If someone offers you a golden ticket to become a mentee for a diverse group of design thinking professionals, you just HAVE to take it.
That was my experience a couple of weeks ago -- when I was offered to be a part in the Career Hackathon pilot experience - a solution developed during #HRvsVirus.
I didn’t know what to expect.
I just knew that I needed the time to really reflect on my purpose, values, goals, since I am going through a transition period in life right now. I left the full-time job that I had been at for three years, where I worked as a HR Generalist and a Translator in Japanese/English, and am now preparing to start a graduate degree remotely. I am looking to “rebrand” myself as a student, a translator, and a young professional with HR/DEI background.
I think I have needed help thinking about my life and career for a while, but I hadn’t asked for it. I have a hard time asking for help, especially in professional networks, because I feel like I always have to know what I’m doing. It’s difficult to admit on professional networks that I don’t know what my career plan is. However, it was exactly what I needed to do: showing vulnerability, and trusting that others will genuinely have my back. And it felt good to be heard and supported from a team of empathetic, dedicated, and creative professionals that ultimately formed a fan club for me.
Meeting and connecting with other professionals that I could look up to is always a challenge, and I had been feeling somewhat trapped in my physical location -- a suburban town in Michigan. Then, the COVID crisis made me more comfortable with virtual meetings and online networking. I am grateful for this, because I would never have imagined meeting any of the people I was in the Zoom call with during this weekend if it weren’t for that.
As a result of this experience, I have:
Revamped my LinkedIn profile to reflect my transition and to network consciously with others. Connect with me at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsukumo-niwa/
Started an Instagram page that highlights my bilingual and bi-cultural identity. Follow me at: https://www.instagram.com/tsu_yaku/
Created new business cards. I’m ready for the first face-to-face networking event after COVID -- whenever it is!
Started my lifelong journey of designing my life, pursuing my ikigai.
One opportunity led to another, then to another, then another… and here I am today. I’m excited to keep going forward, knowing that my support network from the HR.Hackathon Alliance always has my back. Hopefully, I can help establish a fan club for someone else one day.
Author: Tsukumo Niwa