Carving Your Career Path — Event Recap: WIN LDN x Bamboo Crowd
We've all heard those familiar tropes: 'Climb the ladder!' 'The only way is up!' 'You've got to be over-qualified to apply for that job!'...and as it turns out, these old-school rules are rarely true in the innovation world. Hosted by Fluxx and Bamboo Crowd, and joined by three accomplished women sharing their diverse career journeys, the WIN London community gathered to debunk the myths about what a career is supposed to look like.
Here are the top 3 myths and why they aren’t true;
Myth 1: Careers are linear
Rochelle Dancel, Lead Service Designer at Idean, debunked this by walking us through her diverse career journey - from working at an entertainment ticketing company, to setting up a game-changing domestic violence platform and then landing a gig as the producer of an award-winning web series! Her philosophy is clear - be open to opportunity rather than blinkered by a narrow path that you’ve told yourself to follow.
Rochelle Dancel’s journey map showcases how diverse a career path can open you up to new opportunities
Myth 2: Job titles matter
WIN members were tasked with matching job descriptions to the correct job title – a purposefully mischievous challenge given the recruitment pros at Bamboo Crowd couldn’t master it either. The issue with job titles and descriptions is that they simplify complex and dynamic roles into singular ideas. The message? Look beyond the job title to the skills required, the culture of the team and the opportunity for growth.
“What if you were to look back at your job description…does it match the reality? You do so much more than the bullet points on a page - don't pass up an opportunity just because it doesn’t match your title.”
- Jasmine Cook, associate director at Bamboo Crowd
Rakhi Rajani, associate partner at QuantamBlack, finds job titles and career boxes to be limiting. Rakhi explained that she’s found her sweet spot at the intersection of disciplines – acting as the glue between disparate ideas. She says, “true innovation happens when you squash the boxes and job titles. Instead, think about the toolkit of skills that you can bring to any challenge.”
Rakhi’s journey map proves you can blend disciplines together to create a role that works for you
Myth 3: You must tick all the boxes
In a time where we’re all living at full blast, Louise Astley, served a gentle reminder that our life goals and priorities will change over time and so we should expect and plan for change. Louise, who recently set-up as an independent consultant to gain control over her time, suggests that checking-in with what we really want isn’t a bad idea. If you don’t think your experience matches identically with every point on a job spec, then you’re not alone. Louis believes in self-reinvention and how you can bring your unique skillset to any role.
Louis’e journey map shows a path of reinvention
Bamboo Crowd’s Jasmine Cooke, who sifts through hundreds of CVs and helps top talent land their dream jobs in the innovation industry, explained that thinking you’ve not got the right experience for a role was a common pitfall of candidates. You don’t need to tick all the boxes - your unique experience can be applied to many roles, in any industry and will make you stand-out. Jasmine shared her top tactical tips for crafting your CV:
PDFs not websites – when creating a portfolio, PDFs allow you to control what the reviewer looks at and in what order. Given you’ve got about 15 seconds to make an impact, give your work the best shot possible.
Show your working - If you’re looking to move into a new industry [whether that’s shifting from strategy to design or creative] explain your process in your portfolio to show how it’s transferable
No headshots! – Headshots are unnecessary and aid to unconscious bias.
List key hard and soft skills – Photoshop pro? Workshop facilitator? High EQ? Tell them. List your 5 top skills as bullet points on your CV.
Thanks to Rochelle, Rakhi and Louise for sharing their stories and to Fluxx, Bamboo Crowd and the WIN community for another thought-provoking night!
Bamboo Crowd: Jasmine Cook, Laura Asten, Ora Rammala
Photography: Carolina Gomez
Writer: Laura Dawson
Illustrations: Tina El Moheb, Jhanvi Lathia
WIN: Women in Innovation Copyright (c) 2019 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or repurposed without written permission from WIN: Women in Innovation (501(c)3). This blogpost is provided for your personal use only.