How to Design Your Own Career Path as a Mid-Career Woman

Stuck in the Middle? You’re Not Alone. Many mid-career finance professionals tell me they feel stuck: solid track record, heavier responsibilities but no clear path to career growth. Titles freeze. Pay flattens. The work widens but doesn’t elevate. Good news: you don’t need a miracle; just a deliberate shift. Here’s a practical framework with 3 paths and concrete choices that can restart your career. 1) ENRICH: Win where you already are. Raise your value in the current role so the decision-makers and search firms ‘see’ you differently. i) Reposition yourself. Reframe your role around outcomes (ROIC, cash, growth) instead of tasks (closing, reports). Update your title/summary, talking points, and success stories to influence business partner, not reporting owner. ii) Re-brand yourself. Rephrase your LinkedIn headline, bio, and content to reflect the role you want next (Strategic Finance | Value Creation | Board-facing). One strong case study post on LinkedIn beats ten random shares. iii) Build Networks Systematically add peers, CFOs, and professionals in your network. Join 1–2 high-profile communities and show up in discussions. This approach compounds existing credibility. You’re not changing jobs; you’re changing perception and impact. Low risk, fast results. 2) EXPAND: Add capability the market pays for. Focus on skills that unlock scope, salary, and optionality. i) Develop Digital/AI Expertise Learn how data/AI changes forecasting, pricing, working capital, and productivity. Create one visible analytics win (e.g., forecast error, DSO). ii) Explore Entrepreneurship Lead a new revenue stream, internal venture, or profit-improvement play. Act like an owner; document the economics. iii) Major Upskill (CFO Program) A structured program accelerates executive thinking, boardroom skills, and cross-functional influence. Use that toolkits on a real business problem. This approach works because markets reward capability that moves P&L and cash. Expansion makes you the person who can create value, not just track it. 3) DIVERSIFY: Change the landscape, not your standards Step into an environment where your strengths become scarce and valuable. i) Switch Industry Move to a sector with better unit economics or momentum (recurring revenue, industry growth). Translate your wins into that industry's language. ii) Switch Geography Target markets with higher demand for senior finance talent or better comp structures. Build local strategic relationships before you move. iii) Switch Role Lateral into FP&A/Commercial Finance/Strategy/Corporate Finance if you’ve been caged into controllership. Choose the seat that gets you closest to decision-makers. A new environment resets the game. Your current ceiling is often contextual, not personal. Diversifying gives you optionality and a fresh trajectory. Stack them. Enrich for quick wins. Expand for capability. Diversify when the right door opens. If you need more guidance with your career, let me know.

One of the talks I’ve given to a few teams internally at Microsoft is “PMing your career”. Mid-career is the perfect time to step back, see yourself as a ‘product,’ and start managing your career with intention and strategy. Here are 5 axioms I use as part of the frame: ➡️1. Treat your career as a Product with a strategic fit: Every high-performing professional has a unique value proposition. Regularly assess your Personal Product-Market Fit (PMF) to ensure that your strengths, skills, and how you’re positioning them align with the needs of your industry and your company. Strong careers, like great products, adapt to stay relevant and strategically fit. This helps you identify places you might need to grow too. ➡️2. Your resume is (kind-of) Product Review Document (PRD): Like a PRD highlights a product’s features, your resume should capture your top achievements and core skills. Keep it current and aligned with your goals, showcasing how your career product has evolved. ➡️3. Use feedback as your career “Customer Review”: Just as products thrive on customer feedback, your career benefits from input from mentors, peers, and leaders. Thoughtfully incorporate this feedback to stay aligned with your goals and make strategic improvements. ➡️4. Set a career Roadmap: Map out your career with a focus on strategy and clear goals. These checkpoints – skills to gain, connections to build, and roles to pursue – keep you moving toward your vision of success and position you for future opportunities. Ask others who have already taken the path what the checkpoints are. ➡️5. Embrace phases as part of your strategy: Like product lifecycles, careers have phases. In early roles, focus on mastering foundational skills; as you advance, lean into influence and decision-making; and eventually, hone discernment for opportunities. Each stage strengthens your overall career strategy. Hope this helps you today

