cf #85: what does your career map look like?

You are reading contentfolks—a fortnightly sporadic blend of sticky notes, big content ideas, and small practical examples. Thank you for being here! ~fio

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Hey there 👋

Back in 2023, Elena Verna suggested visualizing your career as a map instead of a chronological list. The argument is that a map makes it easier to see the larger context of your growth and the pivots and leaps you make along the way.

I just celebrated my first anniversary at Float, and thought it would be a good idea to update my map accordingly:

Now—this is the career map of someone with freedom of movement, no dependents, and a bunch of structural privileges that would make it disingenuous to suggest others can/should do what I did. With that said, looking at this map I see three things you may find useful:

1. Know which environment(s) you thrive in

In academia (2009-2013) I was frustrated with the rigidity of existing processes and the general slow pace of everything. In agency (2013-2017) I struggled with the lack of visibility into our clients’ businesses and the feeling that our impact was limited. I did okay in both contexts, but I only understood the difference between ‘okay’ and ‘thriving’ when I moved to my first B2B in-house role.

In 2017, Hotjar was a fast-growing, self-funded software company of about 30 people. There were quick feedback loops, processes to build, opportunities for large-scale impact, and a front-row seat to company strategy—pretty much the opposite of what I’d experienced up until that point, and my brain really enjoyed the new setting.

I have since experienced different company sizes and funding models, and bootstrapped B2B scale-ups under 200 people remain my favourite places for an in-house role. That also explains why, 10+ years into a content marketing career, I have not been a Director or VP of content: those titles usually appear at companies larger or differently funded than the ones I prefer to work at.¹

💡 back to you: can you spot recurring themes or trends in the things that bring you professional satisfaction? Do you have ongoing frustrations or struggles that may be less about the work itself and more about the environment(s) you do it in?Have you identified the specific circumstances you flourish in?

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2. The path is unlikely to be linear

My career map looks like a game of hopscotch—that’s because there were times I made a conscious choice, and others when life made one for me (I bet this is true of most if not all of us).

For example: after my PhD, I had plans to stay in the UK but not a single UK-based company would hire me. Zero. Nada. Instead, there was a digital agency from middle of nowhere, Italy, that needed a proficient English speaker on an international account. Was that my original plan? Nope. But hey, I needed a job, so I went where there was one 🤷‍♀️

Some years later, I got two job offers in the same week: Content Marketer from Hotjar and UX Research Lead from the digital branch of the UK Government.

• Gov.uk = big-name employer, job security, career ladder, seniority, pension, benefits

• Hotjar = tiny software company based in Malta that didn’t even have an office because everybody worked remotely, no formal employment, zero long-term security, title drop and seniority step back

It was a tricky decision. I made an extensive pros-and-cons spreadsheet before taking what Maggie Graham calls a J-curve leap:

A risky career choice [where] you bet that you can transfer the skills you currently have to a completely new environment. I call it the J-Curve because of the trajectory of emotions you go through when you start one of these roles: you leap and for the first 6 months you’re falling until you hit the bottom – you usually feel insecure, stupid, and unsure of yourself among other things. Then, eventually, you realize all that pain was a side effect of learning, and you see that this job has catapulted you to places you’d never dreamed of.

the whole piece is so great, and the drawing is oh-so-accurate

🔑 key learning: unlike with most business charts, it’s okay for your career map not to constantly go up and to the right. Also, all the detours you take will eventually amount to a cohesive story, even if you cannot spot any of the connections in the present.

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3. The people you meet will make a lot of difference

If you are lucky, some of the folks you meet along the journey will send your career into new, often unexpected directions. They will open doors, spot a talent and help you cultivate it, or inspire you to try something new.²

Behind my career map are people like:

• Rebecca, the Director of Marketing and Comms who inspired academia-fio to think about becoming marketing-fio

• Alessia, the Senior Web Analyst who spotted my interest in UX and CRO and started delegating her tasks so I could learn by doing

• Louis, the Strategist who modelled strong vision and ownership and showed me I was more than the resident ‘words’ person

• Justine, the Head of Marketing who became an unofficial mentor and eventually hired me on her team

• Siobhan, the Director of Marketing whose curiosity-focused leadership is impacting how I think about building teams

Not to get too soppy about it, but I quite literally wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t crossed paths with these folks.

💡 pro tip: having good people in your corner makes a huge difference in both the short and the long term. Do you have a network of peers, mentors, and cheerleaders? If not, start building one asap—and then remember to pay it forward whenever you can.

1. Also, high-level roles come with neat compensation packages, but they also tend to bring high levels of stress and intensity—and not everybody is prepared (or willing) to deal with them.

2. Inevitably, there will also be people who make an impact for the wrong reasons: the ones who hold you back, mismanage, and inspire you to quit. Hopefully, they will be but a footnote in the larger history of your career—which is exactly why I put them down here.