Kimberly B. Cummings - Next Move, Best Move

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781119736226 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781119736240 (ePDF)

ISBN 9781119736233 (epub)

COVER DESIGN: KIMBERLY B. CUMMINGS

AUTHOR PHOTO: JEROME SHAW

This book is dedicated to any professional who has felt overlooked, unappreciated, and undervalued. With your next move, you have the power to change the trajectory of your career.

If we've learned anything from COVID‐19, it's that nothing is certain. The world – including businesses, finances, and careers – can change on a dime. I don't know about you, but there were plenty of moments during the pandemic when I wished I had a personal advisor telling me how to handle it all.

Even in nonpandemic times, that would be pretty amazing, don't you think?

Well, I have good news. Kimberly B. Cummings is that advisor, and reading this book is like having Kimberly as your own personal career and leadership coach. On every page, you'll benefit from her extensive experience in university career services, corporate talent development, and diversity and inclusion. Whether you are a student, recent graduate, early or mid‐career professional, Kimberly will provide you with tactical, tangible tools to achieve success and become the leader you want to be.

I first met Kimberly at a career services event where I was speaking about my second book, Becoming the Boss . She came up to chat after my presentation (she will teach you how to network like that!) and we began a conversation that has lasted for more than a decade over breakfasts, lunches, coffee dates, phone calls, and Zoom chats.

As you'll soon discover, one of my favorite things about Kimberly is her positivity. You'll experience this through all the personal stories she shares of her own successes and challenges and the wonderful career affirmations that start each chapter. She deeply believes that everyone – and women and people of color in particular – can create both financial success and the lifestyle they want. (And if you're not sure yet what lifestyle you want, she'll help you figure that out, too.)

Kimberly also believes that every individual can be a leader, regardless of his or her career level or specific job function. I couldn't agree more. As she writes, “Being a leader has less to do with a title and more to do with the influence you bring to the workplace.” That influence is what allows you to live and work according to your values. It enables you to advocate for yourself. And it helps you to construct a reputation, relationships, and a track record of success that will extend beyond your current job.

Kimberly's business is called Manifest Yourself, and that's exactly what you'll experience on the following pages. With Kimberly's coaching, you'll begin to create a career with true longevity. No matter what happens in the world, in your industry, in your organization, and in your personal life, you'll attract opportunities and continue moving forward to achieve your goals and live the life you want.

I can't wait to see you what you accomplish.

Lindsey Pollak

New York Times bestselling author

Before we dig into the introduction of this book, I'd like to define career transition . Many professionals believe that a career transition means moving from one industry to another, but a transition is simply a shift from one state of your career to another. In this book's context, a career transition is defined as any type of career movement, such as graduating from an undergraduate or graduate‐level program and shifting to your first professional job. It can also be defined as the shift of accepting a promotional or lateral opportunity at your current company, moving to a new industry, or choosing a lateral or promotional opportunity at a new company. Last but not least, a career transition can also be a mental transition from moving from being just another employee at your company to becoming a leader in your workplace.

This book has a specific purpose.

I wrote this book for professionals who feel as though it's too late to change the trajectory of their careers. They are frustrated and contemplating how they ended up at that exact desk, in‐person or virtual, when they knew they were destined for more. Many professionals have experienced that moment when they look up at the ceiling and ask, “How did I end up here?”

Even if “here” is going well, many times professionals who have been able to navigate their careers to a certain level start to look back and wonder how they can be strategic in their next career moves. For years, they may have landed job after job, but something has changed and they know it's their job to fix it.

Perhaps you feel unappreciated, overlooked, and underpaid for the talents you know you have, and you are underutilized in your current role, too. You also know that if your supervisor asks you to complete one more thing, that you're ready to give him or her a piece of your mind and tell him or her to do it instead. Better yet, your supervisor should give it to your co‐worker who you know is getting paid more than you for the same work.

Or maybe you've reached a new level in your career and how you move as a professional needs to change. You're finally ready to position yourself as a leader, and you know that it's time you build your first career strategy versus relying on your manager or company to do it for you. Your next move will require something different and you're not quite sure what that is just yet.

The good news is there's a light at the end of the tunnel of this terrible thought process, and that's the fact that you recognize something isn't right. You realize you're undervalued, and you believe you are destined for more – but what is more? Luckily, this book is designed to take you to the next level in your career to achieve more – to a level that allows you to finally be seen as the leader you know you are, the leader you've been all along. You know, the leader in the office who gets first pick on key projects, becomes the go‐to for stakeholder presentations, is widely respected in the office, and has a presence that is not only felt but known and acknowledged.

For the record, I believe that every professional has the potential to be a leader in his or her role. Being a leader has much less to do with a title and more to do with the influence you bring to the workplace. In any role you occupy, you can position yourself as a leader. I really don't care about your level, whether you're an executive assistant or the director of a department, because leading is about your ability to influence and master the work you do in a way that helps you guide and empower others in the workplace. Leading does not always mean managing, either. You can lead without having a staff to instruct or supervise.

In 2011, I learned this lesson in my first role as a career development counselor. My then co‐worker, now best friend, Amber, said I walked into the office on the first day like I was ready to take over. While I disagree with that statement, I will share that I was ready to build a career for myself and probably walked into my first day of work a tinch overzealous.