A recent conversation with a mentee trying to navigate the next steps in their career reminded me of an essential rule I always emphasize: You own your career, therefore you have to be in the driver's seat. They recently received some feedback from their manager that was confusing as it didn’t align with previous feedback. The conversation on next steps was very vague. Reality check: waiting for clear guidance or validation from others can leave you stuck in neutral. Instead, you must proactively manage your own career path. Here are a few things I suggested: 1. Do a Self-Assessment You need to understand your strengths, weaknesses, passions, and career aspirations. Identify what excites you and where you see yourself in the future. Remember they can all change due to new experiences and gaining new skillsets. 2. Seek Constructive Feedback While feedback from leadership is valuable, it’s important to triangulate. Reach out to mentors, peers, and others in your function that you admire for their insights. Feedback is just one piece of the puzzle. Use it as a tool for improvement, not as a definitive roadmap. You never know when you might run into an unconscious bias. 3. Continuous Learning and Development I’m ever curious and always looking for learning opportunities. Look for opportunities to learn from other functions. The business world is continusly changing, and staying on top of the game, requires investing time to learn. Stay informed about your current industry trends but also look for best practices in others. 4. Advocate for Yourself People can’t read your mind, so they don’t know what your career goals and aspirations are. Don’t be afraid to articulate them to your leadership. Express your interest in new projects, responsibilities, or roles that align with your goals. 5. Adaptability and Resilience Career paths are rarely linear. My own has been a lattice. Be adaptable. Embrace challenges and view setbacks as learning experiences. Being in the driver's seat of your career means taking an intentional role in your professional development. While others can give you guidance, the ultimate responsibility for your career lies with you. What else would you tell him?

Most mid to late-stage career transitions are under-institutionalized.* There is no template for next steps, no clear timeline for moving from Point A to Point B, and until recently, there were no obvious role models or functional mentors for this kind of thing. I support clients in this position, established professionals with impressive track records but a desire for more, and a sense that opportunity for greater impact is right around the corner. People reach out after they've exhausted everything they can figure out on their own. They're eager to dive into coaching and invest fully in the journey. Readiness like this can't be forced, so for those of you who are coaching-curious but not quite ready, I have two suggestions: 👉🏼 Suggestion 1: Embrace brain loops 👈🏼 Brain loops eliminate doubt not through positive thinking but through concrete action. When you're building a career without precedent, brain loops can be gamechanging. While still in my last full-time role, I took on one advisory client and two coaching clients. These were seemingly small but super intentional experiments. I needed to start building my own brain loops - the pattern of I wanted this specific thing → I created the conditions → it happened. Each client conversation and client win was additional evidence that I could do the work, not just wish for it. When you're moving into something different - not just more-of-the-same at a higher level - brain loops become your compass. One intentional experiment creates evidence that the next step is possible. 👉🏼 Suggestion 2: Find a functional guide 👈🏼 Track down people who have built careers similar to your chosen path. Here are some exceptional guides I recommend: 📌 Meghan Hardy built such a successful fractional CMO practice that people sought her advice about how to do the same. Her Fractional Fridays newsletter is a great place to start. 📌 Emily Hollender recently taught a Maven course about going from full-time to fractional. Her depth of knowledge and teaching style are exceptional. Don’t sleep on what she’s offering. 📌 Shaina Anderson & Harry Siggins teamed up to offer Manual Override - an accelerator for tech leaders building independent, skill-based businesses. 📌 Connie Liu founded Tandem to offer mentorship (and function-based coaching) in every startup domain. Want to migrate into customer success at the leadership level? She's got a mentor for you. Think you're ready for coaching? Let's talk. Think you're not quite there? Let me know if the above suggestions prove helpful, and if you reach out to any of my friends, please mention I sent you their way.

Most career transition advice is garbage if you're mid-career and don't want to start over as a junior. I'm tired of seeing experienced professionals told to "take a step back" or "pay their dues again." That's not how smart transitions work when you've already built serious expertise. Here's what actually works: 1. Reverse mentoring - Find senior leaders in your target industry who need what you know. Tech adoption, generational insights, emerging markets - you're the expert they need. 2. Build thought leadership first - Start speaking at industry events, writing for trade publications, getting on conference panels. Establish credibility before you make the move. 3. Join advisory boards - Startup or growth company boards give you industry experience and senior-level connections without leaving your current role. 4. Skill arbitrage - What's common knowledge in your industry but rare gold in another? That's your unique value proposition right there. 5. Interim executive roles - Get intensive industry exposure and network building at the C-suite level, not the intern level. 6. Partnership development - Use your expertise to help companies expand into your sector. These often become bridge opportunities. 7. Innovation projects - Cross-functional initiatives expose you to new business models and industry applications. The goal isn't to abandon what you've built, it's to leverage it strategically. You're not starting over; you're expanding your empire. What unconventional transition strategies have you observed or implemented in your career development? Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://vist.ly/3y8qb #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careertransition #midcareer #executivetransition #careerstrategist

