Launching Rise: the how

Launching out on your own can seem daunting, particularly when you've spent the bulk of your career in one setting (in my case, academia). My last post was about why I decided to leave academia to start Rise. This post has tips for making that type of move.

In thinking through this post, I talked to many of my grad school peers who pursued non-academic jobs. Some ended up in government, some in industry, and a handful launched out on their own. While this post is perhaps most applicable to those thinking about leaving academia, the insights apply across professional transitions.

First, some advice if you've decided to depart from your current professional path but don't know where to go:

1. Talk to people in different jobs about their jobs. Ask them what they like about the job, what they don't. Ask what makes someone a good fit for the job, what doesn't. What they did before and where they see themselves down the road. This one may seem obvious, but it is something I wish I had done more of.
2. Try other types of jobs. If you're at a university now, maybe this means interning in a government or industry job. For me, it meant working part-time at a social policy think tank while I was finishing my dissertation. These types of opportunities can come about informally (mine did) - so reaching out to people or organizations that you are interested in working with can be a way to secure a temporary position or internship.
   

If you're considering jobs outside of university settings, build skills that will apply in a variety of professional settings:

1. Practice communicating to different types of audiences. Those currently in universities know how hard it is to translate the highly technical language of academia to an outside audience. I had the good fortune of being in an interdisciplinary policy program and was always translating my research across disciplines and professional groups. In practice, this looks like like presenting at non-academic professional conferences or writing up your work for newsletters and blogs.
2. Related to the point above, learn how to frame your experiences in ways that are more broadly understood. As one of my peers who now works in government noted: "Getting grants... translates to “resource management” in non-academic speak. Think of your committee members as stakeholders that you need buy-in from. And think of the dissertation as project management. I think being able to frame the PhD in those terms helps with non-academic jobs and helps others who don’t have a PhD understand why your experience is an asset."
3. Build up those skills that translate easily. If you're good w/numbers, take additional data analysis classes, perhaps in a business or policy school, to broaden your understanding of where such skills might be useful. If you're good with languages, take advanced language classes.
4. Don't downplay your practical experience. As one of my peers who now works at a policy research organization noted: "across disciplines we’re looking to see actual engagement with data and with the programs being studied. So less theory, more talking to and working with people on the ground."

If you're thinking of launching out on your own:

1. Do some market research. Who would you work with and what type of work would you do? Is there evidence that other freelancers or small businesses are making it work? How would you find work and secure those contracts?
2. Engage a business coach. They can help you identify your strengths as well as figure out some of those business concepts (like what the heck is marketing and why should I use LinkedIn?). I've spoken at length on social media about how awesome Stephanie Evergreen's mentoring was for me (you can find her recently launched class here), but you can also find great classes and resources through government programs (like this one in MN) or nonprofits like SCORE.
   
3. Find a group of others who are going through it too. Becoming your own boss can be a steep learning curve and it's helpful to have people to bounce ideas off of who identify with what you're going through.

Finally, once you're at the point of applying to new jobs or building your own professional network, my super smart cousin who went the industry route (to Indeed, no less) had some awesome practical advice: "I wish every grad program included a career planning course where students:

• Sharpen their resume (both academic and industry options)
• Draft a cover letter (one for each track),
• Conduct 3 informational interviews,
• Join 3 organizations or networking groups,
• Secure their own personal board of directors comprised of their champions representing a variety of industries and levels of tenure,
• Hold 5 mock interviews with their peers,
• Develop their portfolio showcasing excellent writing samples and projects, 
• Develop a budget based on projected income,
• Research LinkedIn profiles of people in roles of interest.

Full disclosure: it took me awhile to figure out that entrepreneurship was the way to go. Before starting Rise, I applied to a range of jobs in government, at think tanks - even some at university-based research centers. None of them had what I was looking for, but all of them helped me learn about other types of jobs -- eventually getting me to where I am now.