Not all career changes are intentional. Sometimes, the winds shift suddenly, and you have no choice but to adjust—or crash.
That’s exactly what happened to me when my biggest biotech client, ICOS, was acquired by Eli Lilly. Overnight, my entire team and I lost a lucrative contract. The pressure was immense—not just for my own career, but for the people whose careers were, in many ways, tethered to mine.
The only project I could land to keep NWRPros from closing its doors was in healthcare—a field I had never worked in. Neither had my team. But when you’re up against strong winds, you don’t stand still. You move with them.
What followed was a four-year engagement with Group Health Cooperative (acquired by Kaiser), where we built and implemented an outsourced recruiting solution from scratch. We recruited physicians, nurses, healthcare IT leaders, and critical hospital staff—all while navigating an industry we were just beginning to understand. It was a trial by fire, but we not only survived—we thrived. That project became a defining success, proving that with the right mindset and adaptability, you can master new terrain.
💨 Navigating Career Crosswinds
Career shifts—especially the ones you don’t plan for—can feel like chaos. But just like a kite in shifting winds, you can regain control by making the right adjustments:
🎯 Assess the Wind Conditions – When a major shift happens, don’t panic. Step back and analyze where the opportunities are. Healthcare wasn’t on my radar, but it turned out to be a door that opened at exactly the right time.
🪁 Adjust Your Flight Path – You may not land exactly where you expected, but you can still soar. Our team leaned into our expertise in talent acquisition and adapted it for healthcare, proving that skills are often more transferable than you think.
💨 Lean Into the Gusts – Unfamiliar industries, new challenges, and unexpected setbacks can feel overwhelming. But the very things that seem like obstacles are often the winds that lift you higher—if you embrace them.
🙌 Trust the Tension – The right amount of challenge keeps you strong. If I had stayed in my comfort zone, NWRPros might not exist today. Instead, we learned, evolved, and delivered results that even seasoned healthcare recruiters would be proud of.
A strong kite isn’t afraid of the wind. It uses it.
If you find yourself caught in an unexpected career shift, take a deep breath, adjust your strategy, and trust that you have what it takes to soar. You never know—what seems like a detour might just be your biggest success story yet.
What career shift have you faced that ended up shaping your path for the better? I invite your comments. 🚀🪁✨
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