The following career resources were contributed by Cornell IT colleagues for the October 14, 2025 Emerging Tech Dialogues event focusing on the Future of Work, during poster and lunch table discussions.

Pursue Guided Learning Paths

Explore various career paths and engage in upskilling activities to prepare for those paths using personalized tools from Skillsoft and LinkedIn Learning.

• Skillsoft Role Advisor helps employees build a tailored development plan based on their current role and future goals.
• LinkedIn Learning’s My Career Journey offers goal-based learning paths and role recommendations using real-world career data.

Practice Change Management Strategies

Working in higher education means constantly adapting to new students and their evolving needs and expectations. The university's systems and processes also shift to meet external and internal influences. Both gradual and sudden changes can act as a catalyst, pushing the Cornell community and its members to think differently, adapt quickly, and grow stronger together.

• The Cornell Organization Change Management website contains practical tools, resources, and guidance to help you navigate change with confidence and clarity.
• Favorite video clips for everyone:
  • Moving through the Six Stages of Reacting to Change: NetID login | CWID login (4 min)
  • How change helped me: funny British presenter reliving several early pain points (4 minutes, 54 seconds)
  • What to do if you're upset by change: American professor with a practical approach (3 minutes, 6 seconds)
  • Watch out for group think: the Brit returns with a look back at changes that rolled forward despite group denial. (3 minutes, 15 seconds)
• Favorite video clips from Support Change as a Project Manager
  • Effects of change on individuals: Claudia Peet is a great explainer! (3 minutes, 1 second)
  • Aligning teams and resources: Good points about one reason behind failed changes (2 minutes, 42 seconds)
• Favorite video clips from Lead and Support Teams Through Change
  • Change Capacity: Cup running over? Learn easy steps to address. (4 minutes, 15 seconds)
  • Starting with the Why of Change: Identify and play back the why. (1 minute, 25 seconds)

Map a New Career Path

Design or create your own dream job. For example, people who feel passionate about sustainability and renewable energy may be drawn to shift their careers into that industry so they can support local efforts. Cornell is an excellent place to hear talks on topics of interest without committing to a career shift.

• Clarify what you really want to be doing. Map a path that moves you closer, using mentors and/or the resources to plot a new path in Skillsoft and Linkedin above.
• Identify an ongoing process or system issue in the unit and propose a special project to resolve it. Next steps: if troubleshooting and resolving new problems is the best part of the day, consider new roles or consulting work that focuses on those skills.
• Explore the hype. Remaining curious and open to emerging fields can stimulate career growth and reinvention.
  • Build a career in AI and Machine Learning - ask Copilot to map a path from a current role to the most likely job in this area.
  • Build a career in Cybersecurity -  ask a colleague in the ITSO about their journey.
  • Build a career in Data Science - this book and podcast include entertaining stories of career changers plus solid insights on paths to working with data, analysis, and visualizations from entry level to senior data scientist. Read a colleague's review. 

Recover and/or Pivot

When a role ends or runs into trouble, consider a career pivot.  Here are examples of career detours around trouble or following downsizing or termination.

• Economic Layoff - energy industry downturn rippled through other service sectors across region; 1 in 8 are unemployed. Detour: Move; change industries.
• Surprise Termination - new manager arrives, fires employee, hires friend. Detour: Substitute teach; one of many job applications led to hire by prior internship manager.
• Probation Recovery - six-month probation following a judgment error, can be fired any day without notice. Detour: refocus attention and energy, win awards for new initiatives and sales growth.
• Dead-end Role - no advancement opportunity. Detour: advocate for a special two-year project to troubleshoot new ERP implementation for department; gain SQL skills and visibility with other departments.
• Ethical Conflict - frequent recipient of verbal directions to bypass legal reporting guidelines. Attempts to confirm via email or memo or ignored. Detour: consulted HR for job protection; eventually transferred to different division.
• Reorganized Out - position eliminated under new CIO. Detour: change departments, build on existing skills to create new initiatives and events, begin traveling to New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, the Bay Area, and Austin to support growing popularity of the new programs.