Neeraj Aggarwal | Associate Director, Australian Impact Investments

Neeraj had hit a roadblock when it came to identifying his next move. But by reframing his skills and narrowing down his goals, he landed a new job – and ended up in a new country.

THE CHALLENGE

Having worked at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation for eight years, and having just concluded a major project, the Hurricane Harvey Rebuild Texas fund, I was looking for reinvention or the next role in this sector. I’d hit a bit of a roadblock in the sense that I just didn't know how to market myself. I was struggling to articulate what I wanted to do.

THE SOLUTION

I needed someone who understood the nuances of the industry and understood some of the characters and players within it – which is why I approached Shannon.

I loved the online course, where you could go at your own pace, that was really transformative for me and – even though it’s been four years now – I still remember some of the specific tools.

One is creating a functional rather than a chronological CV. It reframed how I presented myself in terms of core competencies. Before that I’d had a real ‘spray and pray’ approach to job ads but Shannon helped me whittle down what I wanted to do and be really intentional about crafting a specific CV for each employer. The idea of bringing your personality to your cover letter was also really powerful.

THE RESULT

I didn’t end up changing jobs immediately but it planted the seed and that seed took root and ultimately I did, changing geographies, changing jobs, changing lifestyle, changing everything in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, to move back to Australia and join Australian Impact Investments.