Are you contemplating a career change but unsure where to start? In this week’s podcast episode, LinkedIn Top Voice Julia Rock” is here to guide you through the process as she shares her expertise on navigating career transitions and building a compelling personal brand.
Building a Personal Brand on LinkedIn
One of the key themes Julia discusses is the power of a strong personal brand. She emphasizes the importance of identifying and leveraging transferable skills to stand out in a new industry. “It’s really about transferable skills in that area,” she explains. Julia encourages listeners to reflect on their unique strengths and how they can be applied to different roles. This introspection is crucial for anyone looking to pivot their career.
Defining Your Expertise
Julia also advises defining what you want to be known for and sharing your expertise strategically. “Define what it is that you want to be known for,” she says. This involves not only recognizing your strengths but also understanding how to communicate them effectively. Platforms like LinkedIn are ideal for this purpose, as they allow you to showcase your knowledge and connect with industry leaders.
Content Strategies for Authenticity on LinkedIn
Authenticity is a recurring theme in Julia’s advice. She encourages listeners to share their insights regularly on LinkedIn. “It’s not just about clicking connect, connect, connect,” Julia notes. Posting thoughtful content and engaging in meaningful conversations can significantly boost your visibility and credibility. She provides practical tips on creating a content strategy that reflects your genuine self and professional goals.
Staying Motivated During Career Transitions
The journey of a career transition can be daunting, and staying motivated is essential. Julia discusses the importance of seeking feedback, taking breaks, and incorporating other activities into your life to maintain focus and energy. “Stay motivated and focused by seeking feedback,” she advises. Regular feedback can provide valuable insights and keep you on the right track.
Investing in Professional Help
Julia highlights the benefits of investing in professional help to accelerate your job search. Whether it’s career coaching, resume writing, or interview preparation, expert assistance can make a significant difference. “Invest in professional help to accelerate your job search and stand out from other candidates,” Julia recommends. This investment can provide you with the tools and confidence needed to navigate the competitive job market.
Success Stories of Career Transitions
Throughout the podcast, Julia shares inspiring success stories of clients who have successfully transitioned to new careers by showcasing their transferable skills. These stories serve as powerful reminders that with the right strategy and mindset, career transitions are not only possible but can lead to fulfilling and rewarding opportunities.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Julia also addresses the challenge of imposter syndrome, a common hurdle in career transitions. She offers practical advice on how to build confidence and break the tie between identity and career. “Remember that your job does not define your worth and that you are more than your career,” she asserts. This perspective is crucial for maintaining a healthy self-image and resilience during the job search process.
Key Takeaways
In summary, Julia Rock’s podcast offers valuable insights for anyone considering a career change. By identifying and leveraging transferable skills, defining your expertise, staying motivated, seeking feedback, and investing in professional help, you can successfully navigate your career transition. Remember, your job does not define your worth – you are more than your career. Tune in to “Ready to Quit Your Job? Career Change Hacks with LinkedIn Top Voice Julia Rock” for more tips and inspiration to help you on your journey.
Final Thoughts
Julia Rock’s expertise and passion for helping individuals achieve their career goals shine throughout this podcast. Her practical advice and motivational insights make “Ready to Quit Your Job? Career Change Hacks with LinkedIn Top Voice Julia Rock” a must-listen for anyone ready to take the leap into a new career. So, if you’re ready to quit your job and explore new opportunities, Julia Rock’s guidance will provide the roadmap you need to succeed.
Watch and listen here. Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review!! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Transcript:
Mary (00:00.885)
Julia Rock, welcome to Recruiting Insider.
Julia Rock (00:03.758)
Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Mary (00:06.612)
Yes, I’m excited to have you. Julia is the founder and CEO at Rock Career Development, a LinkedIn top voice, TEDx and keynote speaker, published author, and she’s been featured in several major publications, including Fortune and Business Insider. As a former senior finance leader in the oil and gas sector, who has managed and scaled global teams, Julia has personally overcome
workplace burnout, disengagement, and inequality to coach and empower over a thousand employees to build meaningful careers. Today, we are going to discuss how athletes and professionals, just like you, can successfully pursue a career transition. Julia, who are you? Tell us a little bit about your career journey. How did you get where you are today? What do you do and why do you do it?
Julia Rock (01:02.446)
Man, okay, so how much time do you have? Okay, no, so in terms of how I got started, so my background is in finance. So I don’t have a background in HR and that’s kind of what makes me different from a lot of the coaches out there because many of them have a recruiting background, HR, talent acquisition, what have you. I have a finance and accounting background. And so I started my career in.
