I am Jimi Michel. I’ve worked in global health and in domestic health sectors. Unfortunately, I believe Wayan is right when he says:
We must accept that we all need to find new jobs, new careers, new pathways in this life that give us joy and accomplishment.
We’re in a tough spot, but the good news is that a hard, sudden pivot is, at the very least, possible. I’ve survived it a few times, and I have guided a few students and colleagues through it as well.
I. Affirmation
Right now, you are being told that your work does not matter and has no value, and you’re being told that loudly and publicly. Please remember that the people behind those voices never have, and never will, see your work up close.
As someone with experience both inside and outside of international development, let me say clearly:
Your work matters and you should be proud of it
Your skills translate and have enormous value
Your experience makes you a more hire-able candidate
Put simply – as aid workers, you’ve done more with less and found success under the most difficult conditions imaginable, all while performing technical work with skills that are just as prized domestically and in industry as they are in international development.
You might not have the vocabulary to describe your experience and skills in a way that resonates outside of development, but the first step is acknowledging its value.
II. Inventory
Take stock of everything, including what you want from your career (priorities) as well as the skills and experiences you have to offer (strengths). I recommend beginning with your priorities, including what I consider the big three:
Impact How important is knowing that the work you do every day makes the world better? Don’t be afraid to admit that this isn’t as important or urgent as it was before–it’s ok to say “I’m fine with anything that does no harm.”
Compensation How much does money matter to you right now? Were you already feeling underpaid, or are your finances secure enough to be flexible for the right opportunity? Don’t be a martyr–there is no shame in prioritizing a living wage.
Conditions Do you thrive with long hours and exhausting travel, or are you ready to prioritize mental, physical, and emotional health? Conditions are the flip side of Impact because you’re looking at how the job impacts you.
Also consider location; leveraging your existing strengths vs developing new ones; seniority; stability; and anything else that helps determine whether a new job will meet your needs. To take this to the next level, evaluate each criteria on a short/medium/long-term basis.
Need a template? Check out this USAID to Corproate Toolkit
You might find it difficult to inventory your strengths. I find it useful to deconstruct my CV into lists of job titles, activities, specific skills (including separate lists for hard skills, soft skills, and specific software/technology), and accomplishments.
It’s critical that you remove them from their context so that you can evaluate and (in the next step) translate them into language that will be familiar to a new audience.
III. Mapping and Translation
Once you have an inventory of your priorities and strengths, it’s time to map and translate them to a new context.
Begin by mapping your priorities—for domestic health, this process may guide you to a healthcare provider (public or private), a vendor (startup or established), or even local government.
Your priorities may guide you to a new organization or role that looks a lot like your previous one (if you were happy in your old job), or something very different.
Translating your strengths might present a challenge; however, some things will translate directly—”program management,” “data science,” and “supply chain and logistics” are cognates while “technical advisor,” “MERL,” and “SBC” will take some translating (“consultant,” “quality improvement,” and “public health education,” for example).
GenAI can help! See this post on how to use it now.
The goal is to isolate and then reframe each strength with language that is familiar to a new audience. Think of this as your skillset Rosetta Stone—a document that communicates the value of your past to an audience who can help shape your future.
Conclusion
The approach I outlined above has been helpful for me during the times I’ve had to navigate sudden changes. It’s certainly not the only approach. If it doesn’t resonate with you, keep looking until you find something that does.
It is important that you find a plan or approach that works for you, and that you recognize that, as insurmountable as a sudden hard pivot seems, it has been done before and will certainly be done again.
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