Stop Waiting for Permission: How to Actually Execute a Career Change
By Nina — I'm the friend who tells you what you need to hear about your situationship. ·
Look, I get it. It’s July 2026, the mid-year slump is hitting harder than usual, and you’re sitting at your desk—or your kitchen island, let’s be real—staring at your laptop like it’s a toxic ex you can’t figure out how to block. You keep talking about a career change, but you’re treating it like a New Year’s resolution nobody actually expects you to keep. You’re waiting for a sign, a pivot, or a golden ticket.
I’m going to stop you right there: the sign is that you’re bored, you’re resentful, and you’re wasting your best years on a title that doesn’t even fit your vibe anymore. You want the change, but you’re scared of the instability. Welcome to being an adult. Let’s cut the fluff and figure out how to actually move the needle.
Stop Treating Your Career Like a Marriage
We love to talk about "loyalty" to a company like we’re in a long-term commitment. Newsflash: your employer is not your partner. They aren't going to look after you when you’re burnt out, and they certainly aren't going to care if you wake up one day and realize you’ve spent six years climbing a ladder that’s leaning against the wrong wall.
When I left my last firm, everyone told me I was "throwing away" three years of progress. But was it progress if I was crying in the bathroom at 4:30 PM on a Tuesday? No. That’s not progress; that’s a crisis. You don’t need to stay until your contract ends or until you get that next promotion to prove you’re "good enough." You’re allowed to leave because you’re bored. You’re allowed to leave because you want more money. You’re allowed to leave because you just want to do something else.
The “Bridge” Strategy: Don’t Jump Without a Net
I’m a Rebel, but I’m not an idiot. I’m not sitting here telling you to quit your job today, throw your laptop in the East River, and hope for the best. That’s cute for a movie, but a nightmare for your rent payment.
Instead, use the "Bridge" strategy. Identify the skills you have that are actually transferable. If you’re in PR like me, you’re basically a professional translator and cat-herder. Those skills translate to project management, operations, or even content strategy.
1. Audit your actual day-to-day: Write down everything you do that you actually like. Not the stuff you’re good at, but the stuff that doesn’t drain your soul. 2. The Skills Gap: Look at three job descriptions in the field you think you want. What are they asking for that you don't have? 3. The Micro-Project: Spend the next thirty days doing one thing related to that new field. Take a certification class, freelance for a friend, or shadow someone in that role. If you don't like the reality of the work, you’ve saved yourself from a catastrophic career move.
Stop Romanticizing Your “Potential”
We all have this version of ourselves—the version that could be a high-powered creative director or a sustainable tech founder. We spend so much energy romanticizing the "What If" that we forget to do the work.
I see so many people get stuck in the "research phase." You’re listening to podcasts, reading books, and stalking people on LinkedIn. That’s not a career change; that’s just procrastination wrapped in a bow. Action is messy. It involves rejection, it involves fixing your resume for the tenth time, and it involves sending emails to people who might not reply. Stop waiting to feel "ready." You’re never going to feel ready. You’re just going to feel tired of staying the same.
The Reality Check: Who Are You Without the Resume?
This is the part my friends hate, but it’s the truth: you’re identifying too much with your job title. When I left my last relationship, I had to figure out who Nina was without being "the girl who’s been with [Name] for three years." It’s the same with your career. If you’re terrified to switch industries because you don’t know how to introduce yourself at happy hour without saying, "I’m an Associate Director at [Company]," then you’re not holding onto a career—you’re holding onto a crutch.
Your value is not your title. Your value is your ability to solve problems, your network, and the way you show up for the people around you. Once you take the pressure off your career to be your entire personality, the actual process of changing it feels way less like a breakup and way more like a rebrand.
Your July Assignment
I’m not just here to call you out; I’m here to make sure you actually do something. Here is your homework for this week:
1. Update your LinkedIn, but don't hit save. Just refresh the skills section. It’s a mental shift. 2. Reach out to one person who is doing what you want to do. Don’t ask for a job. Ask for fifteen minutes for a "virtual coffee" to talk about their transition. People love talking about themselves; use that. 3. Clean up your finances. If you’re going to pivot, make sure you have a buffer. It makes the transition feel like a choice rather than a panic move.
Look, the world is moving fast, and you aren’t getting any younger. You can spend the next six months talking about how much you hate your job, or you can spend the next six months quietly building the exit strategy. The choice is yours, but we both know the status quo isn't working for you anymore.
Let me know what’s holding you back—seriously, hit me up in the DMs or comment below. What’s the one thing you’re terrified of admitting about your current role? Let’s break it down together.