Mary (01:05.683)
Heheheheh
Julia Rock (01:28.11)
financial services industry and then after grad school, I got into the energy sector. And it was when I was in the energy sector that I made the decision to also officially launch my business providing career services. And it was really because I saw the disparity between the performance in black candidates versus non -black candidates in terms of presenting themselves professionally. And it looked like they just needed more guidance. They had all the skills and the aptitude.
but it was that they also needed some more guidance and direction. And that’s really what the impetus for me starting my business. And so, fast forward to a few years ago, that’s when I started to also help athletes. A client of mine, her older brother or her younger brother, excuse me, was playing ball in the US and then he had gone overseas and she wanted me to help him when he came back to help him find a new opportunity. And so that’s how I got into helping athletes because I realized he wasn’t the only person.
that needed career transition support. And so since then, I’ve been helping athletes and professionals to find what I call their next career play.
Mary (02:32.845)
Very cool. So as Julia mentioned, she helps a lot of athletes and professionals through career transitions. And I feel like many athletes struggle to define themselves outside of their sport. And really the same would go for a finance executive or a real estate guy who now wants to pivot into tech sales or something else entirely. How can they use their existing experience to build a personal brand?
Julia Rock (03:02.03)
Yeah, it’s really about transferable skills in that area. So you have to take a step back and say, what is it that I bring to the marketplace outside of subject matter knowledge? So let’s take the finance execs, since that’s my background is finance. There’s a lot of analytical skills that you have, a lot of decision -making, a lot of strategy, a lot of relationship building that you have to do, because you have to corral people around an idea, engaging stakeholders.
So there’s a lot that’s involved in that that can go into any other industry that has nothing to do with finance. So it’s really about extracting what are the things that I do well that are not dependent on that particular subject matter or sport or what have you. And that’s really what I go through with my clients is like, okay, well, yes, you did finance or yes, you played ball, but what else do you have? What’s underneath there? Do you have good communication skills?
Again, strategy, leadership, time management, negotiation skills of any kind, analytical, whatever it might be, really digging deep to figure out what can I take from here to there.
Mary (04:15.144)
We all have those skills and sometimes we just need to dig a little bit deeper to really uncover what they are and what that means in relation to a career transition. So I think that that’s great that you’re working with clients to really help them do that soul searching to uncover those. You know, we’re all out here trying to build a really authentic personal brand online, you know, whether we’re searching for a job, trying to build a business.
So for our listeners out there, what are one or two steps that they could take today to start building their own brand?
Julia Rock (04:53.198)
Man, so first I would say it’s define what it is that you want to be known for, right? When it comes to a brand that you associate a brand with something, right? So I’m a big sneaker head. So Nike is one of my favorite brands. And so when you think of Nike, when you see that swoosh, you automatically think apparel, sneakers, athletes, et cetera. So when you think about yourself,
What is it that you want people to associate with you? What is it that you want people to come to you for? What value, what expertise? So getting that defined first, and then thinking about where are the places that you would want your audience to seek you out? So for example, for me working with clients from a professional perspective, a lot of my clients are on the LinkedIn platform. So while I have presence on multiple platforms and in publication, I think about how do I wanna nurture that brand and that image,
on that platform where the people that I want to attract, where they reside. Especially when you’re trying to build a brand, sometimes you feel overwhelmed. Like, I’ve got to put everything everywhere. I just don’t have the time or the energy. But when you define what you want to be known for and you start somewhere, you can then kind of replicate that no matter where you are, because it’s a singular message that you should be sharing. I shouldn’t be saying that I’m doing career stuff over here, and then I’m a janitor over here, and then I’m an astronaut over here.
Because then people are like, well, wait, what does Julia do? So creating that singular message for your audience, then you can replicate that across whatever platforms you’re on.
Mary (06:27.521)
I love that. And it doesn’t need to be overly complicated either. Once you figure out what it is that you want to be known for, you can really start to expand that digital footprint on LinkedIn, on other social media platforms, on your resume, on all of these different documents as well. What are some content strategies that you would recommend really to any of us who are trying to show up more authentically, specifically on LinkedIn?
Julia Rock (06:31.374)
Okay.
Julia Rock (06:55.374)
Yeah, so in terms of content, what I would say is share your insights. It’s not just about clicking connect, connect, connect to the Calisthenics home, right? It’s about what is it that I’m bringing to the platform? And for a lot of people who may be in the transition space, they may say, well, hey, I’m not yet in this role yet, so I don’t have a lot to share. But what have you been reading? What’s happening in the news? What’s happening in your industry? And what’s your spin or your take on that?
based on your own background, right? Because let’s say you’re a finance exec going into sales and you’re seeing the organizations who are struggling from a sales perspective, what kind of strategy from your exec background could you be able to add to in terms of that context for that particular, you know, comment or article? So it’s really about what value are you bringing to the platform? And then also when you’re trying to create conversation with people, create meaningful conversations, not just saying, that’s awesome.
