True Story

Kate White is a member of our very own advisory network GPS (Group for Purposeful Solutions). She started advising me at Choose on Purpose Institute when her job at a large Wall Street bank ended in Summer 2008. It was the first wave of the meltdown on Wall Street, an adventure to be sure.

A New Yorker through and through, after her layoff Kate wanted to put her Wall Street skills to work in a different way. Looking for more well rounded experience, she wanted to flip her role and work inside a large corporation doing investor relations. Her goal was to combine her financial and relationship building skills to turn her customers' heads.

The challenge was making that happen in NYC, particularly during a summer when the financial markets were starting to unravel. At the same time her mother became ill—so she felt a double whammy. On top of that, she was working on her executive MBA at Columbia and needed to find a way to pay for it, as her former employer had been picking up the tab. That added up to prime opportunity for being overwhelmed and a need to choose each step on purpose.

There were disappointments and some down moments. But Kate was untiring in her commitment to network with as many people as she could about her dream job. Her "Pet Project" (a Choose on Purpose job hunting technique) during this time was contributing to the development of Choose on Purpose. This gave her an outlet for her talents, helped create some structure in a very tenuous time, and provided the opportunity to make a difference.

What separates Kate from the crowd is her ability to structure and network, while she developed the patience to just let things just happen. She held fast to her belief in networking, and even created a map of how each contact led to the next, showing what an amazing web our connections make.

In late October, after the market crash, she got her job offer. By keeping her eye on her target, and networking like crazy, she prevented this recession from getting in her way. She is now the Director of Investor relations at a Fortune 500 company and is completing her MBA. She is thrilled to be on the other side of the business and working in her sweet spot.

Kate started her new job in November, a time when most people would swear there weren't any jobs to be had—especially for an ex-Wall Streeter. Today, she works on paying attention to all the new things she's learning, and enjoying the progress rather than waiting for perfection. And that is working out just fine.

You can connect with Kate by e-mailing us at GPS@ChooseOnPurpose.com.