Ryanne Waters | Senior Communications Specialist, Freshwater & Food, World Wildlife Fund

A communications expert repositioning her personal communications story.

THE CHALLENGE

I knew I wanted to do something different and to progress in my career but I had no idea what I wanted and how to get there. I didn’t just want to make a job move for the sake of it. I wanted it to fit into a more strategic career trajectory.

THE SOLUTION

Shannon matched my interests with what types of jobs were available in the marketplace. A specific tool from her Shift Careers program that helped a lot was the Dream Job Targeting which I continued to use to help me stay focused when I was looking for jobs.

"Shannon’s knowledge of the social impact and environmental space opened up the options that would suit me best. She helped me figure out where my skills aligned with what the market needed and how that matched to my interests and what I wanted to do."

Also, she developed a career profile for me that would position me fit into a corporate or a non-profit utilizing the skills and experience I already had.

The pandemic took a massive toll on my target sector, the hospitality industry. With Shannon’s tools, I was able to adapt my focus while still staying aligned to my career plan. 

Shannon encouraged me to talk strategically about what I bring to the table. Before, I was downplaying my public affairs and communications experience because I was not interested in doing media pitching and social media management, but Shannon translated it as an asset to my new audience with a wider storytelling / content focus.

THE RESULT

In my new role, I work on issues critical to the hospitality industry and get to work with contacts in that industry that I made during my job search (using Shannon's networking tactics!).

I landed a dream job at a global conservation NGO doing strategic comms and storytelling to elevate freshwater and food issues.

Shannon’s support in identifying my skills and interests aligned to market demand and then to translate my story to resonate with my target audience, was what made it possible.

You can read more about Ryanne's "day in the life" on our Greenbiz Purpose & People column here.