Mary (07:53.278)
I’m sorry.
Julia Rock (07:53.678)
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s like, it’s not adding anything to the conversation, but really sharing thoughts, sharing dialogue, because that’s how you actually start to build relationships and conversations that exit LinkedIn and go into an actual phone call or coffee chat or something. It’s about creating real authentic discussions and conversation.
Mary (08:15.259)
You see that a lot on LinkedIn lately where people just want to comment on somebody’s posts. So they’re just saying something super generic or they’re using AI to generate auto responses so that they can expand that reach. But I agree. It’s more about that authenticity and really connecting with that person. If you’re going to take the time to comment on their post, make sure that you’re putting some thought into it and providing that value. And I think that that’s…
An important thing for our listeners to take away as well is it’s not necessarily all about the quantity of your responses and your posts, but the quality and how you’re connecting to those that you’re trying to reach. So I think that that’s a really great point.
Julia Rock (09:02.656)
And if I could add something there, as with anything, you want to be strategic. So who is it that you really want to connect with on the LinkedIn platform? There’s plenty of connections. You can have 50 ,000 connections. But if you’re not creating any sort of opportunities for yourself, you’re not creating any sort of relationships, the 50 ,000 doesn’t matter. So really taking a step back to see what industry am I in or what industries am I associated with? Who are the types of people that I want to connect with?
that I would want to be associated with. And then those are the targeted folks that you begin to speak with. And then obviously your network can expand from there, but that then avoids you kind of spamming comments in perpetuity just to be seen by somebody instead of taking more thoughtful action, more targeted action. So you can talk to the people that you actually want to talk to. And then one other thing around content, you have your own platform. So you can actually create articles. You can post things on your profile.
There’s a whole featured section that you can have there. So your website, your portfolio. So anything that you think is of value to the community that you want to be a part of or to the brands or organizations you want to associate with, use your own profile. Even if it’s not just posts, you can prepare your own material and share it there as well.
Mary (10:21.301)
Absolutely, and I loved your point about creating content that has a twist that really incorporates your background and experience and provides value to the industry or the position that you’re targeting moving forward. Because I do think that that could really help you stand out as a job seeker that’s attempting to pivot into a new space.
Julia Rock (10:46.222)
Absolutely, because no one wants you to just parrot the article that you just read or the post that you just reposted. They want to see your thought process because you have to think if you’re trying to get hired, someone is looking at you and saying, why should I hire Mary? And if I look at your profile and I don’t see anything that’s giving me some insights as to what you bring to the table, I’m going to move on to the next profile or the next person.
But if I see, okay, Mary’s got some unique perspective, I’d love to hear more about that, or I wouldn’t have thought of it that way, or hey, that’s what we were thinking of doing. Mary might be the person to lead that for us, but they’ve gotta see that context coming from you.
Mary (11:27.345)
Absolutely, and I think with content storytelling is huge too. So like you said, not just regurgitating the article that you’re reading, but really bringing in your own insights and maybe even your own experiences to really draw on that and draw in that engagement as well.
Julia Rock (11:44.59)
Yes, yes, yes, because when you think about an interview, they’re going to ask you about your experiences, right? And what experience do you have with this kind of subject matter? So you being able to share some of that, it already gives them some insight into the depth of experience that you have before you even get in the door. So when you’re getting set up for the interview, hopefully, it’s like, well, we already know that this person has a background, so we can actually have a more rich discussion.
or you may be able to kind of speed through the interview because they know that you have what they need already. So there are just so many benefits.
Mary (12:18.287)
Absolutely. There have been a lot of layoffs recently. Have you seen this affect those that are pursuing a career transition?
Julia Rock (12:29.998)
Man, for a number of different reasons, there are people who were thinking about making transitions and they’re reconsidering it’s now the time. And some of the industries that they may have been thinking of pivoting into it’s like, well, maybe I’ll make this other move here. So especially when it comes to tech, even though not all tech is laying off, I know that the big boys are laying people off in droves, but.
It’s not all tech, but they’re seeing what’s in the news and it’s like, well, maybe this is not the right time for me to pursue this tech career. Maybe there’s something else I can do that will nurture this area of my passion. And so I am seeing some of that. But what I’m also trying to share with folks is do your own research. The goal of a lot of these platforms is to create headlines, right? So it’s always going to be the sky is falling, the earth is on fire, right? That’s going to be every headline because they want you to read the material.
