The Career Change Diaries – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This month, it was a real pleasure to speak to Philippa Dunn. Philippa began her career with a brief stint as a press officer, before building a career in fundraising and philanthropy for cultural and environmental charities. Having gone freelance in 2020, she is now a creative strategist for a range of third sector clients. She's also a writer (having just completed her first novel), and runs a small holiday cottage business, too - so no two days are ever the same in her new portfolio career.In this episode, Philippa talks about how she managed to overcome her need for societal validation to carve out an authentic career that gives her the more balanced lifestyle she craved. She discusses how coaching led her to realise what was key for her in life, and how understanding and communicating the value she brings to a role meant she could be more proactive in seeking out career opportunities that she enjoyed. Philippa’s career change shows us that career ‘success’ is down to your own definition, not society’s.

Ayisha Gulati started her career at an Investment Bank, where she spent six years. Whilst it was a career she was happy to pursue at the start, it soon lost it’s novelty, especially when Covid struck and WFH meant she was faced with the undeniable fact that it just wasn’t what she wanted anymore. Despite others encouraging her to stick with a career that carried status and prestige, Ayisha knew a change was needed. In this episode, we hear how volunteering (and a chance Instagram story) opened her up to the realisation that she could be paid for doing what she loved - talking and writing about sport. We also hear about the 'On Purpose' programme that Ayisha completed, which helped her rule out a social impact career. By taking the time to explore her interests in a variety of different ways, Ayisha was able to carve out a career that works for her. She is now nearing the end of a Sports Journalism diploma, and will be starting her first full time sports journalism job in June! Listen to her talk through the highs and lows of changing career, and why she has no regrets about making a change.

In this episode, we speak to Rachel Schofield, who worked for the BBC as a journalist and news presenter for 20 years, before training as a career and personal development coach. Rachel discusses how even ‘sexy' jobs can have their downsides, and how it can be hard to let go of a career that defines a large part of your identity. We hear how simply exploring and testing your new ideas first can free you up to move forward, as well as how to overcome common fears related to career change. Rachel talks us through her own career transition, the uncomfortableness of ’starting again’, and how she built up her business over time. There’s also a fascinating discussion around why we find change so hard, according to neuroscience, and how to best work with our brains so they don’t hold us back.

This month we hear from career changer, David Horrich. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of 100% Studios, a group of 3 fashion e-commerce photography studios in London. After selling that business, David moved into real estate investment, via the founding of a tech startup and a short career in finance. David provides a candid and philosophical account of his career change journey, talking through the windy road of change, and why it’s OK not to always have it all figured out before proceeding with your next step. Again, the power and importance of networking and testing career change ideas first shine through in his own unique journey to where he’s ended up today.

In this month’s episode we hear from Spencer Williams, who changed career from retail management into garden design and horticulture. Spencer talks openly and honestly about the impact being in a career he simply fell into was starting to have on his mental health, and how the death of his father and turning 40 prompted him to bite the bullet and start his own horticultural business. Spencer also highlights how helpful it was to 'test drive’ his ideas first, and how utilising his network opened up work opportunities that led him to where he is today.

In this episode, we hear from career changer (and my dear friend) Jemma Khan about her intriguing journey from being an Account Manager for an IT recruitment company, to starting a whole new career as a Wedding Florist.

Having dabbled with a few ideas related to her hobbies, Jemma found solace in a floristry course, which opened her eyes to a career in the field. By overcoming the challenges of starting a wedding-related business at the start of a global pandemic, Jemma shares how her career change evolved into a flexible and creative business that works for her and her family.

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The first episode of The Career Change Diaries kicks off with a fascinating interview with career changer and TOMME founder, Kelly Gunner. Having previously worked in music, Kelly moved into advertising as she started to build fashion brand TOMME alongside her full time job. In this open and honest interview, we hear how Kelly finally made the key decision to go full time on her own business, what’s been most challenging about the career change, what she’s learnt along the way, and what advice she has for those considering a change of direction.

For April’s episode, we spoke to career changer, Milly Pelmore. Before making the leap into sports coaching and education, Milly worked in the charity sector, running innovation teams to develop new products and services in a wide range of areas including health, sport for good and children’s services. Although motivated by the end goal of supporting people, a life behind the desk wasn’t enough, and last year Milly left it all behind with the goal to ‘figure it out.’ Milly talks about how she fell into her career, and how she knew a career change was needed when each new job she tried just didn’t resolve the nagging feeling that the career wasn’t right for her. In order to move forward, she had to let go of societal expectations, and the assumed need to have it all figured out before taking her first steps in the right direction. Milly discusses how putting herself out there, believing in what she had to offer, and having patience with the process helped her move into work that now lights her up, and she feels proud to talk about.

This month, it is an absolute pleasure to welcome onto the podcast the renown career strategist, and author of 15 books on careers and work, John Lees, who’s best-selling book ‘How To Get A Job You Love’ was last month's WHS Travel’s Business Book of the Month. 

In this episode, we discuss the three most common perceived barriers to a career change - money, the sunken cost fallacy, and confidence. John shares incredibly helpful ways to open up and shift your thinking around these obstacles so they don’t continue to hold you back from moving forward. We discuss the power of starting small, exploring alternative career options with a curious and playful mind, the importance of talking to the right people about your career change, and stepping away from the black and white into a space of grey. We hear how the stories we tell ourselves, and the assumptions we make around our careers are not always true, and how looking outwards is often the key to progress.

In this episode, we speak to Rosie Croft, who worked in fashion buying for 12 years, working with some of the world’s most prestigious brands. After years of feeling dissatisfied, Rosie changed career, and is now a skilled artisan craftswoman, creating bespoke handmade lampshades using antique fabrics.We hear how the magic words ‘portfolio career’ opened Rosie’s eyes to what a diverse and varied career aligned to her values could look like, and how helpful it was to experiment with her ideas before committing to the one that inspired her the most. Rosie’s story really shows how a career change can bring about a whole lifestyle change, leading to a happy, content, and more chilled life.