Colette’s Career Change Story

Finding a more direct way into work that matters

When Colette joined the Career Change Accelerator, she wasn’t starting from zero.

Her career had always been close to social impact. She’d worked in data and consultancy roles supporting councils and charities, and later in tech and Customer Success. She cared deeply about the mission, but her role was usually to support others rather than work directly in that space.

“It took me a while to realise that it wasn’t capability holding me back,” she says. “It was confidence.”

Noticing when something isn’t quite working

The point where Colette began to question things came during a difficult period for her industry. What stood out wasn’t panic, but how clearly she could see the role security and doubt had been playing in keeping her where she was.

“That realisation gave me a bit more space,” she says. “I could look at options without feeling trapped by them.”

Rather than feeling stuck, she felt able to explore.

Taking steps without forcing decisions

What felt hardest wasn’t the idea of change itself. It was knowing how to move forward without closing off work she still enjoyed and valued.

“I wanted to choose carefully,” she explains. “Not rush into something just to feel like I’d ‘done’ a career change.”

The Accelerator’s focus on experimentation made that feel possible. Instead of needing a clear end point, Colette could test ideas, have conversations, and see what held her attention.

Why being around others mattered

Being part of a group of people asking similar questions made a big difference.

“It normalised uncertainty,” she says. “And it made taking small steps feel reasonable.”

That sense of shared exploration gave her the confidence to try a volunteering role as a way of learning more about what she wanted next.

Where she is now

In December, Colette travelled to Ecuador. It felt important to begin the year there, doing something practical and connected to the kind of work she’d been thinking about.

She’s now volunteering with an NGO in Quito, contributing ideas around fundraising strategy, impact storytelling, and volunteer support. Alongside this, she’s recently joined the board of Commonweal.

“It’s been a really good start to the year,” she says. “And I do genuinely believe the Accelerator played a big part in that.”

Alongside the NGO role, she spent time helping out in a homeless hostel. Less glamorous perhaps, but grounding. She now knows how to ask where the forks and knives are in Spanish.

What’s changed

Perhaps the biggest shift has been clarity.

The process helped Colette reconnect with how much she enjoys Customer Success and how well it fits her strengths. At the same time, she can now see how those same strengths translating into other purpose-driven roles, including in charities and social enterprises.

Rather than pushing her away from her existing experience, the process helped her understand how to use it more deliberately.

What she’d say to others considering change

“You don’t have to have everything figured out,” Colette says. “You can take small steps, learn from them, and decide as you go.”

The Accelerator gave her space to explore without pressure, to treat uncertainty as information rather than a problem, and to move forward in a way that felt both ambitious and grounded.