Meet Viola Brumskine, a woman with many talents and interests.  Viola was a curious child who had many questions about everything.  With lots of energy and even more curiosity, her parents thought steering her towards journalism was appropriate.  By the time she entered Howard University, she was settled on a major in communications with a minor in journalism and public relations.  This initial plan was modified near the end of her undergrad years however, and at graduation, she had earned her baccalaureate degree in intercultural communications with an emphasis in public relations.

 

During the time she was working on the communications degree, Viola enrolled in a debate class.  She found she had an affinity for debate, and when her professor noted this talent, he passed along a favorable word to the Howard mock trial coach. The coach asked her to join the team and when she did, she found most in the group were prelaw majors. Viola then began to give thought to law school too, especially since she found success with mock trial.  She had family who really encouraged her as well, but she felt obligated to complete the undergrad major in communications she had first embarked upon. So at that point, though interested in law school, she was not ready for a commitment yet.

 

Her first job post-graduation was with a lobbyist firm. She spent 18 months in that position during which time she gave much thought to where her career was going.  At the end of that period, she had made a final decision to go to law school and eventually enrolled at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

 

Following law school, she moved home to Maryland and prepared for the bar exam.  Upon completion, she landed a clerkship with the Montgomery County Circuit Court, an impressive early career accomplishment and a solid addition to her resume.  Her heart was still with the mock trial skills she had gained though.  Thus, when the opportunity came along, Viola signed on as a litigation associate at Saul Kerpelman & Associates where she stayed for 6 years. 

 

Midway through her time there, she became restless.  She felt something was missing from her career even though she knew she had a great job many others would envy. She continued to think about what the missing “it” might be.  Finally, she revisited a goal she had considered during her youth. She had wanted to work in some capacity for the United Nations. Now she became focused on bringing that old dream to life.

 

One of the partners at the litigation firm helped her out.  He had a relative who worked for the U.N. who might give her some valuable insight. What she learned was how hard it was to get a job there.  But undaunted, she applied for nearly 100 positions, none of which resulted in a job.  Still she didn’t give up.  At this point she dug in and decided to turn all her attention and focus to her U.N. goal. 

 

A former classmate gave her a call and told her about a potential position she had learned of from friends working at the U.N.  Viola knew what she still needed was to find out the apparent secret to getting hired there.  She discovered through them that she hadn’t understood the recruitment system nor how to communicate what she really had to offer.  Learning this, she was able to fine tune her application and rework her resume, and in a few months she was offered a U.N. position in Dakar, Senegal. 

 

Viola had recently married and had a husband to consider if and when she accepted the post.  He was supportive of her desire to work there, but she explained how being with the U.N. would mean among other things, moving frequently. There would be potentially other sacrifices too that would impact on them as a family if she followed her dream job.  They made the joint decision that Viola would try out the position and see if it was truly what she wanted. Later then they would take a more informed look before she made a firm commitment.

 

Viola’s U.N. employment only lasted for 18 months. She had become ill in Dakar and required medical treatment in the United States.  While being treated in the US, she reflected on the time she had spent in Dakar.  She realized that she had learned a lot from her short stint, but this had not turned out to be the missing “it” job she was searching for.  She explains she felt the U.N. position was a stepping off point for her to something greater though, and after much thought, she believed her next move might be in the area of consulting.  

 

One of the valuable lessons she had gained from her time with the U.N. was how a business reorganization is done.  Since the U.N. was going through a huge reorganization process while she was with them, she was able to observe much about streamlining, facilitating change, evaluating processes, etc.  As she observed, she was fascinated by it all and found herself  closely evaluating every step that had been taken to restructure the vast entity. She now wanted to know more about change management.

 

In fall of 2019, she began exploring the available university study programs in organizational development.  She decided that an executive certificate program offered at Georgetown University in organizational consulting and change leadership might be what she was looking for.  The year-long course was designed for mid-level executives ready to pivot in their careers, and this was exactly what Viola was planning to do. So in January 2020, she began the Georgetown course and learned about the framework for successful consulting.  She was anxious to apply her own experiences, talents and competencies to that framework so she would have the confidence to find her place in the consulting field.

 

Since finishing her certification this past January, she has found a position as a Senior Consultant with a company called Corner Alliance in the Washington, D.C. area. She describes to Amy the work she’s doing there now and gives great advice about what she’s learned in order to make a successful pivot.  Here are some of the takeaways and advice you might find valuable to listen for in today’s podcast:

 

Takeaways:

• Viola set up daily Zoom coffee meetings and networked with many of the professionals she had been taught by, gone to school with or worked with. This extensive networking opened lots of doors
• She hired a career coach/consultant; (her enthusiasm for doing this is truly worth listening to)
• She advises not to despair if you if you don’t know your “dream job” right away, or if you think you’ve found your “dream job” but it doesn’t work out
• She says learning about yourself is crucial if you want to find a position you will truly want to stick with

 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/violalbmoves