When I speak at the Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference, I always meet people who want to rebrand themselves but don’t quite know where to start. In some instances, these are ACFE members who want to transition from the public sector to the private sector. But often it’s more of an issue of anti-fraud professionals finding difficulty articulating the value of their existing brand to others in a way that invites deeper conversations and engagement.
Most people aren’t interested in pursuing a complete career change, but a slight course correction might reveal new opportunities their current expertise and accomplishments could address.
A slight course change was how I got my best break with energy company Phillips 66 after being there for about a year working on exploration projects in coastal Texas and Louisiana. I had my sights set on the offshore Atlantic exploration team, which had a companywide reputation for working in frontier areas where data (geological and geophysical information) was scarce. I would chat with the group’s director at lunch or in the hallway so that he got familiar with who I was and my story. When he learned that I had three years of experience working on global oceanographic research projects, he didn’t waste any time requesting my transfer to the offshore Atlantic team, where I became responsible for interpreting organic geochemistry data and writing assessments with recommendations on the oil and gas potential up and down the eastern offshore continental margin.
This director didn’t have to ask me if I wanted to work in the offshore group. Our conversations piqued his interest, all according to my plan — and thankfully, he was my advocate who helped make the transfer happen.
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