March 11, 2025 • 12 mins
Meet the “Queen of Pivots”! In this Career Chat, Rhona Pierce shares how she overcame years of job search rejection after moving to the U.S. by thinking outside the box. Her 90-second video cover letter changed everything—landing her interviews almost instantly!
What You’ll Learn:
✅ How to pivot careers without taking a pay cut
✅ Why video cover letters can transform your job search
✅ How to use personal branding & networking to land better jobs
✅ The power of LinkedIn voice recordings in catching recruiters' attention
If you’re struggling with career transitions, don’t miss these game-changing tips! 🎯 Listen now!
Connect with Rhona:
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonabarnettpierce/
🌐 Website: https://perceptiblestudios.com/
🎙️ Podcast: https://www.throwouttheplaybook.com/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhonabpierce/
🔔 Subscribe for more tips on workplace survival and career success!
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to another Career Chat.
Bite Size Inspiration on theTransparenature Podcast.
Today we have Rona with us aswe dive into our Career Chat.
Rona, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you so much for having me on the podcast today.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So let's get into this career chat.
Here's a thought to kick us off.
Okay, If fear of the unknown isholding you back from a career
pivot, remember growth andcomfort rarely exist.
Actually, they rarely coexist.
Stepping into the unknown couldlead to your greatest
opportunities.
Rona, you are the queen ofpivoting.
(00:50):
Tell us what do you think aboutthis quote, and even diving
into your career journey to helpour listeners today.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, I 100% agree with that quote and, like you
said, yes, I call myself thequeen of pivots and I am a
self-described and very proudjob hopper.
And I'm proud of it because Ithink as humans we change, our
interests change, and a lot ofmy pivots have been because I've
(01:21):
changed what I've wanted to do,but they've also been because
I've been forced to do thingsfor external circumstances.
I am from Panama, in CentralAmerica, and I moved here to the
US 15 years ago and what Ithought my career was going to
be here, which was acontinuation of what I was doing
back home, didn't exactly workout to be that way.
(01:43):
So I had to pivot, because Ialways think of it as, like,
there's two options I can sithere and feel sorry for myself
and that things aren't going theway that I want, or I can take
control of my career and do whatI need to do, because, at the
end of the day, we all havebills to pay.
That's really why we work.
(02:05):
Yes, I absolutely love what Ido, but I 100%.
If I did not need to pay billsprobably wouldn't work.
So I always I always figurethat out and I always think,
like, look, I can sit here and Ican feel sorry for myself.
I'm not getting jobs, I'm notdoing this, I'm not doing that,
and when I talk about my story Itell people so back home.
(02:28):
I was a regional operationsmanager for a software
development company.
I thought I'll just move here,I'll take a few months to be a
new wife in a new city and thenI'll apply for jobs, right?
Well, it took years to getinterviews.
Wow, I live in a city thatmaybe isn't that immigrant
friendly, and I'm sure peoplehad ideas in their head of like
(02:50):
they're seeing this resume witha ton of international
experience but no experiencehere.
So they were probably thinkingI needed a visa, sponsorship or
any of these things, you know.
So what I did was you know what, if they aren't going to invite
me to an interview, I'm goingto invite myself.
And no, I didn't barge intoanyone's office.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I'm an introvert.
I didn't do that.
Tell us how you did that.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
I created a video cover letter and I shared a
quick video.
It was a 90 second video whereI shared about my background and
my experience.
I kid you not, I startedgetting interviews.
I like, literally after yearsof of not getting anything, of
getting ghosted or gettingrejected, I started getting
interviews and I got a jobwithin a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Wow, that's an amazing story.
And and really, when you saidthat like doing a 90 second
video, and really when you saidthat like doing a 90 second
video, really thinking outsideof the box, Right, Because I
think in the challenge intoday's workforce and trying to
apply for jobs and getinterviews is that it's just so
(03:57):
many people out there gunningfor the same role that you're
trying to search for.
And again, you talked aboutyour challenges with coming from
a different country, right.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Country right, and so that alone within itself.
Again, you talked about, youknow, having visa and
sponsorship, and a lot ofcompanies just don't want to
deal with that.
So, really findingopportunities and ways to bring
yourself out, I think that's anamazing story.
A portion of my career.
(04:32):
There was a time where I had aterrible leader that came in and
just had a different vision forwhere I seen myself growing
into and I had to pivot notnecessarily outside of HR,
because my career has been, ormy professional career has been
(04:53):
100 percent HR Right, but, youknow, finding other job
opportunities, and one of thethings that my God brother
shared with me is, hey, you needto reach out to those hiring
leaders on LinkedIn or findtheir emails so you can have a
conversation with them and guesswhat.
(05:15):
You can have a conversationwith them and guess what.
