How to stand out in the job market mid-career ft. Rebecca Medina
With thousands of people laid off in the US tech industry, at the same time as the Great Resignation post-pandemic, some job markets are flooded with mid-career professionals looking for their next opportunity.
For some of these people, it will have been years since they last applied or interviewed for a job and if they’ve been made redundant they’ve likely suffered a sizeable hit to their confidence.
In this podcast, Elise Stevens speaks with TalentCheetah CEO Rebecca Medina about how to stand out in a crowded job market by defining your career identity and making an actionable plan.
Points raised in this podcast:
- Mid-career professionals are generally considered to have more than 10 years’ experience and significant expertise in a particular field.
- Many mid-career professionals are finding themselves searching for new opportunities amid thousands of lay-offs in the tech industry and the Great Resignation across much of the developed world post-pandemic.
- Being made redundant can feel like a divorce and it can take a lot of time to rebound from that separation.
- It is important to understand who we are as professionals, rather than be defined by the company we work for.
- Many people find looking for new work challenging because they struggle to articulate their value and are hesitant to “brag” about themselves, but the job market is not the place to be humble or demure, it is important to be able to articulate your value objectively.
- Taking time for self-reflection and being able to define your career identity, will allow you to make an actionable plan and prevent you from prematurely diving into a new role that may not be the right one.
- Some people may discover they are ready to take their expertise from the corporate world and start a new business or consultancy.
- Networking is crucial for finding support among like-minded individuals and can even boost your mental health.
- Employers, recruiters and clients will likely look at LinkedIn profiles and other public social media when hiring, so make sure yours is up to date and authentic and aim to be active and engaged with other professionals.
About Rebecca:
Rebecca Medina is the Founder and CEO of TalentCheetah, Inc, a digital platform empowering tech companies to scale by providing on-demand access to domain experts available for temporary project management and consulting roles.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Her work in the high technology industry began in college when she interned for a start-up company that was later acquired by Computer Associates.
Rebecca is a PMP® certified Project Executive with 25+ years of hands-on experience managing complex PMO and IT portfolios in the telecommunications and technology industries.
After working as a full-time employee for two decades, in 2015 she transitioned into independent consulting, doing business as Mobile Program Management. Since her transition to independent work, she remains passionate about raising awareness and educating others about the Gig Economy, the Future of Work, and the benefits of Freelancing.
A strong advocate for community engagement and servant leadership, Rebecca has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for juveniles in the foster care system, a project management mentor, a career counsellor to economically disadvantaged women, and an academic advisor to at-risk youth.
She lives in Silicon Valley, CA with her husband, TalentCheetah’s Technical Advisor, Rich Medina, and their son Adam.
You can connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn.