Tired of feeling like a passenger in your own career? Join us as we chat with Christa Stelzmuller, a seasoned tech pro who traded the hustle of e-commerce for world-changing work. Christa made a bold leap into the not-for-profit world, landing the coveted role of Chief Technology Officer at charity:water.
Learn how she navigated the transition, filled in knowledge gaps, and found a mission and culture that truly resonated.
Whether you're considering a similar switch or simply want to take more control of your professional path, this episode offers valuable insights and inspiration.
Listen in and take some pointers from her process:
Take control: Don't let your career happen to you. Own your path and make intentional decisions.
Take the time: A major career change may be several months in the making, start today.
Skill up: Identify your knowledge and skills gaps and actively seek out opportunities to learn.
Find your fit: Use the interview process to discover if the organization's mission and culture align with your values.
Go with who you are: Make a clear statement in your application about the skills you have to offer and how you plan to use these transferable skills in the role.
Christa digs into tech in the not-for-profit sector. Two essential transferable skills for moving from the for-profit to not-for-profit sector are change management and database/CRM management. She shares examples of transferable skills from sales funnels to fundraising and using data for storytelling. She shares that success comes when you can drive data through to the human experience.
A year into her sector-switching role, she’s very happy she made the shift. She encourages you to go for the career switch of your dreams.
A common thread throughout Christa Stelzmuller’s career has been a multidisciplinary approach to leveraging data and technology for better decisions, better products, and better delivery. She is focused on building innovative and useful digital experiences and is deeply motivated by mission. She has a demonstrated ability to translate a vision to a strategy and then connect that strategy to execution. Key to that are her strengths in communication and team leadership. She easily pivots between conversations with investors and board members, fellow leadership team members, and more junior team members and fosters high levels of productivity through a service-oriented, participative approach to leading her teams.