Navigating Career Change with Wisdom

Every professional will experience a transition at some point in their career.  Whether it’s moving up the ladder or changing industries entirely, one thing is certain; you will need to acquire new knowledge, learn different skills and take on unique challenges. So, what is the best way to succeed in a career transition? The answer is a powerful but underestimated principle: Wisdom Simplifies.

According to Terri Maxwell, CEO of Share On Purpose, Wisdom Simplifies means looking to mentors and resources without hesitation, rather than believing you have to know everything and do it all yourself.

This is precisely what Gerardo Osorio, Senior Engagement Manager at Promote On Purpose, did to make sense of his career transition.

Taking On New Challenges

For Gerardo, making the shift from 10+ years in Healthcare Operations to a marketing role in the Healthcare Division at Promote On Purpose would require a welcome challenge. Gerardo knew he brought a lot to the table, but to truly succeed in his new position it would require discipline and focus, so he relied on a proven system that has helped him learn and grow in the past. “The first thing I do is deconstruct my new challenge into its basic elements,” he said. “This is important to avoid overwhelm. I ask myself, what small things can I do that will create the most impact? For me, reading is at the top of this list. I spend about an hour every morning reading. And since I already have that habit established, all I do is pick a book that applies to the field or topic I am working on and try to get up to speed. This is a great way for me to use available resources and other people’s experiences in the form of books to learn what I need to know.”

Next, Gerardo finds someone else who is skilled and prepared to provide help and support. “I have learned that you definitely do not need to know all the answers, you just need to know whom to go to for help. And finding that person is as simple as looking around my network and approaching the person who is the most experienced and knowledgeable about the skill I’m trying to acquire. And I leverage that to the best of my ability.” He has taken these principles to heart, and they have helped him tremendously in his new capacity as a marketing executive. He’s currently reading books on business operations, marketing, and advertising to help strengthen his knowledge in those areas.

“I also make it a point to ask questions about the things I do not fully understand because the more I ask clarifying questions, the faster I can grasp the concepts I need to learn to be productive.”

According to Gerardo, there is an even better, unintended consequence of asking questions and leaning on the experience of others. You not only have answers to your questions, you also learn how the other person thinks and understand how they developed their solution. “Many times, people reach conclusions and find answers to their biggest questions without really documenting and mapping out their thought process. By asking them for help, you’re giving them an opportunity to reverse engineer the solution they came up with and possibly document it for future reference.”

Gerardo believes that this back and forth also helps in building workplace relationships because it fosters a deep understanding of your team member’s point of view and how they approach issues. “The more understanding there is between team members, the more success the team experiences.”

Lastly, he explains that asking questions and leaning on others’ experiences is crucial for gathering information, having knowledge and thinking deeply about why things are the way they are. “When starting out in their careers, many people have a deep desire to have all the answers, so they pursue that knowledge just for the sake of it. I believe it is more important to know why things work the way they do. This way you grow intellectually, strengthen your skill set and develop a way to tackle problems in the future.”

A Winner’s Mindset

According to Gerardo, patience is absolutely crucial for tackling new learning challenges. “You need to be patient with yourself because you can’t expect to know or learn everything you need all at once.” He advises anyone in such situations to take a look at the scope of the challenge they’re being presented and ask “How long will the average person take to finish this? And how much time should I take to finish this?” In other words, set realistic expectations.

He also explains that discipline and creativity are vital traits that make one a more effective professional and individual. “Without discipline, you lack the mental energy and drive to prioritize and go the extra mile to face a learning challenge head-on. And creativity ensures you’ll be flexible and can come up with clever ways of managing and tackling your learning challenges in efficient ways.”

These are all values and principles that Gerardo leans on as he continues to challenge himself intellectually and grow his career as an executive within the Share On Purpose portfolio.

Find the Right Team

At Share On Purpose, we support new hires in career changes and strive to put existing team members in roles that align with their passions and purpose. We provide resources, including mentoring, coaching and extensive training through Share School, focusing on job skills, as well as personal and professional development.

Are you looking to work with a company that gives you the support and opportunities you need to advance your career? Check out our available positions.