Career Path Development

Almost every time I speak with juniors or college students, I get asked the same question: “I’m not sure what field I want to work in. How do I decide what to do?” It’s a completely normal feeling — and honestly, I’ve been there too. When I first entered college, I had no clue what specialization to take or what career path to pursue. But here’s the truth: You don’t need to have it all figured out right away. What you need is a plan to explore and narrow it down. Here’s what I tell anyone who asks: 📍 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 — 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 List a few things you genuinely enjoy or find intriguing — like writing, data analysis, designing, or public speaking. Don’t worry about how they translate into a career just yet Action Step: Write down your interests without worrying about how they translate into a career. The point is to recognize your natural inclinations. 📍 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 Try out your interests through short-term activities like joining a club, taking a beginner’s course, or volunteering for a project. Give it 2–4 weeks and see if you enjoy the process Action Step: Try something for 2–4 weeks and assess: Did you enjoy the process? Did it feel meaningful? 📍 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘁 Reach out to people working in fields you’re curious about. Ask about their day-to-day work, the skills they use, and what they enjoy or dislike about their roles Action Step: Message 3 professionals on LinkedIn and politely ask for a 15-minute chat. Most people are willing to help if you’re genuinely curious and respectful of their time. 📍 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 Identify the skills you want to develop rather than getting stuck on job titles. Whether it’s data analysis, storytelling, or management, skills are transferable and will shape your career regardless of the role Action Step: Pick one skill you’re curious about and spend an hour a week learning or practicing it. 📍 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁 Your first choice doesn’t have to be your final choice. Reflect every few months to see if you’re still enjoying your current path. It’s okay to change directions as you learn more Action Step: Set a reminder to reflect every 3 months: Are you still enjoying your current path? If not, what’s next? The Bottom Line: You don’t have to know your exact career path at 20. Just focus on exploring, learning, and building foundational skills — the clarity will follow. To everyone feeling overwhelmed — take it one step at a time. And remember, not having it all figured out is okay — it’s part of the journey. What’s one career option you’re currently exploring? Share below — I’d love to hear your thoughts!👇 #CareerAdvice #CollegeTips #FindingYourPath #SkillBuilding #CareerExploration #EarlyCareerInsights

Early in my career, a colleague from P&G left for a startup. The pay was nearly double. The decision seemed obvious. But when I mentioned this to my boss, his response made me changed how I viewed career growth: “In the first third of your career, don’t chase money—chase knowledge. You’ll leverage that better in the next third to make real money.” At first, it sounded idealistic. But over time, I saw a pattern among top marketers: They optimized for learning, not just earning, in their first five years. Why this matters: [1] The Compound Effect of Skill Stacking I’ve seen P&G marketers turn down high-paying social media roles to master brand fundamentals first. Today? They’re leading global brands while their peers are still executing tactics. [2] The “Career Equity” Principle That startup role offering double the salary? Look closer. Are you building equity in yourself (strategic thinking, leadership, innovation) or just executing someone else’s strategy? [3] The Learning-to-Earning Ratio Every marketing leader I know followed this trajectory: Years 1-5: Learn intensively Years 6-10: Apply & grow Years 10+: Exponential career acceleration “But I need the money now.” I get it. I’ve been there. But consider this: A ₹10 lakh salary bump today vs. learning that could unlock ₹50 lakh+ annually in a few years. “But I might fall behind.” Look at any CMO interview in AdWeek or Marketing Week—nearly all highlight their early-career learning experiences as crucial to their success. It’s not about falling behind. It’s about positioning yourself to leap ahead. Before taking your next role, ask yourself: “Will I learn something new every week, or just get better at what I already know?” The best investment in your 20s isn’t in stocks or crypto. It’s in your skills toolkit. #career #work #job

