Newsletter #1: What your career has in common with Taylor Swift's

Whether you're a certified Swiftie or not, I think we can all respect the career trajectory of Miss Taylor Swift. Her music career has spanned nearly two decades and has made her one of the most famous people in the world. Maybe you're thinking "What could I possibly have in common with a multi-millionaire superstar?"

I'll tell you. 

ERAS. Yes, Taylor's Eras Tour is a nod to the different stages she has had in her career. And guess what? Your career should have eras too. 

Whether you are looking to transition to a new career or you've already found your dream role, if you want long-term career fulfillment, then you likely need to embrace that fact that your career should have several eras.

How does one define these? Well, that's up to you. What roles have you held? What skills have you developed? How have you grown?

Some examples might be:

- Your learning era

- Your leadership era

- Your [enter company name] era

- Your "won't make that mistake again" era

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So why does any of this matter? Do you really need to name your eras like Taylor names her albums? Well, no, but that sure could be fun. 

The bigger picture is that Taylor uses every era to learn and grow as a person and musician. She uses these learnings to feed into her music and get better and better over time. After all, she probably wouldn't be closing in on billionaire status if she had boxed herself in as only a country artist. 

And we should do the same. We should take time to reflect on what we've learned throughout each phase of our career and use that to propel us forward. 

This isn't so much about climbing the corporate ladder as it is about cultivating a career based on professional and personal growth. 

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Here's where this approach has historically broken down in healthcare. Healthcare professionals are accustomed to using continuous learning to apply to their practice. In fact, it's mandated. Continuous education credits must be earned in order to keep one's license in good standing. These learnings are then utilized to inform and improve their ongoing clinical practice. 

The problem? Healthcare workers spend so much time learning new skills to help others that they rarely if ever think about personal or professional development for themselves, which ultimately leads to burnout and stagnation.

In addition, as a society we place far too much emphasis on things like 5 year plans and always going after the next thing, and don't spend enough time reflecting on what we've learned and how to use that to inform our next steps. If I had followed my 5 year plan back in 2014 before I made the leap to digital health, things would be very different for me today.

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So I encourage you to be like Taylor. Use your lived experiences to carve your career path rather than carving one first and trying to fit your life into it.

If that reflection has you feeling ready for a change, check out the below opportunities for some interesting roles in health tech. If that reflection has you ready for a career in pop music...I've got nothing for you but I'll be cheering you on and will take full credit when you make it big.