How I put myself out there and transformed my career At the beginning of 2021, I published an article on LinkedIn. Below is an adapted version of that article. By Aithne Molotsane a UCT graduate with a passion for writing. Read her original article on LinkedIn here.
To transition from one career to another is a daunting task, to do it during a global pandemic seems, simply put, absurd. However, here I am doing exactly that. My journey started in March 2020 at the Slay Festival. Bonang Matheba spoke at the event, and just being in the same room with her was inspirational and motivating. There, I also met Mich Atagana, Head of Communications and Public Affairs for Google South Africa and Author of "Moments: Thoughts, feelings, poems and the truths that make us human". When I met her she was, in the spirit of the event, imparting wisdom on networking to a small group of eager faces. She was saying that we shouldn’t be afraid to tell someone that we admire them and would like to get to know, learn from and possibly work with them. This resonated deeply with me. After her session, I told my friend that I would be using that exact advice from Mich, on Mich. Later,
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I went up to Mich and said, “Hi Mich, my name is Aithne Molotsane, a teacher, eager to change careers and I would love to learn from you.” She laughed, said she respected my fortitude and that I could email her and we would take it from there. I soon added freelance editor/writer, proofreader and (once again) student, to the LinkedIn Profile I suddenly needed to create. I completed a Public Relations course at UCT via GetSmarter. Then, I had the privilege of working on the editorial team of Moments, and soon my first official writing job followed for Vannie Kaap’s online news publication and later for Vroumens Magazine. This PR and communications journey started to happen around me. An unlikely source, Bridget Ngcobo (who knew about my career journey) connected me with Ansie Vicente, a professional journalist, highly experienced