I reached out and this oneparticular lady responded, but
then I didn't hear her for maybeanother month and then she came
(05:37):
back and said, hey, are youstill interested?
And I was like, absolutely, andbelieve it or not, that's the
job that I end up selecting,even though I had multiple job
offers.
I selected hers because we madea personal connection and I
believe in my leader that ishiring me, that we have to
connect on a certain wavelength,because if we don't connect,
then that kind of shows me areyou really interested in me or
(05:57):
just what I have to offer?
So again, pivoting in yourcareer, man, that's awesome.
Can you tell me, because youwent from that and you end up
working in talent acquisitionhow did you pivot in that?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So that job.
I was in the middle of a pivotbefore moving, but I understood
that I wasn't going to be ableto.
So I was very vocal with theCEO of that company where I
worked at back home about mydistrust and not I wasn't
pleased with our talent partnerand he was tired, literally I
think he was tired of hearing mecomplain about this.
(06:35):
Not complain, but like say,like hey, this isn't working,
this isn't working.
Yeah, and he's like you knowwhat operations like.
He's like you're the head ofoperations, now recruiting is
under you.
Oh, wow, okay, he's like and Ithink he was saying it to like
call my bluff.
But I was like, yeah right,challenge accepted, um, and I
(06:56):
really loved it.
But then I moved and I knew Iwanted to get into talent
acquisition, but I also knew Ididn't have a ton of strong
experience in that.
So I went back to my roots.
The job that the first job thatI got here was back in so I'm a
software engineer was back inmy roots and in the engineering
side of things.
And then after a while, it'slike okay, I have the experience
(07:18):
here in the US which everyoneneeded you to have, us company
experience.
Now I have that.
Now I'm ready to pivot.
Well, of course, I createdanother video, like I mean,
after I saw how that worked.
I'm never doing another thingwithout a video and literally
that every time I want to pivot.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Just make a video.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And I did a video and I explained yeah, I explained
all of my experience and why Iwanted to pivot and why I was
the right person for it and gotjobs in that way.
And every time I've wanted topivot, that video has been my
secret weapon.
Really, I believe in it.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So if you're listening to thiscareer chat, maybe something you
want to do is create a video.
But you know what?
On LinkedIn, they have thesevoice recordings where you can
record your voice.
Another podcaster sent me avoice memo and I was like, oh
wow, I didn't know you could dothis.
And I was like, well, hello,how are you?
(08:19):
You can do this.
And I was like, well, hello,how are you?
So that may be another goodtool to utilize on LinkedIn.
Last question before we endthis career chat so one of the
biggest challenges that peopleface in pivoting is the money.
Right, you may be used tomaking six figures in your
(08:40):
current position, but you know,hey, I want to pivot from, for
example, from HR to marketing.
But how do I really do that ifI have zero experience in
marketing and knowing thatyou'll have to take a pay cut?
So what advice would you giveour listeners regarding pivoting
through finances?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
First advice is you don't necessarily have to take a
pay cut.
And I used to believe I had totake a pay cut and, I'll be
honest, I took a pay cut thefirst time.
I pivoted and it absolutelysucked because, yes, it was
still good money.
But if you're used to a certainlevel of money when you don't
have it, and then you'regrinding because it's a new
(09:24):
thing, so you're working evenharder than you were before, it
doesn't feel good at the end ofthe month where it's like, oh, I
don't have enough money to doall the things I used to do.
So that's my main thing youdon't necessarily have to take a
pay cut, and if you do, itdoesn't have to be a significant
pay cut.
Lean in on your transferableskills and what you really bring
(09:46):
.
So, for example, I came fromengineering and I wanted to
pivot into talent acquisition.
I leaned in on the fact that Iam more effective than 99% of
the recruiters out there,because not only do I know how
to recruit, I absolutely canspeak the lingo of the engineers
.
I know exactly where they hangout, what they're looking for,
(10:08):
because I was one of them.
So I leaned in on that and Iwas able to get more money than
my peers because I presentedmyself in a way that I was worth
more.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
So that's my advice, like lean in on your
transferable skills and whatmakes you be able to command
that money.
Are you always going to get aton more money than everyone
else?
No, but you don't necessarilyhave to.
If you, if you're in thatmindset that you don't
necessarily have to take thesignificant pay cut, things will
(10:42):
work out better for you.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Yeah.
So don't be afraid.
Don't, don't be afraid, man,that that is awesome.
And I think that you know again.
So many, so many people thinklike, hey, I have to take a pay
cut, going into a different jobor a different role.
But something that you didn'tsay vividly was you honed in on
(11:07):
that same industry so you canpivot?
Right, you said you knew wherethe engineers were.
Right, if I'm a hiring managerand you're telling me I know how
to recruit uh other engineers,guess what I'm gonna be like.
