5 Career Lessons the Last 5 Years Have Taught Me.

Over the past 5 years, I have:

• Been laid off.
• Built a freelance writing business while unemployed.
• Reinvented myself and in doing so changed directions for my career.
• As a result of writing about all the above, I’ve gotten to speak at academic institutions and for professional groups I NEVER could have imagined would invite me to speak.

All of these events have taught me a few crucial life lessons.

1. Nobody will hand you a job simply because you have a PhD. (Yes, my ego was crushed at this one.)

2️. Life can be unfair. We can individually try to be fair in our everyday dealings, but the reality is that life can be unfair.

3️. Don’t expect people to “inherently” know your value. Spell it out for them.

4️. You can turn side hustles into the main thing.

5. You are building a personal brand whether you think you are or not. You might as well build it intentionally.

Overall, it’s been a “Okay Gee, you got handed lemons, what you gonna do?” kind of five years.

But then I also think: if it hadn’t been this messy, it would not make for a good story.