156 - Overcoming Adversity: Julie Lee's Journey Through Retrenchments and Career Pivoting

In this episode, we delve into the incredible journey of Julie Lee, a former corporate HR director who faced three retrenchments over her 30-year career. Julie shares her challenging yet inspiring story of how she transitioned from a software engineering career to HR, only to be retrenched multiple times. Despite these setbacks, she launched her own business offering fractional CHRO services and HR consulting. Julie also discusses the emotional toll these events took on her, including seeking therapy, dealing with burnout, and the lessons learned from her experiences. This conversation is a heartfelt exploration of resilience, career pivoting, and the importance of mental health.---A Corporate, Big 4, and start-up HR Director turned Portfolio CHRO and HR Consultant, Julie helps businesses transform and thrive with progressive talent strategies that strengthen capabilities, boost productivity and improve employee experience. She has 30+ years of human capital experience spanning Asia Pacific where 5 years were spent in Shanghai. Julie holds a master degree in human capital leadership and is a certified IHRP-Senior Professional and Prosci Change Practitioner. Beyond her professional life, she is part of the Remarkable Women Asia committee and mentor a diverse group of women across generations.---This episode is brought to you by Deel⁩ ‬, the all-in-one platform simplifying global team management with payroll, HR, IT, and compliance solutions, trusted by over 35,000 businesses worldwide. Learn more at ⁠https://deel.com/adriantan⁠. ---00:00 Introduction01:34 Julie Lee's Journey02:53 First Retrenchment Experience04:28 Navigating Career Changes12:17 Second Retrenchment and Recovery23:26 Third Retrenchment and Mental Health36:15 Meeting Inspiring Gen Z and Millennials37:41 Discovering Potential Side Hustles40:27 Realizing Strengths and Weaknesses48:29 Facing Retrenchment and Ageism51:58 Launching a Fractional HR Business59:46 Networking and Building a Portfolio Career01:08:07 Overcoming Challenges and Learning Investments---Where to find Julie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-lee-ihrp-sp-mhcl/Where to find Adrian:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriantanck/⁠Website: ⁠adriantan.com.sg⁠ Get full access to Will That Work? at www.adriantan.com.sg/subscribe