I Followed My Curiosity and Career “Nudges” (Under Capitalism)

I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do at 18 when I was picking my major, 21 when I went into my service year with AmeriCorps, 25 when I was a few years into my career choosing grad school, and now 34, with another degree and over a decade of post-college work under my belt. The funny thing is that the path took turns I could have never friggen’ guessed.

And despite every turn, one thing has stayed the same: the path was, and is, led by nudges.

Nudges are curious little pulls toward something that make you think, huh. I like that. I want more of that. Yes, I’m talking specifically about career nudges, but those can come from unexpected places. I’ll share a few of mine.

The extra project nudge

Working at Toast in its early startup days, I was brought on as a customer success specialist because of my restaurant experience. Who knew Papa Gino’s would lead me to a fire tech job! I was there for six months before I noticed a gap: we were rapidly hiring folks with no formal training process. I didn’t think much about it, but I wrote a 40-page training guide that would be used to help onboard new employees. Within weeks, the content team took notice and I was promoted to a writer. Writing was something I quite enjoyed in college.

This nudge was just me seeing a gap and doing something that interested me to fill it. I didn’t know it’d lead to a promotion—I didn’t even know that was an option.

The rejection & redirection nudge

I had been rejected from two grad schools (writing, women’s gender and sexuality studies), and had deferred an acceptance to a public affairs program because I couldn’t afford it. As a last resort, I applied to the marketing Master’s where I was working because I thought it might be a cool way to monetize my writing, and the degree was free. I was accepted into the program, thinking, huh, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here, I know nothing about marketing.

I walked away from doors slamming in my face, and toward a door that looked interesting enough. Turns out it’d be what I’d spend the next seven years (and hopefully more) passionately pursuing.

The project test nudge

During grad school, I had grown my own social media following, so I offered free marketing audits and consults to my tattoo artist, a photographer, and even a local tarot business. I suggested things I knew to be true of my own experience, and used what I was learning in grad school.

I didn’t have the experience required to transition into a marketing career, so I forged it. My tattoo artist told me my suggestions gave him a following and engagement lift. I didn’t know that doing this in practice would help me feel like my work was valid, but it did.

The show-em-whatchu-got nudge

Fast forward to this year. I’d been doing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for a while, but as AI changed the game, I began learning AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). One night at 2:00 am, I shot out of bed with an idea: I could pitch my favorite podcaster. Her website wasn't optimized for AEO, and I knew how to help.

I took all the audacity I’d developed in my decade as a marketer, audited her website, and sent what I thought was the most compelling pitch. Crickets.

But it doesn’t really matter whether the Financial Feminist, Tori Dunlap, responded. The exercise showed me what I was capable of. I used that pitch when applying to my current role, even conducting a similar audit for the company. I got the job, and I’m really happy in it.

What all of these experiences had in common was curiosity. Following a little hunch, making a 180, entertaining a doubtful wondering, and having the sheer audacity of a tech bro (one who, like, cares, though).

Now, the “under capitalism” piece. In 2017, when I left my job at Toast’s early startup environment, I was so burned out that I had to seek mental health treatment for a year before I could work a full-time job again. During that time, I didn’t have much space for curiosity or nudges.

I was DRAINED from working my butt off and having existing disabilities that I wasn’t tending to. While it’d be years before I’d be diagnosed with ADHD, it was there, and other conditions were present, too.

This needed to be said. Capitalism can squash curiosity from us until it feels there’s nothing left. So I am not suggesting you always work for free, go above and beyond, and put yourself on the line. I’m wondering if there’s something in-reach you can do today.

Here are some journaling prompts that may spark something:

• What keeps nudging at you, even if you don’t fully understand why?

• What side project, volunteer thing, hobby, or special interest makes you feel alive?

• Can you identify any nudges you’ve followed in the past that got you to here?

• What’s one nudge you could follow soon without needing to know where it leads?

I’ve learned that my path felt nonlinear as heck while I was living it, but the nudges make it make sense in hindsight. You may have already been following nudges without calling them that. And you don't have to know where a nudge leads before you follow it.

Maybe it’s a tiny experiment. Maybe it’s revisiting something you once said no to. Maybe it’s a huge career move. Whatever feels in reach, I wonder what might happen if you followed that little pull of curiosity.