Personal Branding Interview: Pamela Mitchell
Today, I spoke to Pamela Mitchell, who is the founder and CEO of The Reinvention Institute, Inc. (TRI), author of The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy and columnist for Inc.com. In this interview, Pamela talks about the process of career reinvention, examples of those that have made the leap, explains how your career can conflict with your life and more.
What is the process of career reinvention? Is it for everyone?
Everyone should have a basic career reinvention strategy. At least once a year, ask yourself: “What would I do if I lost this job?” which forces you to plan for a transition, and “What would I WANT to do if I lost this job?” which gets you thinking about how your skills and talents could be used outside of your current industry. Use these questions as a basis for laying out your reinvention strategy.
Can you give an example of someone who has successfully made the leap?
My book, The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention, contains the real-life stories of ten people who successfully made the leap to new and unexpected careers, using the 10 Laws. We profile people such as the popular Food Network personality Alton Brown, who began his career on the other side of the camera as a videographer; Reggie Mebane, the former COO of Federal Express Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage (a $2 billion subsidiary of Federal Express), who parlayed his expertise in the logistics of handling packages into the logistics of saving lives when he went to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control; and Felina Rakowski-Gallagher, a cop who left the force to open New York City’s first breast-feeding boutique.
When do people realize that their career path isn’t right for them? What is the first thing they should do?
One of the biggest causes of unhappiness I’ve seen among my clients is that their career conflicts with the life they want to live. The road to career satisfaction starts with understanding the needs of your life, including what trade-offs you’re willing to give in order to have that life, and then building a career that can make that happen. Start by doing a self-survey to uncover what it is you seek lifestyle-wise, and use that as a basis to figure what to do next in your career.
If you change careers when you’re older is it more difficult to still be successful?
There are upsides and downsides to a later-life reinvention. The downside is that someone who’s had 20+ years in a particular industry may be pigeonholed or have a tough time building new networks. The upside is that being older means that having a wealth of knowledge and skills to draw upon, and a track record of accomplishments to back them up. Experience gives those who are older an edge, and knowing the 10 Laws gives them the tools to stay in the game.
What advice would you give someone who wants to reinvent their career but lacks confidence?
Start with a mini-reinvention. Don’t try to change your career in a day. Start small–sign up for a class, throw your hat in the ring at work for a new project, volunteer for a task outside your expertise at a local non-profit. Begin with low-risk activities and slowly take on more challenging ones to build your confidence. Read The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention for inspiration!
Article by, Dan Schawbel, the leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y. He authors the Personal Branding Blog and publishes Personal Branding Magazine and authored the upcoming book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, Spring 2009). Dan has been called a “personal branding force of nature” by Fast Company and his work has been published in BrandWeek Magazine, Advertising Age and countless other publications.
