4 keys for a career path

Women are a small minority in our industry — a fact that we are working to change. If I could share a bit of what I’ve learned along the way to help other women develop their career path, I’d boil it down to four key lessons.

It’s OK to change your mind

I made up my mind that I was going to be an accountant when I was 16 years old because I liked math, order and inherited a little of my dad’s OCD. I was working at a landscape company while waiting to start my CPA exam review course and I realized I was happy working there — I loved the culture of that company and was excited to go to work each day. So, guess what? I never started the review course or attempted the CPA exam.

Learn from success as well as failures

I always knew I wanted to be a working mother, but I never realized how hard it would be to balance the two. Every day, I can think of something I didn’t do or something I wished I had done better. However, I find it is important to reflect not only on what I want to do better, but also on what went well. Focusing on success is far more impactful than trying to avoid failures. Having the drive to be better each day is what keeps me going.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

Being comfortable is not always a good thing. The most important career decision I made was in response to someone asking why I would ever want to leave my position because I knew exactly what to expect each day. I realized complacency wasn’t what I wanted, and that helped make a career move and join LandCare in 2015. The change came with little guarantee of long-term career success, but I felt the potential upside could be huge (and I was right!). Shortly after starting, I received the best career advice when I was told to “get comfortable being uncomfortable.” I realized that I was going to have to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone to achieve the career growth I desired.

You’re never really ready

You may have heard the following statistic: Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. I have not shared this with a woman yet who doesn’t relate. Many women still struggle to put ourselves out there if we are not 100% confident that we’re ready. However, the test shouldn’t be, “can I do all the things this job requires?” The test should be, “do I have the aptitude, motivation and attributes to be successful in this role — and am I willing to learn everything necessary to perform the job well?” If you can answer “yes” to that question — then go for it.

In 2019, I saw an opportunity that I wanted to pursue — to enhance and lead the learning and development function for LandCare. I didn’t have the typical background or qualifications for the role, but what I had to offer was my industry and organizational knowledge and a vision to help our teams learn better and faster. I saw an opportunity to centralize our development programs, to onboard new team members more effectively, improve engagement and increase our internal promotions. We’re still in the beginning stages of making this a reality, but I can confidently say that we have accomplished a great deal so far.