This might be one of the most underrated career transitions I've ever seen: 9 years with the New York Giants. Team Captain for four consecutive seasons. Two Super Bowl victories. Two Pro Bowl Championships. And now? Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. Here's what this teaches us about strategic career moves: NFL careers end. Everyone knows that going in. But most athletes struggle with the transition because they think their experience doesn't transfer to the corporate world. Justin Tuck proved them wrong… He didn't start over. He leveraged exactly what made him valuable on the field: Leadership under pressure. Team performance. Strategic execution. High-stakes decision-making. Those skills don't disappear when you change industries. They just need to be positioned correctly. Most senior professionals make the same mistake: They think switching fields means starting from scratch. They believe they need more credentials or to "prove themselves" all over again. Wrong. Your experience IS your leverage. Tuck understood this. He repositioned the same leadership qualities that made him a two-time Super Bowl champion for Wall Street. Whether you're moving industries or companies, the principles are identical: Your skills are more transferable than you think. Strategic storytelling makes pivots profitable. Position your experience as future value, not sunk cost. You don't need to start over. You need to reframe what you already have. The professionals who thrive in career transitions aren't the ones with the most credentials. They're the ones who know how to position their experience strategically - and move while they still have leverage. Your current company will survive without you. The question is: are you staying because it's right, or because you don't know how to make the move?

Tired of employers not seeing your value? The "Portfolio Strategy" will fix that (in 7 simple steps): [Context] Companies hire people for one reason: They believe they'll bring the most value to the role. Resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn are traditional ways to illustrating that value. But they're not the best. If you're struggling to see results with them? You need a portfolio. 1. Choose Your Platform First, choose the place where you'll host your content. I recommend a place that: - Allows you to create the way you want - Maximizes your visibility If you're job searching, it's tough to beat LinkedIn. Medium is another solid option. 2. Identify Your Target Companies Next, brainstorm your list of target companies. You're going to be researching them and creating value that's directly tied to their goals, challenges, and vision. I recommend starting with 3-5. Bonus points if they're in the same industry. 3. Align Your Projects Start with one company. Research the heck out of it from a high level. Then dive deeper into researching the specific product and team you're targeting. Your goal is to identify: - Goals -Challenges - Initiatives Learn as much as you can about them. 3a. Align Your Projects (Examples) Marketer? Perform site audits and recommend 3 ways for companies to get more leads. Software Engineer? QA your favorite apps / tools to identify bugs or improvements. Graphic Designer? Refresh the branding for your favorite products. 4. Map Out The Process Start with your methodology: Why this company / product? Break down your research, brainstorming, and solution process. Find and include reputable data. Project outcomes / ROI if you can. Finally, make a compelling case. Don’t just summarize, sell! 5. Show Your Work Now turn that process into content! Write up a "case study" showing: - The problem / opportunity - How you identified it - Your solution(s) - How you came up with them - The process for implementing them When it's ready, hit publish! 6. Share Your Work Now your case study is out in the world! First, add it to your LinkedIn featured section. Next, break it down into bite sized pieces of content. Start writing posts around: - Your research process - Your solutions process - Insights you came across - Etc 7. Systematize It This works best when you consistently work at it. Create a daily schedule and commit to it. Before you know it, you’ll have a body of work that includes *real* results and clearly illustrates your value. That’s going to get you hired!

Deborah Liu was a long-time VP at Facebook where she built and launched multiple billion-dollar businesses, including Facebook Marketplace. Prior to Facebook, she was a Director at PayPal and eBay. She now serves on the board of Intuit and, for the past 3.5 years, has led Ancestry as CEO. In our conversation, we discuss: 🔸 Why you should PM your career like you PM your product 🔸 Advice for succeeding as an introvert 🔸 Strategies for incubating new products within large companies 🔸 Creating a successful 30-60-90-day plan 🔸 The pitfalls of perfectionism 🔸 The value of resilience and turning failures into stepping stones 🔸 How to leverage coaching in your career development 🔸 Much more Listen now 👇 - YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gvpRD46V - Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gqEQUcKQ - Apple: https://lnkd.in/gmNhk9f2 Some key takeaways: 1. Treat your career like a product roadmap. Start by defining your long-term career goals and envision where you want to be in 5 or 10 years. Break these goals down into smaller, actionable milestones, similar to setting quarterly objectives for a product. Develop a career plan that includes key skills to acquire, roles to target, and metrics for success. Regularly review and adjust this plan based on your progress and any new opportunities or changes in your industry. 2. Introverts need to learn to speak up. Whether you like it or not, the business world favors extraversion. So if you don’t share your opinions and market your wins, you’ll limit your career progression. If you’re a leader, focus on creating an inclusive environment where your entire team has an opportunity to speak up, not just those who are naturally confident in group settings. 3. If the idea of self-promotion makes you feel uncomfortable, consider changing your perspective on what this process achieves. Think about it as a way of advocating for your team’s needs and resources, or sharing important metrics you’ve all achieved. When we shift the focus from “This is about me” to “This helps everyone,” the value of self-promotion becomes far clearer—and much more palatable. 4. When starting a new role, create a structured 30-60-90-day plan: a. 30 days (listening and learning): Meet with as many team members and stakeholders as possible (aim for 50 to 60 people) to understand their perspectives, challenges, and wish lists. b. 60 days (aligning and planning): Based on your learnings, identify one or two areas where you can make a tangible impact in the short term. Develop a plan to address these areas and present it to your team. c. 90 days (execution and impact): Begin implementing the plans and changes that have been agreed upon. Focus on delivering quick wins to build credibility and demonstrate value. At the end of the 90 days, review your achievements and the feedback received.