But taking time to dig into your specific industry and get context will also help you with making the decision as to do you need to make a pivot or not, or should you kind of go forward? You know, when we think about the tech space, they’re not firing people because business is bad. It’s an old, they’re correcting for over hiring. So once that normalizes, you know, you’re not going to see that it’s not that they’re losing money and the sky is falling. So, hey, we hired too many people during the pandemic.
We now have to get that right. It’s unfortunate because we don’t want people to lose their jobs. But when you really dig under the surface, that’s really what’s happening. You’re not just firing because they’re poor. Right? So.
Mary (14:02.281)
Yeah, and I’ve also seen these layoffs as sort of a catalyst for an entire re -evaluation of individuals’ career. Have you seen any trends in how career transitioners are approaching this as maybe a potential opportunity?
Julia Rock (14:11.886)
Yes.
Julia Rock (14:21.326)
So I have had some clients who have talked about, is this the time for me to start my own business? But I will say that in this market for the consumer, cash is not as readily available as it once had been, right? And so for, when you think back to the days of the pandemic when we had stimulus checks and there was a lot of a…
you know, assistance for housing and other things. There was a lot more money in the individual consumer’s hands. And now what we’re seeing is that if you’re trying to sell something kind of B to C, you have to be mindful as to what kind of business am I starting and what kind of problem am I solving that people would be willing to give up that disposable cash. When you look at inflation as well as companies just hiking prices for profit, people just have less money to go around. And so,
That’s part of the conversation I’ve had with clients too is that maybe this is the time, but I do have to be sensitive to who am I trying to sell this to because I also have to be mindful of can people even afford this product or will they be willing to pay for it at this time?
Mary (15:29.828)
That’s very true. I mean, if you look at the cost of food and how everything in the US has seemed to just rise dramatically, people are pinching their pennies now more than ever.
Julia Rock (15:43.118)
It’s insane when you go to the grocery store, you come up with two bags and it’s like, this is $200 worth of food? How? It’s nuts.
Mary (15:49.858)
It’s crazy. It’s absolutely nuts. But, you know, and going back to that original thought, you know, I’ve seen just to take as an example, a lot of teachers who, you know, they’re re -evaluating their entire career, you know, and they’re kind of taking these layoffs and these different things that are happening in the industry right now as a sign that, hey,
Julia Rock (16:07.726)
Yes.
Mary (16:15.777)
maybe it is time for me to make that transition. Do you think that it’s isn’t a great time to make a transition into another industry right now?
Julia Rock (16:25.326)
Here’s what I’ll say. There will always be a reason for you not to make it, right? It’ll be the economy and my kids, you know, whatever the case, the election. There will always be something that you could tell yourself for you to not make a transition. What I always say is that if you are in a space where you are in a career that’s no longer serving you, you’re burnt out, you’re mentally unwell, you no longer feel that you’re living and providing value through the work that you’re doing, then it’s time to make a transition.
Obviously, yeah, you can manage your lifestyle and how much you can afford and taking time off if you need to in that transition space. But I think that if you are in a place right now, so whoever’s listening, if you’re in a place right now where you are feeling unfulfilled, you’re stressed, unmotivated, overwhelmed, and you have given it your best shot, and you feel like, hey, this is the time for me to exit.
then this is the time for you to make an exit. You just have to be patient that it may take you some time depending on the kind of organization that you’re going into. But I still think that you can pursue your transition or at least start getting the coaching that you need, getting your documents together, making sure that you’re ready to take that step forward.
Mary (17:37.244)
You got it. And I think that that’s key. You don’t necessarily have to dive into the deep end, quit your job with no plan. It’s really smart to start maybe upskilling, preparing your resume, updating your LinkedIn profile, and really putting together a solid plan so that you can make sure that you are successful when you do decide to take that leap.
Julia Rock (17:59.406)
That’s right. Part of what happens with career transitions and why I even have a business is because folks try to go from, I wanna make a transition and they leap, but it’s like, but they don’t have a plan. They’re not even sure about what they want to go and do. So they’re sending out resumes that are kind of confusing because they’re not clear on what they wanna do next. And so it’s hard for them to articulate their experience in a value in a way that’s attractive. And so…
So there’s nothing wrong with saying, hey, I do want to transition, but I’m going to take the time, whether it’s to do it on my own or work with a coach, to get a plan together, to get clear on what I want, get clear on my career values and my goals before stepping out. Because what you also don’t want to do is take baggage from one place to another. So if you don’t do any of that unpacking and getting that clarity, you may be taking a confused self from finance and then into a confused place in sales. And you’re still confused.
