Customizing Career Plans

As someone who has personally experienced a layoff due to a company re-org, I am no stranger to the emotional rollercoaster of feelings that can range from shock and frustration to anger and embarrassment. Navigating the intricacies of a job search after a layoff can be a daunting challenge, but with the right tools anyone can succeed. Just as a skilled tailor crafts a garment with precision, here are some tips you can use to tailor your career approach for success, even in the face of unexpected change. 🔍 Assess Your Professional Wardrobe: Just as a tailor carefully measures and hones their craft, take stock of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. Craft a compelling resume and LinkedIn profile that impeccably showcase your unique value proposition. Highlight the fabric of your professional journey, emphasizing key skills and achievements that make you stand out. 📏 Measure Twice, Cut Once: Before diving into applications, take the time to define your career goals and aspirations. What are your non-negotiables in a role? What skills and experiences do you want to acquire? Tailoring your job search strategy requires a clear vision, helping you avoid unnecessary detours and focus on opportunities aligned with your long-term objectives. 🧵 Stitching a Network: Just like a tailor relies on a network of threads to create a seamless garment, building and nurturing your professional network is essential. Leverage LinkedIn to connect with professionals in your industry, attend virtual networking events, and seek informational interviews. Networking is the fine art of relationship-building – a crucial aspect of any successful career. ✨ Personal Branding – Your Signature Stitch: What sets you apart in a sea of candidates? Your personal brand! Just as a tailor’s signature stitch distinguishes their work, your unique skills, values, and personality should shine through in your professional brand. Consider what makes you memorable and weave that into your narrative. 🪡 Tailor Your Approach for Each Opportunity: While mass-producing may work for garments, it's not the case for job applications. Tailor your resume and cover letter for each role, emphasizing the skills and experiences most relevant to the specific position. This personalized touch demonstrates a genuine interest in the opportunity and increases your chances of standing out. Remember, the process of tailoring your career path requires patience, precision, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Your journey is uniquely yours, and every stitch contributes to the masterpiece of your professional narrative. If you have any questions or insights to share, let's connect! Wishing you all a tailored path to success. 🌟👔 #CareerCoaching #JobSearchStrategy #ProfessionalDevelopment #TailorYourCareer

𝐀 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞. 📈💼 Many mentees have asked for a framework to help them brainstorm and set career goals. Having faced this myself multiple times, I know that this exercise can be exhausting without a structured approach. Here’s a simple yet powerful framework that has worked for me consistently. 👇 Step 1: Capture your current state in detail (professional only or both professional + personal). ✍️ Step 2: Define your future aspirations without limitations—list everything that comes to mind! 🌠 Step 3: Identify the “swimlanes” that matter to you. These may vary, so be clear on what’s important for you. 🏊♂️ Step 4: Set milestones within each swim lane. For example, if “financial safety” is a swimlane, your milestones could include buying a house, creating a corpus of ₹X crore, etc. 🏠💰 Step 5: Establish timelines. Map out concentric zones with achievable milestones over time. ⏳ Step 6: Track your progress regularly. 📊 Having a mentor can be invaluable here, as they can act as a sounding board, providing guidance and helping you stay aligned with your goals. Having this mental map will significantly help you plan your career transformation. 🌟 I hope this helps! Let me know your thoughts in the comments. 💬 #CareerPlanning #GrowthMindset #CareerTransformation #GoalSetting #Mentorship #Framework

"Where do you see yourself in six months?" Your manager asks you out of the blue. You freeze. That feeling of being caught unprepared hit me particularly hard in my early 20's. I'd ramble about wanting "more responsibility" or "growth opportunities." My managers would nod politely. Nothing would really change. I was making a crucial mistake, waiting for my manager to outline my career paths for me. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲. When I joined Dropbox in 2015, I discovered a simple career planning framework that helped me map out my direction. It broke down into four core components: 🎯 Personal brand - What do you want to be known for? 📅 Short-term goals - What do you want in 3-6 months? 🚀 Long-term goals - What do you want in 1-3 years? 💪 Key strengths - What are your superpowers? But having the framework wasn't enough. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀. Last week, I was talking to my friend about pitching their manager about a role that doesn't exist yet. Here's how I'd prepare: • Identify the skills gaps • Build a plan to acquire these skills • Identify people who can support me • Craft a business case connecting my goal to value But now we also have fancy AI tools! So recently, I've leveled up the process by using an AI career copilot (inspired by Tal Raviv). I set up a Claude Project with my career growth plan and company context. Then I ask it to challenge my thinking, identify blind spots, and help me role-play difficult conversations. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀. It suggests daily actions for my short-term goals. It helps coach me through career conversations. It makes the whole process less dreary and more strategic. Here's how to try this out yourself: 1. Have a career chat with your manager or mentor. 2. Setup Tal Raviv's prompt (link in comments). 3. Adapt and use your AI copilot to prep for the chat. Own your career development instead of waiting for others to drive it. The reality is that no one will care about your career as much as you do. Have you tried leveraging AI copilots in your own career growth?

