To round off the year, we speak to James Lewindon, Head of Client Development UK at Pinsent Masons Vario, the global law firm and alternative legal services provider. Although he started out as a history teacher, James has built a strikingly varied, ‘squiggly’ career: from working for a newspaper and entrepreneurship skills programmes in schools, to leading a science centre team building exhibits, moving into management consulting within a global law firm, launching and scaling a legal resourcing business, serving as a CEO in a legal employment and training business, to now joining Pinsent Masons Vario in 2025.

James’ story shows us that a long-term career plan isn’t always essential for a fulfilling career. Driven by a fear of “Groundhog Day,” James moves on when the sense of challenge fades, shaping a path that plays to his strengths and preferred environments. Rather than pursuing a fixed-end career goal, he prefers to seek roles that offer stability, but also the space to grow, learn, experiment, and create. In this episode, we also explore imposter syndrome, the experience of redundancy, and the power of asking your network for feedback and support along the way.

It was a real pleasure to speak to previous client and career changer, Rajiv Chande, this month. Rajiv spent over 13 years working in Counterparty and Credit Risk at Barclays and Bank of America. He’s now the co-founder of The Chande Project, a wellbeing and connection-focused events business, and currently sits on the Board Risk Committee for the Dharma Endowment Fund. While building his purpose-led venture, Rajiv is also exploring how to apply his previous risk management experience to the growing field of sustainability and ESG risk.Rajiv talks authentically about why he got into banking, and how disconnection, and burnout prompted him to hand his notice in 13 years later - with no job to go to. A period of travelling, self-reflection, career coaching, and vulnerable conversations with his cousin eventually led him to a new career path more aligned with his values and life purpose. We hear how challenging it can be to balance the needs of the practical ‘head' with the gut instincts of the ‘heart’ - especially when it comes to starting your own business, having been trained to assess risk your whole career!

At the crux of it, career change boils down to a difficult decision-making challenge. With so many job options these days, deciding what we want to do next can feel confusing and overwhelming. This month, we explore the decision-making process with decision expert, Michelle Florendo. Michelle is a Stanford-trained Decision Engineer and Executive Coach who is on a mission to teach people how to make decisions with less stress and more clarity. She has spoken to audiences around the world about how to use principles from decision science to grow their impact.In this episode, we hear about the three essential parts of effective decision making, and, therefore, how to approach a career change choice. Common mistakes and barriers to making a good decision are discussed, as well as ways to overcome these. If you’re facing a tough career decision in your life, this is the episode for you.