Share this
Embracing the Pivot
by Bridget Eimer on Wed, Apr 6, 2016
As a CPA who formerly worked at a Big-Four public accounting firm I often managed large amounts of client data displayed in Excel. As a means to reorganize and summarize selected data in a spreadsheet, without actually changing any of the data, I used a tool called “pivot tables.”
It was during these tedious tasks that I often found myself wondering how I had ended up in my current position and what choices I had made along the way that had lead me there. Hadn’t I wanted this career? Hadn’t I actively pursued a Big-Four firm and those three precious little letters that follow my last name? Would I ever escape the exercise of scrolling through these seemingly endless spreadsheets and all these pivot tables?
By definition the word pivot, means “the central point, pin, or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates.”
To me pivot meant turning and moving data in order to display information in a desired way, and moving on to my next task. But in a broader sense, pivot meant changing the direction in which I was moving as a person. Over the past year, I learned to embrace the pivot, that is, I looked at the data displayed in front of me and the trajectory that my career was on and would continue to move in, and I pivoted. I manipulated my personal data, my education, credentials, and work experience and decided to change it in a way that more accurately displayed my personality and career ambitions.
I now work as a recruiter, and get to use my personal data, or knowledge and experiences within the accounting and finance industry every day in a way that better suits my personality, and what I want my personal pivot table to look like. While changing jobs (or careers in my case) can certainly be challenging, embracing the career change, or pivot, has made all the difference between scrolling through excel on an everyday basis to doing something I love; helping people like you make the next move in your career by embracing the pivot.
I learned that it is never too late, or in my case too early, to pivot your career. All too often employees stay in their current position because it is familiar and comfortable, without considering what other potential opportunities might be available. I get it, change is hard and for the most part scary but more importantly, necessary.
While the saying, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” always seemed a little too melodramatic for my analytical personality, I now am learning it to be true. However, don’t just take my word for it. If you need more analytical proof that change and variation in your career can lead to your greatest benefit, just look at your desktop. You might just find a practical pivot table and who knows, your new career might just be a few clicks away.
Share this
- October 2022 (2)
- September 2022 (1)
- August 2022 (1)
- July 2022 (4)
- June 2022 (3)
- May 2022 (2)
- February 2022 (2)
- May 2020 (2)
- April 2020 (8)
- March 2020 (6)
- February 2020 (4)
- January 2020 (2)
- December 2019 (3)
- November 2019 (2)
- October 2019 (9)
- September 2019 (6)
- May 2019 (4)
- April 2019 (9)
- March 2019 (7)
- February 2019 (10)
- January 2019 (4)
- December 2018 (12)
- November 2018 (6)
- October 2018 (4)
- September 2018 (6)
- August 2018 (14)
- July 2018 (8)
- June 2018 (7)
- April 2017 (1)
- February 2017 (5)
- January 2017 (8)
- December 2016 (8)
- November 2016 (3)
- October 2016 (7)
- September 2016 (8)
- August 2016 (7)
- July 2016 (6)
- June 2016 (9)
- May 2016 (7)
- April 2016 (9)
- March 2016 (8)
- February 2016 (6)
- January 2016 (8)
- December 2015 (7)
- November 2015 (7)
- October 2015 (7)
- September 2015 (8)
- August 2015 (11)
- July 2015 (8)
- June 2015 (4)
- May 2015 (5)
- April 2015 (4)
- March 2015 (4)
- February 2015 (7)
- January 2015 (8)
- December 2014 (5)
- November 2014 (2)
Comments (3)