MOM RETURNERS: The Traditional Career Path Isn't Your Only Option Returning to work after kids can feel daunting if the 9-to-5 grind doesn't fit your reality. But there's an empowering alternative - building your own "portfolio career." A portfolio career is a customized mix of income streams tailored to your talents and lifestyle. It allows you to diversify rather than putting all eggs in one basket. You get to design the perfect work-life blend. The appeal resonates with so many moms I speak with who have lingering passions or side hustle ideas like: • The accountant helping her husband's business who could offer financial services locally • The former lead generator exploring starting her own marketing agency • The sales-oriented mom considering dropshipping businesses Unknowingly, I've built my own portfolio career through freelance writing, consulting, monetizing hobbies like my sewing business, growing a LinkedIn following of 25K+, and potential coaching and speaking opportunities. A portfolio career blends gig work, freelancing, passions, creator economy roles, and more. The benefits? Flexibility, diversified income, exploring varied interests, and being your own boss. The possibilities are endless for crafting your own customized career path. If you're an intrigued returner mom, DM me PORTFOLIO so we can discuss. Don't let motherhood limit your career ambitions. You can merge your talents with your lifestyle needs in an empowering way.

Do you feel stuck in your career but unsure how to take the next step? If so, this is what you can do: 👇 First, remember that deciding what to do next in our careers can be daunting. Many common fears hold us back, such as “What if I make the wrong move?” or “What if my next job isn’t perfect?” Early in my career, I felt the same way. Despite feeling stuck in my consulting job, it took me nearly six years to make a change because I feared making the wrong decision. So, the first step in any career planning is to let go of the idea that there’s only one perfect path. Instead, embrace the concept of a winding career journey with multiple possibilities—most of which are reversible and could lead you to exciting, unforeseen opportunities. Once you've embraced this mindset, you can follow these steps to create a career plan: 1️⃣ Write your future vision story: This isn’t about a specific job title or salary. It’s about envisioning your day-to-day life and how you want to feel. Do you want a work-life balance that allows for deep work in the morning and family time in the evening? Or do you see yourself leading strategy in a fast-paced company, working on high-stakes projects? Your vision should capture the essence of your ideal life. 2️⃣ Identify 2-3 potential paths: Once you have your vision, identify a few potential paths to achieve it. Assess whether your current role aligns with your vision. For instance, if you imagine a 35-hour work week but are currently working 80 hours, you’ll know a change is needed. Your options might include switching jobs, changing teams, learning new skills, or exploring something entirely different. 3️⃣ Prototype your potential paths: After identifying your options, test them as much as possible. The beauty of career paths is that others have walked them before you. Reach out to people in your network who have the roles/careers you’re considering. Conduct informational interviews to understand if those paths align with your vision. You can also test the waters by volunteering for related projects or taking on part-time work. 4️⃣ Choose the path that energizes you the most: After prototyping, choose the path that excites you the most and feels easiest to start. Then, take the smallest, easiest first step to start moving in that direction. Using this approach, my clients have successfully discovered fulfilling new directions. One client moved from big tech to a startup (and got 2 title bumps), one became a freelance consultant, one transitioned from PMM to Chief of Staff, and one even returned to school and became a creative writer. While their new careers may not be perfect, one thing is certain: they are much happier. My latest newsletter, which just came out today, shares more career tips— check it out in the comments! #productmarketing #career #growth #marketing #coaching

Career planning is not a one-size-fits-all journey. One of the most critical aspects is knowing when to stay and when to move on. Creating your own path and having the courage to make a change when it serves your long-term success. It's a challenge that many of us face, and it's essential to strike the right balance. Here's how you can approach it with wisdom ⬇️ 1️⃣ Evaluate Your Goals Firstly, understand what you want from your career. Think 10 years into the future. What are your long-term aspirations, and how does your current role align with them? 2️⃣ Make Informed Decisions Once you have clarity about your goals, make decisions that serve your vision. Sometimes, staying put can be the best move if it aligns with your ambitions. 3️⃣ Taking Purposeful Actions If your current path doesn't align with your long-term goals, take strategic action. This might involve up-skilling, networking, or exploring new opportunities. 4️⃣ Avoid Complacency It's easy to get comfortable in a role, but remember that growth often happens outside your comfort zone. Don't let fear of change keep you from realising your potential. In my own career journey, I've found that carefully assessing my goals and the alignment with my current position has been invaluable. Remember, it's not about leaving, but about finding the right destination. Whether you're considering a new challenge or strengthening your current position, let your career planning be driven by purpose, passion, and a commitment to growth.