Looking out 3 to 5 years, beyond the obvious trends, what do you think will be the next big change in your industry?
I hope that people will demand and strive for career happiness. When I hear people say that they’ve been with an employer for a long time yet in the same breath complain about the work, the boss, the environment, or the lack of opportunities, I cringe. Life is so precious and spending one day in a job or career that does not offer joy is so 1990’s. It is past time to put career happiness back on the map. How else will you B Great if you’re not in the space that allows that greatest to shine? Employers want to hire niche experts not generalist. Many companies are doing more with less, given that, organizations are looking for candidates with a specialty, for example Project Management or Change Management. If you fit in the generalist category, it may be time to assess your skills, figure out what you do well and focus on being the best at it.
What are three things you’ve told yourself that kept you going during your darkest hour?
When I was a little girl, I learned a song in church and it is based on Isaiah 40:31. The chorus of that song (and the scripture) says “They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on the wings like an eagle. They shall run and not get weary, they shall walk and not faint, teach me Lord, teach me Lord how to wait. This passage reminded me that things would not always be this way and that I need to hold on joyfully. Soon, I would be soaring as an eagle. That got me excited!
“Five Years from today” is a motto that I live my life by and, it is how I make MAJOR decisions. In my darkest hour, I asked myself, “Will I regret this decision that I’m about to make five years from today?” Asking myself this question allowed me to make the decision that I had to make confidently.
I told myself, “Sometimes you just gotta go all out and put two sugars in your coffee.” Corny I know, but I internally embraced this motto when I wasn’t sure about something, started to let fear get in the way or started to overthink an idea, or a product. If there were no blaring “don’t do it” signals, I put aside fear and went with it. I believe that if more of us start to live like we only have one life to live, we’d be more fulfilled.
What are three life memories you recall most frequently and why?
Recently, I started consulting at a company at the same time as a new hire. We worked together for two months and a few days before Christmas, he became sick and died. He was fairly young. Shocked was an understatement, especially during the holidays. His untimely death is a reminder to me that EVERYDAY, I must live the life that I was created to live and not sit idly.
Deciding to move to DC after a two day visit. I had never been to DC before, but I knew (with every fiber of my being ) as I sat at Howard University’s Homecoming football game, that making the decision to go home to LA, pack my bags and return to DC to become a student at Howard University was exactly what I was supposed to do. It was one of the most freeing, yet terrifying decisions that I have ever made.
After interviewing with six different companies while unemployed once, I was offered jobs by all six employers. I had to know why they decided to hire me. They all said that I had exceptional interviewing skills and that I sold the value that I would bring effortlessly. It was at that point, the light bulb came on and I begin to teach others how to interview to get the job and navigate the world of world successfully.