So there’s nothing wrong with taking the time to build a solid plan.
Mary (18:59.48)
So unemployment rates are actually pretty low right now at 3 .9 percent, but I mean, many job seekers, they’re really still having a hard time landing jobs, right? There’s kind of that sense of disconnect. So why might there be this perception of an employer’s market despite, you know, seemingly a strong job market at the moment?
Julia Rock (19:08.942)
Okay.
Julia Rock (19:22.67)
So sometimes you have to dig deeper into the numbers because the question is, well, what kind of jobs do people have? How many people are still even considered as part of the workforce? So there’s some number play and gameplay that can be had there to show a certain picture. And then you also have to look at the balance between industries. So there may be some industries where it seems like it’s truly an employer’s market.
And so they have the pick of the litter. But if you look at, say, the trades, for example, whether it’s an electrician or HVAC or some of these trades, they don’t have a pipeline of resources. So they’re willing to pay people whatever they’re asking for simply because folks are retiring and there’s nobody to come behind them. I know people who have come out the gate and they’re making $90 ,000 to $100 ,000 as an electrician. I’m just like, man, and I went to school two times to get that?
Mary (20:15.925)
Mm -hmm.
Julia Rock (20:16.846)
You know what I mean? And so it depends. And then healthcare is another industry that’s expanding. So it’s also about where are we seeing that in the marketplace? So if people are feeling like, man, I’m getting hit hard, it may be your particular industry or job skill set versus kind of the broader perspective. And then like I said, there’s some gameplay with those unemployment numbers.
Mary (20:40.371)
yeah, for sure. Before we jumped on the podcast, you mentioned kind of that desperation that you see on LinkedIn with so many people trying to find work. To any of our listeners going through it right now, what advice do you have for them?
Julia Rock (20:56.078)
Yeah, so if you’re in a space right now where you’ve been laid off or you know what’s coming and you’re asking for help, I would say not only to just use your platform, but talk to the people that you know, right? Because it’s one thing to shout into the LinkedIn stratosphere. And obviously you have a lot of people that will share and you can get an opportunity, but there are people all around you, friends, family members, sorority, old teammates.
whatever it might be in your life, and you go and you ask for help. This is not the time for pride, right? So because sometimes people are afraid to ask people closest to them because like, well, I don’t want so and so to see me unemployed or that I’m a failure or whatever. This isn’t the time for that, you know, because your job doesn’t define who you are. You’re still a success. This is just a rough patch and we all go through them. So that would be the first thing is being willing to ask for help. And then the second thing is,
See the silver linings in this time, and I know it may be like, well, Julia, sure, I see a silver lining. I can’t afford to feed my family. What are you talking about? But having this time where you may be laid off is an opportunity for you to reflect on, am I even doing work that I’m excited about? Because you may have just been in this go, go, go, and going through the motions from a career, but this is giving you a time to reset, to ask yourself, do I even want to continue pursuing this path? There may be a path that may be even more lucrative for you.
but you hadn’t taken the time to think about it because what you did was working, it was paying the bills. And so use this time to reflect. And then the last thing I would say is to give yourself some grace, knowing that the job market can be tough and depending on your industry especially. And if you may not be getting callbacks as soon as you would want them, but give yourself some grace in this time period, something will come. And then one last thing I’ll mention is,
Be open to feedback. So if you’re getting a resume done or a LinkedIn profile or you’re getting feedback from your interviews, make sure you’re taking that feedback and assessing. Because I’ve seen a lot of people say, I’ve put in 200 different applications and I’ve been submitting for three years. And it’s like, well, the question I have is, are you getting any feedback? Are you requesting any feedback, not just from the interviewers, but from people that you know that are objective parties, for them to provide some perspective to say, hey,
Julia Rock (23:17.198)
Maybe if you position it this way, you might get more responses, or maybe you should articulate things this way to build a better conversation. So also being open to feedback.
Mary (23:28.009)
That’s great, you know, and I think it’s your willingness to ask for help is so important, you know, kind of going back to that first point because you just never know who might be able to help you. You know, it may be that guy at the gym or even your neighbor, you know, that may have an opportunity for you. So being open to that. So that was all really great advice.
Leaving behind a really successful career can be, you know, a blow to your confidence, right? So I would imagine this is especially true for athletes, you know, with their identity being wrapped up in the sport. How do you help build confidence? And could you give any specific examples or stories where you’ve helped out?
