You are the author of the newly-released Fearless and Free: How Smart Women Pivot-and Relaunch Their Careers
. Why did you feel it was important to write this book?
The book really came out of my personal experience. I think many writers write about what they know—and in my case I also wrote about what I needed to know. I had lost my job at an advertising agency, which was a bit random to begin with. I had never worked in advertising; this agency had actually been my client when I was working in PR. But now I was trying to pivot into one of these hot new positions at “content” studios that are emerging at agencies. Everyone is trying to figure out how to monetize this new breed of “content.” I had been reading about how this was the future—old school journalism, news, marketing and PR were changing, and I wanted in. I feared if I didn’t get a job soon, i would become a dinosaur. I felt like my professional currency was fading.
Reconnecting with an old acting friend and sharing her struggle with her sexual identity led Wendy to collaborate on the new web series, My Sister Is So Gay, just launched in January, 2017.
After almost two decades in banking, a string of personal losses led Susan to re-evaluate her life. She quit her job and founded My Trusted Partner, where she helps the elderly and busy professionals organize their finances and legal documents.
Through your company, Clearways Consulting, LLC, you provide executive coaching and workshops to support professionals facing challenges and transitions. What challenges and opportunities do you see for midlife career transitions?
Change – sometimes dramatic change – is inevitable in today’s careers. In my book, I discuss how the idea of spending your entire work life doing the same kind of things now seems quaint. Today, it’s normal for careers to flow through many phases, involving varied skill sets.
The inevitability of change can feel daunting, but the new environment brings good news as well. You can take charge of your career, much like an entrepreneur. You can learn survival skills, experiment with options, and know that there is always room for fresh starts, whatever your age.
Being laid off after 28 years and some self-development classes led Jessica to discover her talent for coaching others to learn Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. She recently started her own company, Alt-Enter, where she trains adults in those and other digital skills.
You are the Co-Founder and President of Fairygodboss, a “community of women helping women.” Tell us more about your company.
Fairygodboss is a business with a social mission: We want to help improve the workplace for women everywhere. Our goal is to engage a conversation between women about their careers and jobs, and get candid information about the challenges that women face.
What is the need you were trying to fill when you launched ReBoot?
When I returned to work after a 15-year pause, I felt confident about many hard and soft skills that don’t diminish over time. I had a background in management consulting and technology marketing, but I felt ill-equipped with current workplace technology skills that “passed me by” during my pause—LinkedIn, Social Media, Collaborative Tools (Google Suite), Presentation Graphics, Video Technologies (Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, WebEx) and commonly used communication software like Slack. This recognition, along with the overwhelming interest from peers in returning to work, made me think there’s an opportunity to help women interested in reentering the workforce.
Shortly after her daughter was born, Heather was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Now 11 years cancer-free, she has made it her mission to raise awareness of this deadly disease.
After a lucrative business career in textile printing, Beth returned to her roots. She started with art classes, eventually earning a Master in Fine Arts at age 50. Today, she creates large commissioned art projects for public works, and consults on such projects as well.