What actually makes a good career development conversation? Hint: It’s not an adhoc agenda item sprung on you during a standard one-on-one with your line manager! A truly meaningful career discussion requires dedicated time, thoughtful preparation, and radical honesty from both sides. If you're putting one on the calendar soon, here are three questions I highly recommend introducing to move past the usual scripts: "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞?" Growth doesn't always mean moving to a new team; it can mean expanding your network or building a new capability right where you are. It can also mean creating opportunities for others on your team.  Need to make time to take on a new assignment that helps your growth? Consider transitioning a project or responsibility to someone else on your team to help them build their capabilities. "𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝?" We make too many corporate assumptions here. Is it about financial reward, public praise, more responsibility or a quiet thank you? Ask directly and answer honestly. "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?" Careers are marathons not sprints, and they happen against the backdrop of real life. Whether it's caring for young children (or elderly parents) or navigating personal challenges, your development plan needs to reflect your current season of life. Growth doesn’t have to look just one way. Career conversations are a shared responsibility and a continuous partnership. If you invest the time in having a thoughtful conversation, you may be surprised at the outcome! #LeadershipLessons

I spent most of my career keeping my options open. Banking for the exit ops. MBA to pivot into anything. Saying yes to every ask so I wouldn't miss out. It took me years to realize that maximizing optionality was just a fancy way of not choosing. Meanwhile, the people who picked a lane were building skills, reputation, and wealth while I was still "exploring." Here's what actually helped me pick a direction: 1️⃣ Name the reason you can't choose Is your inability to commit coming from wanting to try everything and maximize learning? Or from comparing yourself to others who got a promotion, raised startup funding, and seem to be doing better than you? These require different solutions. The first is about giving yourself a necessary period of exploration. The second is about detaching your sense of progress from other people's paths. 2️⃣ Go back to your Ikigai Ikigai is the intersection of what you're good at, what you love doing, and what the world needs. I reorient around this all the time. I'm good at writing, storytelling, and personal brand building. I love doing it, and this skill is more important than ever (see viral WSJ article about storytelling). So that's what I'm focused on in 2026. 3️⃣ Challenge your assumptions about irreversibility Most decisions are reversible. If you quit a job, you could probably go back if you have a strong network and reputation (or to a similar role/company). Many ex-founders find their way back to employee roles. We overestimate how permanent our choices are. 4️⃣ Calculate the cost of waiting Every year you spend keeping your options open is a year you're not compounding in a specific direction. The people who picked a lane 5 years ago are now 5 years ahead - not because they chose perfectly, but because they chose. 5️⃣ Write a manifesto Write an anchoring statement for what you want to accomplish this year in your life, career, or business. It can be a page or even a paragraph. If an opportunity doesn't fit the manifesto, don't pursue it. Bottom line: you can always change your mind. You can't get the time back. I go deeper on the maximizer dilemma in my newsletter this week (link in comments). What's helped you find focus?