Reinventing Your Career Path? I've walked the path from civil engineering to career coaching. My latest podcast episode explores the challenges and opportunities of changing careers mid-way. Whether you're feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or just curious about what else is out there, I cover everything you need to know to take control of your career journey. 🎙️ Key Takeaways: ✅ Why many of us settle for less in our careers—and how to break free. ✅ Common myths about mid-career changes and the truth behind them. ✅ How to align your career with your values, skills, and passions. ✅ Practical steps to explore new opportunities and make the leap. ✅ Navigating challenges like self-doubt, financial concerns, and external pressures. Remember, the second half of your life can be the best half. It’s never too late to create a career that truly resonates with who you are. 🌟 👉 https://lnkd.in/d_XMGSS 💬 Have you gone through a career change, or are you considering one? I’d love to hear your story—drop me a message or share your thoughts in the comments! #CareerChange #MidCareer #CareerGrowth #Podcast #CareerCoaching #ReinventYourself

As a hiring manager at Amazon, I have seen many amazing women who stayed stuck in the same role for 4+ years. (Most of them were extremely talented.) They were ready to step into better roles. But no one showed them how to step into leadership. Here’s what kept them stuck: → They waited for “recognition” instead of asking for growth. → They thought doing more would eventually get noticed. → They avoided tough conversations about scope, promotion, and title. If you're not managing your career with intention, the system will manage it for you. Here's what you must do to progress in your career: 1. Stop waiting to be tapped. Start raising your hand. → Passive: “I’m happy to help with anything the team needs.” → Proactive: “I want to lead the next cross-functional project. Here’s how I’d approach it.” 2. Speak in business outcomes — not effort. → Generic: “I’ve been working really hard this year.” → Strategic: “The product rollout I led drove a 27% increase in customer retention across 3 regions.” 3. Ask for the title. Ask for the promotion. Ask for the next level. → Unclear: “I’m open to growth opportunities.” → Direct: “I’m operating at the next level. What would it take to formalize that with a promotion?” 4. Build relationships before you need them. → Missed opportunity: “I’ve never really worked with that VP.” → Career insurance: “I meet 1 new stakeholder every month — so when I need a sponsor, I already have trust.” 5. Document your wins, and share them. → Hidden impact: “It’s all in the team drive.” → Visible impact: “I maintain a monthly wins deck - and use it in every skip-level, 1:1, and review cycle.” One of my clients: → Spent 6 years in the same IC role. → Got promoted to Sr. Manager in under 4 months. → Added $70K to her total comp, by getting into another role without switching companies. Want to learn how? DM me "Career" to apply for The Fearless Hire - my strategic career accelerator for ambitious women. Get an exact roadmap that has helped 300+ women land senior roles in Amazon, Meta, eBay, and other companies. 

If you're a mid-career professional who keeps getting passed over, you've probably felt this: You're everyone's go-to person... But nobody's first choice for promotion. You train people who get fast-tracked. You work 12-hour days while others leave at 5 and still get recognized. You carry the team but get rewarded with tactical work. But here's the thing: Your work ethic isn't the problem. Your lack of strategic selfishness is. You've been taught that being a "good team player" means saying yes to everything and putting everyone else's goals first. Think of it like being the best supporting actor in everyone else's career movie. You're amazing at your role, but you're never going to win the Oscar because you're not the main character. The most successful people aren't the hardest workers They're the most strategically selfish with their time, energy, and visibility. Here's how you can start being strategically selfish: Stop doing work that showcases other people's expertise. Before taking on any project, ask "How does this serve MY goals?" If it doesn't build your reputation or skills, delegate it or decline. Start asking "What's in it for me?" before saying yes. This isn't selfish. It's strategic. Your career isn't a charity. Every opportunity should either teach you something, connect you with someone, or position you for what's next. Get comfortable taking credit for your work. Document your wins. Speak up in meetings. When someone compliments your work, say "thank you" instead of deflecting. Your accomplishments won't promote themselves. So, ask yourself: What would you do differently if you treated your career like a business and yourself as the CEO? Stop being professionally selfless. It's not working. 💫Repost to help others stop getting passed over 🌻Follow Cassie Lincoln for career insights