You know what she may be, uh,it may be a learning curve, but
she may add a whole lot of valuethat we may not see uh into our
(11:31):
department or in that role.
So thank you, rona, for um, allof those great insights,
bite-sized inspiration here.
On the Transparent HR podcast,hey, we want y'all to listen in
on the latest episode with Rona,as she shares with us valuable
nuggets on building yourpersonal brand.
(11:51):
We'll see you on the other side, you.
Welcome to another Career Chat.
Bite Size Inspiration on theTransparenature Podcast.
Today we have Rona with us aswe dive into our Career Chat.
Rona, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you so much for having me on the podcast today.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
So let's get into this career chat.
Here's a thought to kick us off.
Okay, If fear of the unknown isholding you back from a career
pivot, remember growth andcomfort rarely exist.
Actually, they rarely coexist.
Stepping into the unknown couldlead to your greatest
opportunities.
Rona, you are the queen ofpivoting.
(00:50):
Tell us what do you think aboutthis quote, and even diving
into your career journey to helpour listeners today.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, I 100% agree with that quote and, like you
said, yes, I call myself thequeen of pivots and I am a
self-described and very proudjob hopper.
And I'm proud of it because Ithink as humans we change, our
interests change, and a lot ofmy pivots have been because I've
(01:21):
changed what I've wanted to do,but they've also been because
I've been forced to do thingsfor external circumstances.
I am from Panama, in CentralAmerica, and I moved here to the
US 15 years ago and what Ithought my career was going to
be here, which was acontinuation of what I was doing
back home, didn't exactly workout to be that way.
(01:43):
So I had to pivot, because Ialways think of it as, like,
there's two options I can sithere and feel sorry for myself
and that things aren't going theway that I want, or I can take
control of my career and do whatI need to do, because, at the
end of the day, we all havebills to pay.
That's really why we work.
(02:05):
Yes, I absolutely love what Ido, but I 100%.
If I did not need to pay billsprobably wouldn't work.
So I always I always figurethat out and I always think,
like, look, I can sit here and Ican feel sorry for myself.
I'm not getting jobs, I'm notdoing this, I'm not doing that,
and when I talk about my story Itell people so back home.
(02:28):
I was a regional operationsmanager for a software
development company.
I thought I'll just move here,I'll take a few months to be a
new wife in a new city and thenI'll apply for jobs, right?
Well, it took years to getinterviews.
Wow, I live in a city thatmaybe isn't that immigrant
friendly, and I'm sure peoplehad ideas in their head of like
(02:50):
they're seeing this resume witha ton of international
experience but no experiencehere.
So they were probably thinkingI needed a visa, sponsorship or
any of these things, you know.
So what I did was you know what, if they aren't going to invite
me to an interview, I'm goingto invite myself.
And no, I didn't barge intoanyone's office.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I'm an introvert.
I didn't do that.
Tell us how you did that.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
I created a video cover letter and I shared a
quick video.
It was a 90 second video whereI shared about my background and
my experience.
I kid you not, I startedgetting interviews.
I like, literally after yearsof of not getting anything, of
getting ghosted or gettingrejected, I started getting
interviews and I got a jobwithin a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Wow, that's an amazing story.
And and really, when you saidthat like doing a 90 second
video, and really when you saidthat like doing a 90 second
video, really thinking outsideof the box, Right, Because I
think in the challenge intoday's workforce and trying to
apply for jobs and getinterviews is that it's just so
(03:57):
many people out there gunningfor the same role that you're
trying to search for.
And again, you talked aboutyour challenges with coming from
a different country, right.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Country right, and so that alone within itself.
Again, you talked about, youknow, having visa and
sponsorship, and a lot ofcompanies just don't want to
deal with that.
So, really findingopportunities and ways to bring
yourself out, I think that's anamazing story.
A portion of my career.
(04:32):
There was a time where I had aterrible leader that came in and
just had a different vision forwhere I seen myself growing
into and I had to pivot notnecessarily outside of HR,
because my career has been, ormy professional career has been
(04:53):
100 percent HR Right, but, youknow, finding other job
opportunities, and one of thethings that my God brother
shared with me is, hey, you needto reach out to those hiring
leaders on LinkedIn or findtheir emails so you can have a
conversation with them and guesswhat.
(05:15):
You can have a conversationwith them and guess what.
I reached out and this oneparticular lady responded, but
then I didn't hear her for maybeanother month and then she came
(05:37):
back and said, hey, are youstill interested?
And I was like, absolutely, andbelieve it or not, that's the
job that I end up selecting,even though I had multiple job
offers.
I selected hers because we madea personal connection and I
believe in my leader that ishiring me, that we have to
connect on a certain wavelength,because if we don't connect,
then that kind of shows me areyou really interested in me or
(05:57):
just what I have to offer?
