Today on the podcast, I speak with a fellow Canadian engineer Ellie Albadvi who studied chemical engineering and worked as a process engineer after graduation. Then, she wanted to be more involved in the overall vision and how it connects to the financials, so she pivoted into business development in engineering.

However, she realized that the engineering company was not for her, so she made a big pivot by moving to management consulting.

After two and a half years, she decided to pivot into tech, specifically business operations, because it was very close to the kind of work that she would do in management consulting. And in the whole interim, she has been trying to start something on the side for herself because of all the pivots she went through. She wants to help other people get through their career pivots as well.



Topics covered:

01:06 Ellie’s story about her career pivots
05:05 People are much more helpful than we think
11:03 How Ellie networked and built connections
13:57 Career pivot challenges
16:10 Be patient when you’re in between jobs
20:30 The best investment you can make is having a career coach
24:08 Curiosity leads to opportunities
33:52 Don’t be afraid to bring your skills into your new job
35:33 How to effectively communicate your life story and the value that you can bring to the company through Storytelling
40:12 Keep a career log of every little win or learning
43:26 Money, impact, and self-expression
50:40 Vulnerability is not a weakness
57:33 How to be more visible on LinkedIn
1:00:35 Ellie’s career-switching advice: Think about how your career pivot is going to impact your life


Links and Resources:
Connect with Ellie on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliealbadvi/

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (book): https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Your-Life-Well-Lived-Joyful/dp/1101875321

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (book)
https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252