No Roadmap Required: How to Build a Career by Backing Yourself

Join Molly Baker for a candid conversation on career pivots, people-first leadership, and what it actually takes to build something meaningful without a roadmap. This week's guest shares her unexpected path from almost-attorney to leading client solutions in the highly specialized world of life sciences recruiting, and what 20 years of building relationships in a technical industry taught her about trust, timing, and slowing down to get it right. Together, they dig into AI's growing role in hiring, the human element that can't be automated away, why coachability is rarer than people think, and how consistency at 80% beats burning out at 100. This episode is an honest look at what it means to build a career by staying open, staying curious, and backing yourself.

MB: What's top of mind for you professionally right now?

TP: A lot, because I recently made a change after 11 years. I'm in an industry that is going through a lot of change right now, whether that's funding issues, regulatory issues, or the job market landscape. I stepped into a role that was newly created for me, so there's no roadmap. It's one day at a time, but also trying to zoom out and remember it's not about what happens today. It's about what happens two years from now.

MB: What are you really good at that doesn't get talked about enough?

TP: Trusting my gut. I'm very comfortable making decisions, both professionally and personally. Whatever pops into my head first is typically what I go with. I didn't recognize that as a skill in my early days, but every time I've leaned on it, especially for really hard decisions, it's always been the right call.

MB: What has shaped your career more, intentional decisions or unexpected opportunities?

TP: A combination. I didn't set out to do what I do, but when I recognized an opportunity, I was very intentional about which path to take and where it would lead. I'm not someone who maps out a five-year plan. I'm more like, I'm going to take this unexpected opportunity and turn it into something.

MB: What's something you've changed your mind about over the course of your career?

TP: That speed is always the answer. When you're young and hungry, you want to be first and best. But there can be quality issues with that. At some point you have to pause, take a breath, and maybe wake up tomorrow before making the decision. I even advise my clients now, if things are moving too fast, let's just stop and make sure we've considered everything.

MB: What do you think sets top performers apart?

TP: Consistency and resiliency. You have to get comfortable failing and get back up without sitting in it for three days. And I don't think you have to give 100% every single day. If you can give 80% every day, that builds over time. Trying to go at 100% all the time is how you burn out.

MB: What relationship has had the biggest impact on your professional life?

TP: My first real boss. He gave me a seat at the table at 22 when I had no idea what I was doing, and he didn't dismiss me. He pulled me aside when I messed up but always gave me the opportunity to fix it and learn. Looking back, those first seven years were a crash course I didn't even know I was taking. It shot my trajectory in ways that people at my level have never experienced.

MB: Why do you think you got that seat at the table?

TP: I was coachable. I never said no. I was a sponge. On weekends I was researching what people 10 years ahead of me were doing and asking how I could get there. I think that's what I look for in people now too. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room, but do you want to try and can you actually take feedback and run with it? That's rare.

MB: How is AI impacting what you do?

TP: It comes up constantly. Companies are using it to rank applicants, screen candidates, even conduct initial video interviews. I use it most to quickly understand highly technical roles I'm not as familiar with, and to generate better, deeper questions for candidate conversations. But the human component can't be removed. At some point you have AI talking to AI and the actual person gets lost in it. That's a real problem we're navigating right now.

MB: What makes someone who looks good on paper actually get hired?

TP: Can they tell their story? A resume that just cuts and pastes a job description shows no thought. The one that stands out says, I led a team of six, we delivered this project on time and under budget, and here's what it did for the company. Specificity and narrative. That's what separates people.

MB: What makes for a good client partnership?

TP: Trust and communication. New partnerships are exciting but they're almost always rocky at some point. The best ones I've had came out of getting through a hard moment together. Most of the time the disconnect is just communication, whether someone forgot to say something, words were used differently, or expectations weren't aligned. If you can get through it, those are the partners that stay with you for life.

MB: What advice would you give to people just starting out?

TP: Work your network, don't be too picky, and go out. Don't go home at five and go to bed at eight. The relationships you build early will carry you further than you can imagine. And don't get defeated. The job market is hard right now, but it's not 2,000 qualified applicants. Figure out how to stand out and stay open minded. You have no idea where it's going to lead.

MB: When you were 21, did you think this is what you'd be doing?

TP: No. I thought I was going to law school. I moved to North Carolina for it and left after three days. My gut told me the loans weren't worth it if I wasn't ready. My parents gave me 30 days to figure it out. By day 27 I was sweating. I ended up walking into a temp agency not even knowing what recruiting was, hit it off with them, and somehow ended up here. I didn't know that answering that one ad would lead to 20 years in this industry.

MB: What's your relationship with LinkedIn?

TP: I love it and I hate it. I work on the back end of it constantly through LinkedIn Recruiter and job postings. But sometimes the front side gets me down. It can feel like an echo chamber of self-promotion and it's a little cringey. But I'm also on it every single day and I genuinely love it. That's probably where you'll find me.