Julia Rock (24:14.222)
Sure, so the main thing from a career perspective is helping you to tie or to break that tie between who you are and what you do. And so that’s where most of us struggle. I mean, for me coming from a successful career in corporate and then deciding to leave that behind, you know, I also had that moment of, man, all right, you know, and you start to question, you question yourself, but then you have to take a step back and ask, who am I?
outside of work. And so that’s the conversation that I have with athletes and also the professionals in transitions. It’s like, when you think of yourself without your sport, who are you? Who are you to your family? Who are you to your friends? What do they come to you for? What support are you able to provide to people? What interests do you have? What makes you special? And you just go through, and some of these questions seem basic, but if you never ask yourself the question,
You’re never able to see the difference between who you are and what you do. You’re always going to tie the two together. And once you’re able to finally break that tie, those things can leave you. The career can leave. Things can happen. You can get laid off. And you still know how much value you have to offer. And so some of the conversations I’ve had with clients is that I’m a father or a mother. I have this hobby. Some of them have had.
careers or projects they’ve worked on the side that they really didn’t spend a lot of time on. And so we’re able to talk through those things. Like, what do you consider your strengths to be? What are your strengths? What do you see in the mirror? And doing that soul searching, I know it sounds a little bit woo woo, but honestly, it’s an opportunity for you to get introspective to say, what do I see when I look at me versus just what’s written down on a resume somewhere or on a stat sheet?
Mary (26:08.032)
Let’s talk about imposter syndrome a little bit. I struggle with imposter syndrome all the time. You know, if someone asked me to speak at an event or something, I’m like, what, me? It doesn’t matter how successful someone is, I think. You know, a lot of people fall victim to this. What advice can you give those who may doubt their skills and feel like they don’t belong in their new career path?
Julia Rock (26:10.67)
All right. boy.
Julia Rock (26:34.862)
Man, well, it’s some advice that I have received from my coach just recently. So I have a speaking and business development coach. And one of the first things that he said to me when I was going, I was in my head about something and he’s like, stop forgetting who you are. And it kind of just stopped me dead in my tracks. Cause he’s like, stop forgetting who you are. And so that’s the advice that I would have to get started and stop forgetting who you are and how you can actually.
retain and remember who you are is I have a favorite document. It’s called a brag sheet and it can be a word doc. It can be an Excel spreadsheet, whatever your fancy. You can use OneNote, but essentially it’s where you place all of your achievements throughout your career. So you can place awards. You can place major contributions to your organizations. You can list them out and say, hey, it was this time period. This is who I helped. This was the outcome.
And then taking that step back to just read it. Yes, it can help you from an interview standpoint and resume and so on. But just taking a step back to read it is, it’s like, man, I did those things. And sometimes when I go through imposter syndrome, it’s like, I have to go back and I listen to my bio and I’m just like, yeah, I was unfortunate. I was a business insider. I do have a TEDx that has over 33 ,000 views.
You know, so it’s those kinds of things that you have to remember. You have to remind yourself that you didn’t get here by accident. You didn’t just stumble into success somehow. You worked for it. And that kind of a brag sheet or folder, just start it on a Post -It note if you have to. But just being able to reflect on that will allow you to see, man, I’ve accomplished so much. I deserve to be here. I didn’t get here by accident.
Mary (28:22.393)
I agree and I started a variation of a brag sheet on my own as well, just so that I remember what I do because, you know, I think for anyone, you pretty quickly forget those major achievements. You could achieve something super impressive and then you forget it the next day you’re onto something else. So if you write that down, you can really go back and remember, hey,
Julia Rock (28:28.462)
Nice.
Julia Rock (28:43.318)
That’s right.
Mary (28:49.784)
I am awesome. You know, I’ve done all of these great things. And like you said, when you do decide that it’s time for a career change or you’re ready to jump back into the market, you have that document that will help you update both your resume and your LinkedIn profile, and it’ll make it a lot more seamless.
Julia Rock (29:07.662)
Absolutely. And I will say that if you feel like, hey, I don’t know where to start with my achievements, Chico, go look at your performance reviews. Because your performance reviews, hopefully you’re having them on some sort of periodic basis with your management team. Go look at your old performance reviews and see what they said about you. If you got feedback from other people, what have they said about you? So that can help to spark some things. Because sometimes we forget on our own. But using something like a performance review,
can also help to spark some things that may not have made it to your resume.
