7. Who Are You?

Once you have your story back, and some of your visibility (thank you linkedIn), the next question is not just whether you do this alone or get help.

It is more foundational than that.

Who are you?

That is a big question for any woman. But it hits differently in your 50s, especially after a job loss, a layoff, or a season that forces you to stop and rethink everything.

If you are reading this, chances are you have been quietly asking yourself that question lately. And you may not have had the time, or the choice, to ask it for years. The wheel was turning. Life was full. Work gave structure, identity, status, routine, and momentum.

Now you have space.

And while that can feel unsettling, it can also be the beginning of something important.

You have a professional-personal brand, whether you want one or not

In All the Cool Girls Get Fired, Laura and Kristina talk about the importance of your professional-personal brand.

You may not love that phrase. You may not even want to think about branding yourself.

But the truth is, you already have one.

As they put it, you can have either a great personal brand or a not-great one, but either way, you have one.

That is both confronting and freeing.

Because if you have just been let go, here is the strange upside: you have a real opportunity to redefine how you show up. Not the performed version. The honest one.

And that can be incredibly empowering.

Your job is not your identity, but it is your job to find it

The book reminds us throughout that your job is not your identity. It is not your value, or your values.

But here is the part we do not talk about enough:

When the job disappears, many people realize they do not actually know what they stand for outside it.

And that is not a character flaw. It is normal.

It is also exactly why this chapter matters.

Because your next chapter gets easier when you can answer questions like these:

What do I stand for?

What am I great at?

What do I want more of, and less of?

What kind of work makes me feel like myself again?

Where can I bring value in my unique way?

If you are considering a career reset, this is gold

On this path, investing in tools and programs that help you understand what you actually want is not extra. It is high-value work. Some of the best ROI there is.

It saves you from panic decisions, performing for roles you do not even want, and building your next chapter around what looks good on paper instead of what is actually right for you in this phase of your life.

This is the exact reason I am building The Swan Chapter: to inspire you and give you the tools to understand what you stand for, what you bring to the table, and what could be next.

A calm, curated place for women 50+ in a career reset to move forward with clarity, confidence, and grace.

A sidenote that might be your starting point

If you are curious about getting to know yourself in a more practical way, start by reading Becoming You by Suzy Welch.

I am exploring her work right now (books, podcast, courses), and I will be sharing more very soon. Consider this your start-here point if you are ready to move from reacting to choosing, with more purpose, direction, and methodical approach.

One of the best ways to discover what is next: try a side project

Another strong idea in the book is this: one of the best ways to discover what is next is to try something.

I am not a big fan of the word hustle, because I think this season has to be more intentional and more real than that.

So let us call it what it really is: a side project.

Something that interests you.

Something that is not necessarily your next job right now, or your absolute dream job.

Something that lets you dip your toes in without blowing up your life.

Because experiments do something job applications cannot: they give you data about you.

And who does not want to explore possibilities that could lead to more autonomy, more freedom, and a clearer sense of what fits?

Online courses

One option that helped me move from “I have an idea” to “I have a plan” was Marie Forleo’s B-School.

If you have never done an online course before, I get the skepticism. There is a lot of big-promise marketing out there, and when you are in a career reset, your energy and your money are not infinite.

What I appreciated about B-School was not hype. It was the structure. 

It helped me clarify what I actually wanted to build, who it was for, and how to turn a vague idea into something more concrete and testable.

In other words: less overthinking, procrastination and more action.

Is it the only path? No. But it's a really good one.

If your next chapter includes any kind of independent project away from the corporate world, consulting, a service, a course, a newsletter, or a creative business, B-School can be a useful place to start.

And even if you do not launch anything right away, the bigger win is this: you start seeing yourself as someone who can build again, and the skills you will acquire can help you land your next job. 

If you want to explore it, I have added more on B-School in the Do section (LINK), and I am retaking the course as of Spring 2026, so I can share more useful, current input soon.

Closing the loop

This is my final post in the All the Cool Girls Get Fired series.

If you have been reading along, here is what I hope you take with you:

You are not done.

You are between chapters.

And you get to choose what this becomes.

I will keep adding new content, practical tools, and trusted recommendations for women 50+ in a career reset. If you would like to know when there is something new worth your time, join the club, and I will keep you in the loop.

From one cool girl to another: let’s do this together.