“By the time I went on the interview for my current job, I felt like a rockstar.”
Niki had worked as a graphic designer for public institutions for twelve years. Wanting to try something different, Niki started taking classes to learn how to become a project manager so that she could leverage her career and earn a higher income. After completing her courses, she decided to apply for jobs in the private sector. Niki was hired and while she was working as a project manager, she quickly learned the job wasn’t for her. “I tried something new and it didn’t work,” says Niki. She was beating herself up for not being a fit for her new job. “There were people there who had been working there for 15 or 20 years, but I just couldn’t do it,” she says, which made her feel like she had failed.
Niki was watching the news one evening when she saw Dress for Success Triangle’s program director, Megan Eilenberger, talking about an upcoming job fair. Niki thought that Megan seemed relatable and she thought that the companies participating sounded like places she might like to work, so she signed up. Niki sat through all of the presentations from the employers at the job fair and afterward received an email about an upcoming job acquisition class, the Going Places Network. Niki was applying to jobs and receiving interviews but her confidence was rattled after making the switch to the private sector and it was not working out. “I felt like I was coming off as scattered,” says Niki, “I had done all of these various things in my career, but I felt like a failure explaining that I worked in the public sector for so long, then the private sector, and now I was looking in the public sector again.” On top of not feeling confident, Niki was also looking for work during the pandemic, which proved to be an added challenge.
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
Niki wasn’t sure how she’d fit in with the class. She thought that most people would be fresh out of school or mothers returning from raising young children, but she was surprised to learn that the class was a huge mix of women from various backgrounds. “There were women who had extensive careers and women with master's degrees and even PDHs experiencing job loss.”
One of Niki’s first assignments in the Going Places Network was to take the Clifton Strengthsfinder test. After receiving her results she thought, “No wonder why my job in the private sector wasn’t a good fit!” Niki’s results showed that she thrives in creative communities and her private sector job didn’t tap into her skillset. The test confirmed that she was heading in the right direction. Niki also met with several career coaches who looked over her resume and LinkedIn profile and helped her make small cosmetic changes. “It was reassuring to have someone tell me that I’m 99% there”.
PERFECTING THE INTERVIEW
Niki continued to go on interviews while she was completing the class and with each interview, she felt like she was getting better and better at providing comprehensive responses to her interviewers. “I always struggled with answering questions with multiple parts directly. I’d go into too much detail with the first question and not answer the other questions,” says Niki. The Going Places Network helped Niki understand what her interviewers were asking for with each question and helped her to apply the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to the questions she was being asked.
Niki also took advantage of the mock interviews offered in the class, going on approximately twenty interviews! “The mock interviews were really where the lightbulb went off. I had been on interviews throughout my career, but I had never been critiqued.” The combination of mock interview practice and identifying gaps in her answers helped to build Niki’s confidence. Niki’s classmates also played a role in developing her confidence. “Everyone was so non-judgmental,” says Niki, who says she and her classmates would identify areas of improvement within each other's answers and their own.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN AND BEYOND HER CAREER
“By the time I went on the interview for my current job, I felt like a rockstar,” says Niki, “I wished I had known about this program years ago because it boosted my confidence.” Niki landed a job at a University working within marketing, which relies on her creative background.
In addition to the Going Places Network, Niki also participated in many of the free webinars offered through Dress for Success Triangle. The webinars helped Niki to learn about how to brand herself on social media and build her authentic self online, which is a big part of her new job. The webinars also helped her to tap into her extroverted side. “I was always the behind-the-scenes person on committees,” says Niki. Thanks to the support she received, Niki had the confidence to accept a position on a communications board as their president! Great job, Niki!
Are you looking for guidance and support in your career? Read more about the Going Places Network and sign up here. Looking to add tools to your career? Sign up for one of our many weekly webinar sessions here.