Whenever someone asks to interview me I jump at the opportunity to share my point of view and advice. The opportunity to share and help others has always been the key to why I’ve made certain professional decisions. Recently, writer Kimberly Shorter reached out to me for a piece she was writing on personal reinvention. People reinvent themselves for different reasons including job loss, weight loss, personal tragedy or just because they desire or need a change. I’ve decided to share Kimberly’s questions and my responses here. It’s a bit long so I’ll break it up into a couple of posts.

Q: What does “reinventing oneself” mean to you? How would you define it?

A: There are several ways to reinvent yourself from something as simple as changing your hairstyle to something more complicated such as making a career or lifestyle change. At it’s core, I would define reinventing oneself as making a change (internal and/or external) that has an impact on how you live or feel.

Q: Is reinventing yourself something that we all should do at some point in our personal or professional lives?

A: Yes. We should all aspire to evolve in our personal and professional lives. Sometimes a reinvention is precipitated by a circumstance such as job loss or loss of a loved one (through death or divorce) but that doesn’t have to be the case. We can make the decision to reinvent ourselves because we desire a change in how we look, in our career field or in how we think and present ourselves to the world. As the saying goes, change is good. Just make sure the changes you make are for your own good.

Q: What do you think are some critical situations that would necessitate someone having to reinvent herself?

A: Situations that may cause a woman to want or need to reinvent herself include job loss, divorce, death of a loved one, career change, weight loss or empty nest syndrome. Additionally, if someone is making internal changes via self-help or therapy, she may want to reinvent herself to match her newly found self-esteem/self-confidence/self-awareness.

Q: What are some basic steps you would recommend to someone who seeks to reinvent herself after a crisis, a failure, etc?

A: After a crisis I think the most important step is to acknowledge your feelings and allow yourself space in which to feel them. As you’re dealing with the fallout, if you deem some type of reinvention to be necessary, make a list of what changes you want to make, how you will accomplish them and what you hope the outcomes will be. For example, if you determine you want a new wardrobe, determine how you will accomplish it (shopping, swapping with friends, etc.,) set your budget, make a timetable and, most importantly, think about why you want the new wardrobe and what you hope to accomplish by getting it. Do you need clothes that fit better because you’ve lost weight? Do you need more professional clothes for interviews? Do you need to break out of a style rut? Don’t just run out and spend a bunch of money – have a plan.

Q: How can social media help (or harm) someone’s plans to reinvent herself?

A: Social media can be especially helpful for someone seeking to find a job, change career fields or to establish themselves as an “expert” in a particular field. I believe in transparency and authenticity above all else so I would never suggest that someone be someone other than themselves or that they create an online persona. In certain circumstances however, it could be helpful to create separate accounts focused on connecting with your desired audience.

-Part 2 Coming Soon!-

Have you ever reinvented yourself? Do you want to? Share your story with me!