Mary (29:39.989)
Absolutely. I’ve written resumes for clients in the past and some of the best feedback is always, hey, wow, I would hire myself. This is great. So that they can be very impactful. So career transitions can feel
Julia Rock (29:54.574)
You see the light bulb go off, it’s like, man, I’m awesome. Where do I sign me up, right?
Mary (30:06.1)
overwhelming. You know, and many of our listeners, like we said, they’re in the middle of it right now, you know, and we know the job market is super tough at the moment. What are a few ways that they can stay motivated and focused, even if they’re receiving a lot of rejections?
Julia Rock (30:24.974)
Yeah, so motivation is hard when you’re getting the rejections, right? But the one thing I’ll say is it only takes one yes, right? It only takes one yes. And so what you’re working towards is a yes. So if you get a no, spending time focusing on the no, it can hurt, but it doesn’t help you to think about the yes. So it’s like, OK, I got the no. Is there anything I can improve on? And then you take that as the next step. So OK, I got a no. We’re working for a yes. Got a no, working towards the yes.
The other thing is that you can also take a break, right? If you have gone through a slew of just a lot of rejections, it may be that you take a couple of days to say, I’m just going to decompress for a bit. I’m going to be with my feelings and try to just wash that out of my system and then just get re -energized to say, hey, I have career goals, right? So regardless of the rejections and things that you’re experiencing, this is about you and your career goals and your…
your commitment to your goals, your commitment to success, your commitment to your future and your family, it has to be greater than what you’re experiencing in the moment because you’re getting the rejection. I know that’s easier said than done, but the idea is that you’ve got to remember what’s at stake for you by going after that yes. And also, don’t be afraid to talk to people. Get help if you need to, talk to friends who may be in a similar situation.
or people who it may have taken them a while to get an opportunity and then they finally got placed, talk to them about how they manage the process. And then the other thing is make sure that you’re infusing other things into your life. If you’re sitting there all day, every day doing applications, it’s going to burn you out and it’s going to become an unhealthy practice. You’re going to drag through the process, which means the quality of your applications may also go down. So take time to make sure that you’re doing something that’s fun.
exercise, meditate, whatever it is, infuse other things into your day that will energize you and change your energy and change how you feel in your body when you go back to the application process. So those are a few things that I would share to say for you to keep motivated. But there’s nothing wrong with having that moment of not being motivated. You’re not a machine. You’re not a robot. So there’s nothing with taking time to process those feelings, but remembering that, hey, you are not your job.
Julia Rock (32:45.646)
You are not your job title. You are not this layoff. You are bigger and better and more than any company or any opportunity.
Mary (32:54.282)
Yeah. And I love your, your first point too, which goes back to, you know, something that we talked about previously was being open to ask for feedback. So if you keep getting all of those rejections, rejection after rejection, take it as a learning experience, learn from it, you know, ask what you can do better. You know, talk to the employer, talk to the recruiter, speak with a previous supervisor or a mentor, you know, hire a resume writer, a career coach to really help.
you uncover different aspects of your career that could really help you stand out as a candidate.
Julia Rock (33:30.478)
Can I give you a story about that? So I have a client right now who, he was applying for jobs for a year. And he’s just like, Julia, I’m not really sure what’s going on. And I said, okay, well, let’s see what we can do. I took a look at his resume and within 30 seconds I knew why he wasn’t getting hired. And so it’s like 12 months of applying and it took me 30 seconds. And so people always say, well, I can chat GPT, my way to success.
Mary (33:32.042)
Absolutely.
Mary (33:48.209)
Yeah. Yeah.
Julia Rock (34:00.622)
Sure, give that a shot, but the truth is there’s nothing that can substitute the expertise of professionals. And because this is not something that you’re good at. So chat GBT will only answer the questions that you’re asking it. So if you don’t know what questions to ask, you’re not going to get the right answer. Having a professional who can help you through the process, even if it’s just for a short period of time, to at least get you going in the right direction. So you’re not spending a year.
dealing with rejection. So you’re not spending two years trying to figure out what’s going on. The purpose of having a coach or some sort of consultant or counselor, somebody who can help you, is for them to help you accelerate your results. So if you don’t want to spend that kind of time in that process, don’t hesitate to invest in yourself as well.
Mary (34:46.085)
Absolutely. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes will save you, literally in this case, a year of your life and applying for jobs. And I’ve had similar clients where they’re targeting a career pivot and they’re using this really generic resume to apply to 10 different types of positions. And it’s like, that’s your first issue right there. You know, so somebody, like you said, somebody that has experience in the space could really.
Julia Rock (34:51.567)
Yeah.
Mary (35:13.924)
provide some deeper insight and save you a lot of time in that process.
