Career Coach Insights: Why Resourcefulness Is the Key to a Successful Career Change.
When I moved to New York City with nothing, I quickly realised that the real lessons in life don’t come from textbooks. They come from being resourceful when you’re under pressure.
I was just 20 years old, heading to NYC for a placement year working on legislation. I landed with two suitcases, no apartment, and two nights in a hotel I couldn’t afford 😬. I didn’t have contacts, family, or a safety net. Just 24 hours to figure out where I’d live for the next year.
The truth about resourcefulness
Here’s the thing about resourcefulness: you often discover it when you have no choice.
Within days, I’d found an apartment, made friends, and started navigating multi million dollar budgets. I drafted legislation, built relationships across the city, and even got paid to be an extra on a TV show through someone I met along the way.
Those experiences didn’t come from following a rulebook. They came from putting myself out there, asking questions, and believing I could figure things out as I went.
That year in New York taught me something no classroom ever has: there’s always a way forward.
Now, whenever someone says, “it can’t be done,” I hear:
“No one’s found a way yet. Let’s think this through.”
Forgetting (and rediscovering) resourcefulness
Somewhere along the line, particularly when I became a lawyer, I started to forget that side of myself. My world became more structured, risk averse, and rule driven.
But when I left law and began coaching, that same sense of curiosity and problem solving came rushing back. As a career change coach, I see it all the time. People lose touch with their inner resourcefulness because their work environments don’t encourage it.
The good news? You don’t have to quit your job to reconnect with it.
You can start right where you are by asking better questions, exploring possibilities, and trusting that you’ll figure things out even if the path isn’t clear yet.
What a career coach sees in resourceful people
As a career coach, I often tell clients that resourcefulness is the quiet skill behind every big career transition.
It’s not about being the smartest person in the room or having the perfect plan. It’s about refusing to accept “impossible” until you’ve really tried. Having a career coach as a strategic thinking partner means you don’t have to be resourceful on your own though.
Resourcefulness is built on:
Self trust – believing in your ability to figure things out.
Curiosity – being open to learning and experimenting.
Resilience – seeing challenges as puzzles, not roadblocks.
That mindset, the same one I learned with two suitcases and no plan, is what helps people thrive during a career change, build confidence, and design work that actually feels meaningful.
Final thought
Resourcefulness isn’t a skill you’re born with. It’s one you uncover when life gives you no other option. And once you rediscover it, it becomes your biggest career advantage.
Book a free call today, if you want to discuss how me or my team can support you.
Rachel Grace Elliott
Your Career Change Coach