A week before I left Mastercard, I stood in front of a room of London Business School MBAs and told them to do the opposite of what they were planning. Almost every one of them was aiming for investment banking or consulting, the safe and well-paid path out of an MBA. My advice was different: Go to AI, join a startup, and take the role with the steepest learning curve, even if it pays less today. Then I went home and did exactly that. At 46, I left a senior role at Mastercard to build Yuno’s banking vertical from almost nothing. I was not telling those students anything I was not about to do myself. Walk the talk, you know? The lesson underneath it is one I learned late: optionality compounds faster than compensation. A raise will eventually become part of your regular budget, a promotion is exciting for a few months. The tools on your stack keep compounding, and the day you want to do something else, they are worth far more than the raise you passed on. One honest caveat. I can optimize for a lot more optionality today because I have a floor under me, a recurring salary and several years worth of savings. When I was hunting for my first job, the driver was the learning opportunity but the paycheck meant a lot more to make ends meet, and that was the right call then too. If you are early in your career, what are you actually optimizing for? #CareerGrowth #Leadership #Payments

How to decide what career/business to start (and WIN BIG at it). 💥 Most people pick a business or career by chasing what’s trending… or sticking with what’s comfortable. That’s a fast track to boredom, burnout, or mediocrity. Choosing a business is not about what excites you. It’s about where you can win faster. If you want a path where you can win faster, go deeper, and last longer, use the ✨ DFP Framework: Domain, Function, Passion ✨ . After stepping away from my last company, I had hundreds of ideas I loved and wanted to pursue. I chose Zora Health because of the DFP framework. It acts as a filter and forces you to think about: ✔️ Where you already have credibility and an edge ✔️ What you can commit to mastering ✔️ What will keep you engaged for the long game? ♦️ Domain – The “Where” You Play Your domain is the industry or field. It determines the network you tap, the problems you understand, and the opportunities you’ll see first. Choose one where you already have insight or connections — that’s your unfair advantage. For me, women’s health wasn’t random. My personal journey and market gaps gave me a head start most founders lack. ♦️ Function – The “What” You Do Best Your function is the role you play in the value chain — the work you do day in, day out. Builder, seller, strategist, creator — this is where you should already be dangerously good. The more your function aligns with your proven strengths, the faster you build momentum. I knew my edge was as a founder-operator - scaling teams, shaping strategy, and driving revenue. ♦️ Passion – The “Why” You Stay in the Game Passion is your emotional fuel — the reason you keep going when the work gets hard. It’s not “follow your bliss” fluff; it’s the problem you care enough about to wrestle with for years. For me, that was personal: navigating my own fertility and health challenges made me relentless about fixing this space. The best careers and businesses are thoughtfully and intentionally designed. If you want staying power and an edge, choose to win. So… what’s your DFP? Share with me! 😄 #career #business #careertips #networking #corporate

Beyond the Brag: Building Your "Impact Portfolio" Before Promo Season Hits It's promo season at Google, and I'm helping colleagues craft their promo packets. This behind-the-scenes look reveals a crucial truth: building your "impact portfolio" before the pressure hits is key. The promo process at Google (and many other companies) involves telling a compelling story of your contributions, backed by evidence, to convince peers you deserve a promotion. It can sometimes feel like bragging. But waiting until promo season to gather evidence is like cramming for a final exam. Instead, let's approach our careers with a continuous "impact portfolio" mindset. ✨ Capture "Impact Moments" Regularly ✨ Don't wait for formal reviews. As you complete projects, launch initiatives, or solve complex problems, document the key details: what you did, the impact it had, and any quantifiable results. Think of it as your own personal "highlight reel." ✨ Reframe "Bragging" as Storytelling ✨ Self-advocacy isn't about showing-off; it's about telling a compelling story of your contributions. Focus on the "why" behind your work and the value it created. ✨ Seek Feedback Beyond Performance Reviews ✨ Proactively ask for feedback throughout the year. Not just on what you did, but on how you did it. This provides valuable insights into your strengths and areas for growth. ✨ Build Your Network ✨ Your network is your extended "impact portfolio." People who have witnessed your contributions firsthand can be powerful advocates. Nurture those relationships. ✨ Quantify Your Impact ✨ Whenever possible, use numbers and data to illustrate your accomplishments. "Increased efficiency by X%," "Saved the team Y hours," "Led to Z revenue." These metrics make your impact tangible. The goal isn't just to ace the promo packet. It's to build a consistent narrative of impact that reflects your growth and value over time. When it comes time to advocate for yourself, you won't be scrambling to remember your accomplishments. You'll have a rich portfolio of evidence, ready to tell your story. If you haven't started building your impact portfolio, there's no better time than now. Your future self will thank you.