Julia Rock (35:18.478)
Exactly, because what you’re thinking is you’re saving in money, you’re losing in time, you’re also losing in personal, mental and emotional health because you’re dealing with that constant rejection. And only if you had made that upfront investment, you could have saved all that on the back end.
Mary (35:34.403)
And like we kind of already discussed, I think career changers really bring this fresh perspective, right? And these transferable skills. But how can they really stand out from, let’s say, candidates that may have more traditional experience in that field?
Julia Rock (35:50.606)
Yeah, so what I tell my clients is, are you positioning your transferable skills in a way that it relates to where you’re going? Just saying that you have leadership skills is not going to get you there. But saying that, hey, I led this so -and -so in finance, and here’s how it applies to the sales situation that you’re going to encounter in this organization. Because what that will allow someone to do is to say, OK, they don’t have the sales background.
but they had the leadership we would need for this particular situation. And we can teach them the software, we can teach them the process, whatever, but it’s very clear that if we put them in this role, they’re going to know what to do versus the person who has subject matter knowledge, but they’ve never been in a similar situation at all. They can bring the rule book and the process, but they don’t know how to actually execute in that situation. So it’s tying the transferable skills to specific situations.
that will be encountered in your new role because then that way the light bulb goes off for the recruiter or the hiring manager to say, that makes sense. That is a challenge that we’re having. And that expertise would be really valuable versus us having to try to train someone on those skills in addition to the subject matter knowledge.
Mary (37:06.173)
Do you have a specific success story that you could share?
Julia Rock (37:10.222)
Man, so I’ve got several success stories, but I’m trying to think. So there was one, so I’m gonna do one from sports and then I’m gonna do one from a professional standpoint. So I have one client that he went from, he went from project management to sales actually. And it was being able to show how his ability to engage with clients.
what would be something that’s applicable for, from a sales perspective, because you’re trying to close a deal, right? And yes, in project management, you already have the client on board, but the whole idea is you’re trying to make the client happy. You’re trying to understand what the client’s needs are to make sure that whatever you deliver on their behalf is going to meet what their objectives are. And so when you think about sales, there’s a lot of that. There’s back and forth with clients getting on the same page. What do you need? How can we help?
This is why what we have is better for you than someone else. And so we were able to show those particular skills around client engagement, client management, stakeholder, that kind of thing. We were able to tie that specifically to sales. And then I’ve had clients on the sports side who were able to take their skills also into sales because of their ability to be competitive. The thing about sales is that it’s just a competitive.
place, you’ve got to just, you’ve got to be like a dog with a bone with that thing. And being able to show their ability to lead in their team, but also just them being able to play at a high level, their ability to be coachable, to understand, you know, how can I be successful on the court? That means when you get into a sales career, being able to take the coaching that’s coming from those who are in leadership to say, this is how you execute on the sales vision and them being able to just kind of get after it and not be in their own way about it. So those are two, two different scenarios.
Mary (39:02.199)
Love it. So high level, what do you want listeners to take away from our conversation today?
Julia Rock (39:09.294)
Just a couple of things. So one, if you are in a space where you want to transition and you know it and you feel it, don’t delay that process because you’ll only become more uncomfortable. There’s nothing wrong with taking the time to make a plan, but don’t put your transition to the back burner. Find your plan and prepare and move forward. Secondly, I would say that this is a tough market for a lot of people. So it’s not just you in this space. So don’t take it all personally.
But there is opportunity out there for you. There is opportunity for your future. And the last thing I’ll say is get help. Whether it’s from informal, from people within your network, or you hire a professional to help you on your journey, get help. Professional careers are not meant or designed to be done on their own.
Mary (39:57.717)
What are you working on at the moment and where can we find you on social media?
Julia Rock (40:01.774)
Man, so working on a few different things. Actually, next week on the 15th, I’m going to be with the National Urban League and we’ll be talking about mindfulness and productivity. Really excited about that, especially since this is Mental Health Awareness Month. So that’s coming up. And then actually tomorrow, I’m going to have a town hall about DEI and the impact beyond buzzwords. Because right now we know that DEI is kind of a, you know, people are…
taking their hands off of it. And so we want to make sure that we keep that conversation on the forefront. And so, and then in terms of where people can reach me, I’m at Rock Career on pretty much all social media platforms. And then if they want to follow my personal journey, I’m at the Julia Rock on all social media platforms.
Mary (40:31.893)
Yeah.
Mary (40:48.917)
Awesome. Thanks for coming on today, Julia.
Julia Rock (40:51.47)
Thank you so much for having me, Mary. It was great to be here.