Teacher turned marketer Alex Spencer of Prezzybox shares her perspectives on the importance of climbing the right career ladder in episode 78 of the Career Relaunch® podcast. She explains how taking a temporary hit to her salary was worth it to her in the long run because it ultimately gave her the chance to do work she found more meaningful. We also discuss the true measures of your professional success and satisfaction (hint–it’s not just salary!) and the importance of being selective and specific about your next target role.
Key Career Insights
- Being specific about what you’re offering and what you’re looking for is critical when making a career change to have a chance to standing out amongst the sea of traditional candidates out there.
- Taking a pay cut can feel like a big blow to your career, but if you can weather it for a while and it means being able to move toward doing something that would make you happier, in the long run, you will then be climbing the right ladder to hopefully reach your previous salary again.
- A nice job title and salary isn’t everything. You have to do work that gives you joy and energy, and no amount of salary can buy you these things.
Tweetables to Share
Listener Challenge
During this episode’s Mental Fuel segment, I talked about how money can understandably stop people from making the changes they want in their careers. If you’re thinking about making a career change, but a potential salary drop is standing in your way, try to get crystal clear on what exact, temporary salary decrease you could stomach, both practically and psychologically.
What salary decrease wouldn’t have a significant impact on your ability to do the important things you want to do in your life and career? What is that exact figure? Do the math, and write it down. Maybe seeing that number can help you clarify exactly what is and is not possible when considering your next move.
About Alex Spencer, PR & Marketing Executive
Alex Spencer started her career as an English lecturer teaching 16-18 year olds at a further education college in England, but eventually changed career paths to become a PR and Marketing Executive at the online gift retailer Prezzybox. On the side, she also freelances as a content writer and volunteers for NOW-U, a non-profit organization helping to tackle some of the world’s most pressing environmental and social problems. And she’s also the mum to one.
Follow Alex on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Music Credits
- Tales of the deep by Lama House
- Ambient/Electronic song by Mattia Cupelli
- Giza by Ebb & Flod
- Against A Paler Sun by Hushed
- Uplifting corporate and inspiring by Lesfm
Music provided by Epidemic Sound Pixabay Youtube
Thanks to Grammarly for Supporting Career Relaunch
Built by linguists and language lovers, Grammarly’s writing app finds and corrects hundreds of complex writing errors — so you don’t have to. Career Relaunch listeners can download Grammarly for free by going to GetGrammarly.com/relaunch.