So again, pivoting in yourcareer, man, that's awesome.
Can you tell me, because youwent from that and you end up
working in talent acquisitionhow did you pivot in that?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So that job.
I was in the middle of a pivotbefore moving, but I understood
that I wasn't going to be ableto.
So I was very vocal with theCEO of that company where I
worked at back home about mydistrust and not I wasn't
pleased with our talent partnerand he was tired, literally I
think he was tired of hearing mecomplain about this.
(06:35):
Not complain, but like say,like hey, this isn't working,
this isn't working.
Yeah, and he's like you knowwhat operations like.
He's like you're the head ofoperations, now recruiting is
under you.
Oh, wow, okay, he's like and Ithink he was saying it to like
call my bluff.
But I was like, yeah right,challenge accepted, um, and I
(06:56):
really loved it.
But then I moved and I knew Iwanted to get into talent
acquisition, but I also knew Ididn't have a ton of strong
experience in that.
So I went back to my roots.
The job that the first job thatI got here was back in so I'm a
software engineer was back inmy roots and in the engineering
side of things.
And then after a while, it'slike okay, I have the experience
(07:18):
here in the US which everyoneneeded you to have, us company
experience.
Now I have that.
Now I'm ready to pivot.
Well, of course, I createdanother video, like I mean,
after I saw how that worked.
I'm never doing another thingwithout a video and literally
that every time I want to pivot.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Just make a video.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And I did a video and I explained yeah, I explained
all of my experience and why Iwanted to pivot and why I was
the right person for it and gotjobs in that way.
And every time I've wanted topivot, that video has been my
secret weapon.
Really, I believe in it.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So if you're listening to thiscareer chat, maybe something you
want to do is create a video.
But you know what?
On LinkedIn, they have thesevoice recordings where you can
record your voice.
Another podcaster sent me avoice memo and I was like, oh
wow, I didn't know you could dothis.
And I was like, well, hello,how are you?
(08:19):
You can do this.
And I was like, well, hello,how are you?
So that may be another goodtool to utilize on LinkedIn.
Last question before we endthis career chat so one of the
biggest challenges that peopleface in pivoting is the money.
Right, you may be used tomaking six figures in your
(08:40):
current position, but you know,hey, I want to pivot from, for
example, from HR to marketing.
But how do I really do that ifI have zero experience in
marketing and knowing thatyou'll have to take a pay cut?
So what advice would you giveour listeners regarding pivoting
through finances?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
First advice is you don't necessarily have to take a
pay cut.
And I used to believe I had totake a pay cut and, I'll be
honest, I took a pay cut thefirst time.
I pivoted and it absolutelysucked because, yes, it was
still good money.
But if you're used to a certainlevel of money when you don't
have it, and then you'regrinding because it's a new
(09:24):
thing, so you're working evenharder than you were before, it
doesn't feel good at the end ofthe month where it's like, oh, I
don't have enough money to doall the things I used to do.
So that's my main thing youdon't necessarily have to take a
pay cut, and if you do, itdoesn't have to be a significant
pay cut.
Lean in on your transferableskills and what you really bring
(09:46):
.
So, for example, I came fromengineering and I wanted to
pivot into talent acquisition.
I leaned in on the fact that Iam more effective than 99% of
the recruiters out there,because not only do I know how
to recruit, I absolutely canspeak the lingo of the engineers
.
I know exactly where they hangout, what they're looking for,
(10:08):
because I was one of them.
So I leaned in on that and Iwas able to get more money than
my peers because I presentedmyself in a way that I was worth
more.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
So that's my advice, like lean in on your
transferable skills and whatmakes you be able to command
that money.
Are you always going to get aton more money than everyone
else?
No, but you don't necessarilyhave to.
If you, if you're in thatmindset that you don't
necessarily have to take thesignificant pay cut, things will
(10:42):
work out better for you.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Yeah.
So don't be afraid.
Don't, don't be afraid, man,that that is awesome.
And I think that you know again.
So many, so many people thinklike, hey, I have to take a pay
cut, going into a different jobor a different role.
But something that you didn'tsay vividly was you honed in on
(11:07):
that same industry so you canpivot?
Right, you said you knew wherethe engineers were.
Right, if I'm a hiring managerand you're telling me I know how
to recruit uh other engineers,guess what I'm gonna be like.
You know what she may be, uh,it may be a learning curve, but
she may add a whole lot of valuethat we may not see uh into our
(11:31):
department or in that role.
So thank you, rona, for um, allof those great insights,
bite-sized inspiration here.
On the Transparent HR podcast,hey, we want y'all to listen in
on the latest episode with Rona,as she shares with us valuable
nuggets on building yourpersonal brand.
(11:51):
We'll see you on the other side, you.
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