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Our Impactful Career Stories series explores what impactful career paths look like - not in the abstract, but through real, lived human stories. Through this, we hope to shed light on the non-linear journeys behind many impactful careers: the pivots, doubts, unexpected turns, and lessons along the way. Ultimately, we hope these stories inspire you to craft your own purposeful, impactful, and ambitious path!
When I first got involved in impact-driven spaces, I had a really hard time breaking into a career path that felt meaningful for me and was a good fit... that was why I started Magnify, to really help and support other people as they were getting into this as a career path.
I studied law at SOAS in London because I wanted to do international development work. That took me to Bangladesh, interning at a law firm on right-to-shelter cases for people living in slums the government wanted to demolish, and later to Ethiopia, lecturing in international law and human rights. While the work was really meaningful, it was also incredibly tough, and I burnt out.
Back in the UK, I started working at the Future of Humanity Institute without really knowing what EA was, so I fell into the deep, cold end of the pool! Then I got involved with the Centre for Effective Altruism, and later The Life You Can Save.
Still, I felt quite on my own in those early years. I saw a gap for a programme that would meaningfully support people from underrepresented groups, specifically women, non-binary and trans people, to enter the space, feel welcome, and get into impactful careers and succeed in them. So in 2019, I founded Magnify.
Something I would like people to be able to do is think really critically about the work that they are doing and try to look at measurability. With the work that I am doing, if I'm saying I am doing good, what does that mean? And what does that mean to the target populations that I am serving? How can I quantify that? How can I think about how we can be doing this better?
For me, impact goes beyond a vague sense of "doing good". Where the rubber meets the road is saying: I want to make sure I’m having the most concrete impact I can, and there are trade-offs to that, such as choosing work that looks less attractive on paper.
Everything is a weigh-off. Think of it as a series of considerations rather than one dominant factor. I know so many people who have burnt out trying to do the difficult thing and by putting impact before their mental health. So ask yourself: can I be doing this for a number of years? Impact matters, but I see it as one part of a decision toolkit, alongside fit, excitement, comparative advantage, and mental health.
Learn more about building weighted factor models for your career here!
My big piece of advice is cheap tests! Look at the evidence, think about what excites you and where your comparative advantage lies, then try different things. People feel so much pressure to have it all figured out in their 20s, but you’re really not failing, you’re exploring the ecosystem. Treat your career as a curiosity journey. Honestly, I’m still working it out as I go!
I personally believe credentials are a poor proxy for promise. I failed GCSE maths horrendously, and I remember sitting on a bench in Brighton in winter, reading yet another rejection email asking for experience I couldn’t get.
One of the biggest barriers I see is imposter syndrome. Put yourself forward for the opportunity! If they need to say no to you, they will say no to you. But if you say no to yourself before you even put in an application, they don’t even have the chance to say no, and they may well say yes. Having a mentor who’s kind, warm and believes in you, and access to networks, really helps.
From our long-term impact tracking, mentees who go on to have the most impact often get past the first three meetings. So get it in the calendar and make it a habit: a lot of matches don’t fail, they just fizzle. Have solid feedback loops so you can flag early if it’s not working. We’ve also found matching by goal, not topic, makes a real difference.
I’ve seen people from a huge diversity of personality characteristics, backgrounds, and experience go into roles that they thrive in! The one commonality I’d stand by is having the motivation to make the world better and the guts to try. Everything else is just dressing.
“Have the motivation to make the world better and the guts to try”
If you’d like to join Magnify Mentoring as a Mentee, please visit their website. As of today, the current application round closes on the 20th of October.
Whether you’re a student, expert, or organistion, join us in supporting the next generation of people using research and their careers to tackle global challenges.
