How to make a career pivot as a parent (starting with what you already have)
I've talked to a lot of people who feel like their path has been anything but straight. They've changed industries, taken mat leave, started businesses they eventually scrapped, and moved through so many chapters that their resume looks more like a choose-your-own-adventure than a career plan. And at one point in their journey, they decided that all of that was working against them.
I want to push back on that.
Because the messiest parts of your story — the pivots, the hard seasons, the stuff that doesn't fit neatly on a LinkedIn profile — are actually the exact things that make you interesting, hireable, and maybe even irreplaceable. Here's what I mean.
The most underrated career asset is the life you've already lived
When people think about a career pivot, they usually think about what they don't have yet.
They’re missing a credential, not enough industry experience, they don’t know anyone… And I’m not saying that it doesn’t matter, because sometimes it does, but those who make the most interesting pivots are the ones who can figure out how to lead with what they already have.
The market isn't too crowded, you're just too broad.
One of the things I hear all the time when someone is thinking about a career change: "But there are so many people doing that already." And yes, there are.
But when you try to appeal to everyone, no one knows how to refer you, and that's the actual problem.
The move — and this is the one that feels the most counterintuitive — is to get more specific, not less.
The more clearly you can say exactly who you help and exactly what you do, the more you become the person people think of first.
Your second act doesn't have to wait until the kids leave
Most of the time, if not all of it, parents put their own evolution on hold until some future version of their life arrives.
But the second act conversation is something that should be happening right now, in your thirties and forties!
You have a lot more clarity than you did at 25, you know what drains you, what you’re really good at… and that awareness is the flex you think it is. It’s a real competitive advantage when you're figuring out what comes next.
Just because you can do everything doesn't mean you should
As parents, we are literally trained to do everything simultaneously and make it look easy.
And the same energy that makes you a great multitasker at home can quietly work against you when you're trying to build something at work or in a business.
Focus isn't giving up, it actually lets you go deeper, get better, and build something that gets traction — without running yourself into the ground in the process.
You can't control the outcome. You can control your side of the street.
We are experts in managing seventeen things at the same time, we’re parents, it’s almost like we’re supposed to. And when you’re going through a career pivot, it feels like everything is out of your hands. And honestly, some of it is.
But there's always something you can do to give your future self more options.
Clean up your side of the street. Do the thing you've been putting off. You don't need a perfect outcome to take a meaningful next step.
Want more of this?
This was inspired by a conversation that I had with a woman I’ve known for over a decade, Kristin Constable. She was the one who opened the door to coaching, entrepreneurship, and thinking bigger. We went deep on career pivots, building something that’s a “category of one”, freezing your eggs at 37, and why your second act is so much more interesting than anyone tells you. If any of this is landing, I think you'll love the full episode.
