By Antonia Dean
The job market is sending mixed signals. While recent employment reports suggest hiring remains steady overall, many industries, particularly technology, continue to experience layoffs, hiring freezes, and restructuring. Black women have been disproportionately affected. More than 700,000 Black women left or were pushed out of the workforce, a trend economists have described as an alarming indicator of broader economic weakness because Black women have long been among the most active participants in the labor force.
For professionals considering a career change, the uncertainty can make taking the next step feel risky. For Black women, the decision often carries an added layer of complexity. Many of us have spent our careers becoming experts in environments where we felt we had to prove ourselves every day. We’ve learned to keep our heads down, outperform expectations, and become known for one thing. So when the desire to pivot emerges, it’s easy to question whether we’re qualified to change lanes or whether we’ve earned the right to.
I’ve wrestled with these thoughts myself.
I began my career on a corporate law path, then pivoted to lead brand strategy in the cosmetics industry, transitioned from beauty into startup leadership roles, and eventually made the leap into venture capital, where I now invest in early-stage technology founders. Each transition required me to step into unfamiliar territory, learn new skills, and build confidence before I felt fully ready. I realized that a career pivot isn’t about abandoning who you’ve been. It’s about expanding who you can become.
Below are five steps you can apply for how to successfully navigate your next career pivot during uncertain times.
Stop Asking for Permission to Reinvent Yourself
One of the biggest myths about career changes is that they have to make perfect sense to everyone else.
As Black women, we’re often encouraged to stay where we’ve proven ourselves. Success can become its own trap. Once people know us for one thing, they expect us to continue doing it indefinitely. Over time, it’s easy to confuse your job title with your identity and believe that changing directions means leaving your success behind.
But you don’t have to spend your entire career honoring a version of yourself that no longer fits. The subject of your degree, the industry where you’ve grown, the titles you’ve earned, none of these are life sentences. Your interests will evolve. Your priorities will change. The industries around you will transform. Allowing yourself to change with them isn’t a sign of growth. Reinvention doesn’t erase your accomplishments. It builds on them.
You don’t need permission to pursue work that better aligns with the person you’re becoming. The confidence to pivot starts with believing your experience has prepared you for more than one path.
Your Skills Are More Transferable Than You Think
One of the biggest mistakes
professionals make during a career pivot is focusing on what they lack instead of what they already bring. For many Black women in the workplace, imposter syndrome can intensify this, especially when navigating environments where we are underrepresented. It becomes easier to question qualifications than to recognize the full value of lived experience and professional expertise already built.Before entering venture capital, I wasn’t starting from scratch. Years of building brands, understanding consumers, leading teams, and thinking strategically prepared me to evaluate founders and help companies grow. The industry changed. My strengths didn’t.
Take inventory of the experiences you’ve accumulated throughout your career. Leadership, communication, problem-solving, relationship building, and strategic thinking across industries.
Employers increasingly value people who can learn quickly and solve problems from multiple perspectives. Your experience is broader than your current job title, even when it doesn’t always feel that way.
Build Your Next Chapter Before You Leave the Current One
Some of the strongest transitions happen gradually. As Black women, we’re often conditioned to pour our energy into excelling in our current role, solving problems, and creating value for our employer. But it’s just as important to invest in your own future before you’re forced to make a change. Building your next chapter while you’re still employed gives you more options, confidence, and control over your career.
Take a class. Attend industry events. Find mentors. Volunteer for projects that expose you to new skills. Write about what you’re learning. Build relationships with people already doing the work you aspire to do.
Think of your pivot as a series of intentional experiments rather than one dramatic leap. Every conversation, project, or new skill helps reduce uncertainty and increases confidence before you make your next move.
Don’t Mistake Learning for Starting Over
One of the hardest parts of changing careers is accepting that you’ll be learning new things in a new environment. For high achievers, that can feel uncomfortable.
But learning something new doesn’t erase everything you’ve already accomplished.
This is especially true for Black women, who are often conditioned to believe we have to know everything before speaking up or contributing. We can become so focused on proving ourselves that we forget our perspective is part of what makes us valuable.
Being new to an industry doesn’t mean you’re bringing nothing to the table. Your experiences, leadership style, and way of solving problems can introduce fresh thinking that organizations desperately need. Sometimes the people closest to an industry become too familiar with the way things have always been done. Someone with a different background often sees possibilities others miss.
The goal isn’t to become an expert overnight. It’s to embrace the learning curve without questioning your worth. The professionals who thrive aren’t the ones who know everything on day one. They’re the ones who stay curious while remaining confident in the value they already bring.
Build a Career That Can Grow With You
Career pivots have become a defining feature of modern work. Entire industries are being reshaped by artificial intelligence, new technologies, and changing economic conditions. The ability to adapt is becoming one of the most valuable career skills anyone can develop.
A difficult job market can make change feel intimidating, but it can also create an opportunity to redefine success on your own terms.
Don’t focus solely on finding your next job. Focus on building a career that has room to evolve as you evolve. Because your career is defined by your willingness to keep growing even when the road ahead looks different than the one you originally planned.
Antonia Dean is Partner at Black Operator Ventures (Black Ops VC), an early stage VC firm.