The Book Club You Didn’t Know Could Change Your Career

There was a time when I wanted opportunities outside of my immediate role, but I didn't have an obvious way into those rooms.

I didn't have the right title. I wasn't assigned to the projects I wanted exposure to And simply telling people I was interested wasn't going to create experience I didn't yet have. So I tried something different.

I started a book club.

At the time, I wasn't thinking about networking or career strategy. I simply wanted to create a reason for people from different departments to come together and talk.Something interesting happened.

We stopped talking only about books. The conversations moved into leadership, workplace problems, projects, ideas, and what different departments were working on. People I normally wouldn't have interacted with began to know me. And I began to understand their work.

Those conversations eventually led to opportunities to observe projects, learn from people outside my department, and slowly build experience I couldn't have gained from my job description alone.

That book club taught me something I still believe:

Sometimes you don't wait for someone to invite you into the room.

You create a reason for the room to exist.

For anyone trying to break into a new industry or move beyond their current role, networking doesn't always have to mean sending messages to strangers or asking someone for an opportunity.

Sometimes it starts much smaller.

Read something relevant to the field you want to enter. Invite a few people to discuss it. Ask thoughtful questions. Listen to how experienced people think. Let people see how you think too. Don't enter the conversation asking, "What can you do for me?"

Create something useful first.

Relationships develop.

Trust develops.

And eventually, someone may say:

"You should sit in on this meeting."

"We're working on something you might find interesting."

"Would you like to help with this project?"

That's how my portfolio began growing. Not through one dramatic career break. Through conversations.

The lesson wasn't really about books. It was about creating proximity to the work I wanted to understand.

When the traditional door into an industry feels closed, don't spend all your energy knocking harder. Sometimes you need to build a side door.

Mine happened to begin with a book.