How I put myself out there and transformed my career

By Aithne Molotsane a UCT graduate with a passion for writing.

At the beginning of 2021, I published an article on LinkedIn. Below is an adapted version of that article.

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,

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 in the public relations field. I am grateful for Mich’s pearls of wisdom on networking – as this journey was taking off, I needed some mentors. I now benefit a great deal from Mich and Anise, my trusted and respected mentors.

Before March 2020, I was a teacher. After March 2020, I became a teacher transitioning to PR and Communications. They say fortune favours the brave. So here I am putting in the time, putting myself out there, being intentional and taking every opportunity to write, edit and proofread.

What’s the moral of the story?

• Say it out loud, and then take the incremental steps. Once I said out loud that I wanted to make the shift away from teaching towards PR and communications, I started taking small steps towards my dream.

• Find your tribe. Mentorship, especially when you are transitioning in your career, is so important. Take feedback, no matter how hard, and keep going, they are building you!

So much has happened since publishing that article. I spoke to three of the CEOs I tagged in my post of the article, and each time I thought, 'this is gonna happen now', but then it wouldn’t.

In April 2021, the CEO of Notation Design reached out to me and offered me my first consistent freelance gig. This was in addition to the existing work I was doing with Mich Atagana, which included two more books. Working for Notation Design, I was doing work I never imagined myself doing, with clients who expected fulltime attention – while I was still doing my day job.

Dave Duarte from Treeshake kept in touch after our initial contact related to the article, and made me an offer in September 2021. The opportunities that came from putting myself out there and continuously putting in the work were just mind-blowing.

By October 2021 both companies had made me permanent offers to start in 2022. MIND BLOWN! I could finally fully transition into phase one of my career in PR and Communications. At the end of October, I resigned from my day job. After many discussions between both companies, I now split my time between the two.

I’ve just worked on my first solo PR campaign with Treeshake, and every time I introduced myself in my new position, it was accompanied by thoughts of immense gratitude. I value both companies tremendously and the role they have played in my transition and I know that I still have a whole lot to learn at both.

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.