My Career Journey: An Interview
Hi, I am Lindi and this is my career story.
What do you do now?
I am an entrepreneur and mother. I own the Ginger Jam and provide web design/marketing services to small women-owned businesses, I write resumes for job-seekers at all points in their careers, and I am a coach who supports both of those demographics in aligning their goals with their reality.
What was your dream career when you were 17 years old?
I always thought I wanted to be an architect - I loved drawing floor plans and designing houses for fun (and still do!). But I soon realized that architecture was a LOT of math and equations and science; all things that I hated and struggled with. On top of being an architect, I also dreamed of being a mother one day. Obviously this doesn’t require a university degree (although some days, I feel like I need one!), but it was a foundational element that helped me choose my career path. I wanted a career that would:
not cripple me financially in student loans
offer me career on-going satisfaction
be financially rewarding and mentally stimulating
possibly allow me to travel abroad
and allow me to work flexibly when I did have children.
So, I settled on esthetician. I loved it at the time and it was foundational in the rest of my career journey.
Briefly share your career backstory (schools, internships, first jobs, etc.).
My first jobs were entrepreneurial in nature too! At 14-16 years old, I sold grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade cakes, and other treats at our local tennis club on Saturdays when there were league matches taking place. At 17, I landed a job at the health cafe at our local country club and I prepared and served coffee, light snacks, and drinks on the weekends. In between I did babysitting/au pair jobs and even interned as a fashion designer.
After completing my 2 years’ of esthetician school and passing my international exams, I went on to study holistic nutrition.
While in Dubai, I did part-time courses in interior design and served as a key contributor to the design and build out of 2 day spas that my company opened.
The owner of the company took me under his wing and taught me a lot about business which I am forever grateful for. One of the most important things that stood out to me was not to let circumstances stand in your way. So even though I did not have a university degree, I was still promoted to head of marketing and was interfacing with global CEOs and marketing managers with MBAs on a daily basis.
When we moved to the USA, I took a chance on a job posting looking for resume writers and I got it without any experience! I was trained up for the position and have since trained 5 other writers for that company. In this role, I also met a wonderful woman in Raleigh who has become a website client of mine for the last 6 years and she saw potential in me to become a life coach and that is where I am now; going through ICF training to gain my qualification.
Explain how your work relates to classes students might be taking in school.
Art = appreciating shape, form, perspective, colors, and how everything works together to form a good (or bad!!) design. In Dubai, I helped design print ads, tradeshow booths, event collateral, and product labels. I now design websites and logos.
Social Studies = instilled a curiosity for the world and all the people, cultures and religions that it's made up of. Having a sense of openness allowed me to collaborate more easily with people who spoke English as a second or even third language and to find ways to bridge cultural and religious barriers in the business world, especially in Saudi Arabia!
Math = aspect and ratio are a key component of design; small business is a lot about margins, budgeting, profit & loss, taxes, etc! Traveling can also test your brain on currency conversion.
Chemistry = there’s a surprising amount of this involved in the beauty industry especially when it comes to mixing skin care ingredients, nail polish, and hair products!
English = exceptional grammar is timeless and universal, and it can gain you a lot of professional clout and respect. I authored articles for magazines such as Grazia, Viva, Emirates Woman, and Beauty Business, and have ghost written LinkedIn posts for the CIO of Dell EMC Middle East.
Share any helpful advice that you wish you learned or things you had done in school to be more prepared for your career.
One thing I wish someone had spoken to me about when I was deciding on a career path was personal values. I feel that if I had explored my values more deeply, I might have had a clearer vision of how my career path might look in the short and long term, and maybe made a few changes or at least managed my expectations better. Some questions to help you ponder your values can include:
Do you want to bring work home with you?
Do you want to work with people on a constant basis (i.e. customer service), on a regular basis (office clerk), or independently (coder)? Are you energized or drained by social interactions?
Are regular office hours/weekends important for you?
Do you want your hobby to be your career or something you keep to help you unwind/destress?
Do you want to work indoors (nurse), on the road (salesperson), remote, or outdoors (landscaper)? Do you want to sit at a desk/computer or move your body/use your hands?
Share examples of your daily routine that incorporates skills they are learning such as communication, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, writing, etc.
Research = constantly researching different industries and company names when writing resumes. I also have to deeply understand my client’s customers and their wants/needs when designing a website. I am a self-taught web designer so a lot of self-study, research, and practice got me to where I am today.
Planning/organization/prioritization/multi-tasking = there are lots of moving parts when working with multiple projects/clients so being able to focus on what’s important, keep people on task, and hold everyone accountable to deadlines is essential to success. I have also learned to pivot and not be emotionally attached to my ideas/designs.
Communication = open, honest communication is key. Ask questions and have expectations in writing - it will save you a lot of stress! People will also do business with you because of who you are, so don’t be shy to let your personality shine.
Explain the important aspects of your work and how they relate to other jobs within the organization.
When I was in marketing for a large regional distributor in Dubai, I worked regularly with the accounting and finance departments to forecast sales, order multimillion dollar product shipments, manage slow/old inventory, and plan promotions.
I also worked closely with my peers; it was important for our team to support each other professionally and personally and this made a huge difference in determining our departmental success.
Talk about your career path and why you chose to pursue it or how you ended up where you are.
I always knew I didn’t want to follow the traditional college route and I was thankful that I had parents who supported me on this choice. This enabled me to explore various other career paths before settling on Health and Skin Care. I also knew that I wanted to explore the world before settling down, so I was able to hone in on industries and qualifications that could easily “translate” in other countries.
Explain what you like best/least about your job and/or career field.
In my current job, I love having the freedom to work for myself and choose my own hours while being present for my children/family. But that is equally as challenging, especially when a deadline/emergency pops up unexpectedly and throws off plans.
What are your next steps and/or goals for your own career?
Right now I am working towards my ICF coaching credential and I am expanding my business offerings to include more students/young professionals to find their path in a crowded and ever-changing career landscape.
If you have any questions about choosing your career path or questions about my experience, please reach out to me on Lindi@theGingerJam.com