Few have a clear perception of what they want to achieve in their professional lives, and the reality is that people often change jobs. For instance, the average American changes jobs more than 12 times during their lifetime. Everyone who has found themselves in a situation where their job is unfulfilling, and moreover, where going to work feels like torture, has dreamed of a change, but the idea of changing jobs can also be daunting, especially for women.
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However, finding a dream job is not impossible, and many women have successfully made that transition. Here are three examples of such women who broke the rules, made tough decisions, and took a risky move. Their inspiring advice was shared by The Lily.
Marla Rausch
Photo: YouTube
Before becoming CEO at Animation Vertigo, Rausch changed jobs six times. She studied journalism, tried her hand at law, and worked in diplomacy, management, and as a financial advisor.
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Her most significant step, transitioning into the world of animation and entrepreneurship, happened over a decade ago while she was working in finance. One day, her husband showed her how animation is created. Rausch notes that it initially looked like a puzzle to her, which intrigued her, and the rest is history. Her company, Animation Vertigo, has been successfully operating in the mobile gaming industry for 14 years, and she highlights two key pieces of advice:
Be Open to Unexpected Ways of Learning
Rausch gained her first experiences in animation by working alongside her husband. After leaving the finance world, she began helping her husband with his work at a large studio. What started as fun and curiosity became a springboard for her to become the CEO of an animation studio.
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2. Turn Failure into Growth
The journey from journalism student to building a business empire was actually a long process of trial and error. However, those very mistakes helped create success. Rausch accepted every failure as a lesson that helped her in the next phase of her life until she became a leader in a male-dominated industry.
– At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether you succeeded or not, but what you did if you didn’t, Rausch emphasizes.
Karen Keogh
Karen Keogh Photo: YouTube
Since early childhood, Karen Keogh loved helping others, and her first experiences in humanitarian work came from selling lemonade, with the proceeds donated to those in need. Even then, it was clear that Keogh would work in the job she does today as the head of global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase. However, at the very beginning, philanthropy was not a career choice; Keogh saw herself as a nurse. But after two years in college and fainting during a blood draw internship, she realized that medicine was not her calling.
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After that, Keogh changed several careers, from social work, politics, and government to her final focus – philanthropy. Along her professional journey, she adopted a range of insights, and she believes that the two most important are:
Stand Out
Keogh got her first major opportunity in the political sphere when she offered to lead a campaign for a city councilor, despite having no experience in that area. However, the fact that her willingness to take risks paid off is evidenced by her being the main person responsible for the Clinton-Gore campaign.
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2. Have Faith in Yourself
Keogh highlights the phrase ‘I will figure out how’ as her main guiding thought. Throughout her career, she has always adapted to various obstacles and challenges, and one example is the previously mentioned case with blood draws. This approach is key to a successful career path; if you always have faith that you will land on your feet, then changes seem less daunting, Keogh asserts.
Maria Rios
Maria Rios, Photo: YouTube
Maria Rios has always been aware of her fighting spirit and organizational skills, even as a young girl. She never played with dolls but played the boss in her own office. That childhood fantasy eventually became a reality in what seems like an unusual field, as today, as some call her, the ‘queen of waste,’ she is the founder of Nation Waste, a multimillion-dollar waste management company.
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Fortune magazine named her one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in America in 2013, and her company has expanded throughout Texas. What started with two trucks and a dream, as she puts it, has become a business empire that today provides municipal services in the Houston and Austin areas, and during the Super Bowl 2016, her company was the official cleaning service provider. For all women who are in, or will soon find themselves in, the process of changing careers, Rios has two pieces of advice:
1. Embrace Uniqueness
Her path to success was difficult but also unplanned. While raising a family and studying simultaneously, Rios worked at a waste removal company to support her children. During that time in business school, she had an assignment to create a business plan. Inspired by her part-time job, she created a proposal for a waste management company that deals with small but significant projects. That idea later became the foundation for Nation Waste.
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2. Be Persistently Positive
Optimism is the trait that Rios attributes to her success; even in tough times, she tried to think positively. Instead of getting bogged down by challenges, Rios chose to focus on realizing her dreams. She emphasizes that she has always been cheerful and positive and did not cry regardless of the difficult situation she found herself in.
– Don’t give up, Rios advises.
