Questions like these lead me to sound advice I was given years ago:

Hold your gift with an open hand. 

As I look back over the last fifteen years of my career, I’m compelled to set aside titles (art consultant, project manager, writer, editor, recruiting leader...), and think instead of the threads woven throughout my experiences and what’s made me successful. Being a strong communicator. Selling ideas to clients, stakeholders, teams, and public audiences. Bringing creativity and big picture thinking to leadership. Gaining trust as a consultant and partner.

Our gifts and talents shouldn’t be limited by titles or roles. When we bring our human skills, coupled with lived experience, to a new endeavor, we’re empowered to contribute above and beyond what we thought possible.