Playing To Your Talents

I recently had the opportunity to read a book that helped valdiate some of my experiences in my career over the years. I wanted to share a few of these thoughts with you. First, the book is The Algebra of Wealth by Scott Galloway. If you want to read a “self help” book this year, honestly this one is a great place to start. It wasn’t too long and provided some great insight into navigating your career path and then also managing your finances to set you up for success in the years to come.

For the purpose of this blog post, I wanted to focus on the topic of career path. Specifically in the world of dietetics. There are SO many opportunities and jobs for Registered Dietitians. The first part of the, above mentioned book, focused on navigating a job and a career. Focusing on interests you have and also passions, but realizing that perhaps your passion might not be best suited to be your career. Considering what talents and skills you have leading you to understand the power in those skills.

I am going to use myself as an example. I grew up I did lots of public speaking for a kid. I was a 10 year 4-H member and competed in Public Speaking competitions from the age of 9 through 18 on local, state and even national levels. This time and practice cultivated talents in me surrounding communication and public speaking. Fast forward through high school and college and I always enjoyed doing presentations in classes, teaching and creating educational materials. I graduated from college and looked to pursue a job, jumping into my career! I got a clinical nutrition job working in a hospital. This job description didn’t not really align with these talents that I had in public speaking and communications. For years, I would incorporate these areas of interest into my job. I would do presentations for groups, I would conduct TV/radio interviews, I volunteered to review/create educational content for conferences and I even started this blog! I always got the most joy and fulfillment from using these talents surrounding my communication skills. Now I am working in the field of communications and I am finally using these talents as a main focus of my full time job.

To identify your talents you have to understand:

• talents are skills that make you unique

• talents are skills that come naturally to you and innately are strengths

We all have different talents and sometimes we look at other’s talents and wish we possessed those skills. Embracing these differences is important. Part of growing up and succeeding in your career is realizing your talents and aligning your job role with those innate skills your possess.

I hope that sharing this concept of pursuing your talents will help empower your to reflect on your career and guide you in future job opportunities!

Career Pivot

As many of you may know, I have worked in the field of clinical dietetics since I graduated from Purdue University in 2011. I didn’t necessarily start off wanting to work in clinical, but due to limited job opportunities during a recession I took a full time job that was available. It ended up being a great starting point for me for a clinical dietetic career that lasted for 13.5 years. After starting in August 2011 at a small hospital in Lafayette, IN I moved to two other institutions and ended up at Cincinnati Chilren’s Hospital Medical Center in the NICU. In 2024 it was ranked the #1 NICU by US News & World Report. I was so honored and priveleged to have the opportunity to work with such phenomenal people.

Working with these amazing RDs has been so wonderful!

Fast forward and in December of 2024 I had another opportunity come my way that I was not anticipating. Much like me ended up in clinical in 2011 I have now stepped into a communications role to wrap up 2024. I am so thankful for the network, friendships and experiences I have had working in clinical. I am now taking my love and interest in nutrition communications and made it my full time job. I am now working as a Nutrition Affairs Manager for the American Dairy Association Mideast (which covers Ohio and West Virginia). I am the RD working in Ohio and providing education and communication work to thought leaders while promoting consuming dairy. I am not walking away from my interest and passion in pediatrics and support breastfeeding, but instead pivtoting and moving this focus into another area of dietetics.

For some people this seems like a big pivot and kind of out of the blue. For those that know me well and are familiar with my resume, this is not surprising. This is an area and interst of mine from the beginning. The whole reason I have this website is for sharing nutrition content on this blog and then also videos that were filmed on local media stations where I have lived. Here is a snapshot of some of those opportunities over the years:

• TV segments with local news markets in Lafayette and Indianapolis, IN from 2011-2020.

• Radio interviews and standing segments in Lafayette and Indianapolis, IN from 2011-2016.

• Newspaper interviews in Lafayette, IN from 2011-2014.

• Newsletter/print media in Lafayette and Indianapolis, IN from 2011-2019.

• Work with some social partnering with Feeding Matters and Reckitt Mead Johnson.

• Contract writer and speaker for Reckitt Mead Johnson to share research and scientific evidence surrounding infant formula.

• Co-author for the Academy in Nutrition and Dietetics book Communication Nutrition: The Authoritative Guide published in 2020.

Starting off on a new adventure in December 2024 with the American Dairy Association Mideast.

Redeveloping Yourself

I wanted to continue to talk about this topic of loving yourself and finding ways to reinvent yourself. I feel like this is a great theme for 2020, because this year is just not going how any of us anticipated. This has been so hard for so many people and has left so many of us just throwing our hands up in the air and wondering what to do next.

As you all know this last year my family has moved, I have started a new job, worked to navigate a global pandemic and then left kind of questioning myself. I am so thankful to be employed full time … so this totally ends up being more of a first world problem. So please, recognize that I understand my privilege in this regard.

With all of this change, being up rooted from our close friends and professional networks has really left me feeling like I have been drifting in regards to my career. I knew what I have wanted to do and worked so hard the past 9 years towards reaching my current position. Then now that I am here, I am starting from square one in terms of building relationships and seeing where I fit in here. That has been tough to figure out what I want to continue to move toward and where I want to see myself in the next year, next two years, next five years. I have vague ideas, but with the state of the world and things changes, I am kind of left wondering if my expectations will be reality.

I wanted to share these feelings and emotions with you, because maybe you can relate. This year has been so hard on families and on people’s careers. If you are feeling like you are just floating and not sure what is on the horizon, don’t give up paddling. Stick with small, attainable goals. I am trying to consider larger goals, but working to understand that maybe things will change. So what are your little goals for yourself? I am working towards taking a nutrition exam here in October. Then I want to look at putting together a presentation with some other amazing RDs for a conference in the spring. I am slowly working on building back up my self-confidence and pushing forward on my career path. It feels good to focus on things I can control and work towards meeting those little goals. None of these goals are huge or life changing (I have had enough of those changes for a this year), but it is forward progress and that should be celebrated!

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