Career Lesson From A Brand Strategist Consultant At JessKimia Consulting

I think it's the same lesson I've learned, not just for my career but for my personal life. It's really just asking for what you want.

A lot of the work I do with individuals is figuring out what you want so that you can ask for it. The nature of work life and office life has dramatically changed in the past few years. Companies are realizing they have to be more flexible with their employees.

The marketplace for gig work and freelancers has exploded. If someone doesn't want to be in-house, there are plenty of opportunities to seek out other freelance roles. However, I think the biggest thing people believe is that they have to take what they're given rather than ask.

I see this often with women returning to the workplace after having children or taking time off. They feel they've missed out and can only go back to work if it looks a certain way. For me, the biggest lesson is that you'd be surprised by what people are willing to say yes to.

If you're good at what you do, you have leverage. There will always be a market for what you want to sell. You have to figure out where that market is and be clear on what you want to do with your skill set.

Sometimes people just back into opportunities based on what's available or what their friends are doing. They aren't doing the hard work of exploring what they truly want, not just for their careers, but for their lives and how it all meshes together.

At that point, you can get really specific about what you want. For me, the data points have always shown that whatever I've envisioned for myself has ultimately manifested. That's because I started getting really clear on what I wanted to do.