Thinking about switching careers? In today’s episode, Taylor and guest, Tiffany Voltz explore the impact of transitioning from her leadership role in HR to student to therapist. Together, they share insights on:
Whether you're contemplating a career change or seeking inspiration to pursue your passions, this episode offers valuable advice on building confidence, identifying transferable skills, and networking.
Meet today’s guest
Tiffany is a trauma therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and Brainspotting Practitioner who works with and support adults that are exploring career transitions, experiencing burnout, navigating life after major life changes, healing from developmental and systemic trauma, seeking to build self-trust and self-worth, aligning with their core values, and learning how to uncover the parts of them that hold them back and keep them stuck.
She has over 22 years as an HR/People Operations executive in the Chicago technology community developing the core competencies of the organizations she worked with.
In addition to her myriad of roles, she is also a mom, a wife, and a lifelong learner of the human spirit. Her midlife career transition to clinical mental health counseling allows her to focus her strengths on helping others through the adversity life brings and to shine the light on the strengths and beauty they possess to live their best lives with intention.
Connect with Tiffany Voltz
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
You're listening to Inner Warmup. I'm your host, Taylor Elyse Morrison, founder and author of Inner Workout, ICF certified coach, and fellow journeyer. In 2017, I set out to build a life that didn't burn me out, and I found my life's work in the process. On Inner Warmup, we talk about how self-care and inner work show up in your relationships, your career, your schedule, and then the conversations you have with yourself. We get practical, we get nuanced, and we're not afraid to challenge wellness as usual. So take a deep breath and get curious. This is where your inner work begins. As we continue this monu(mental) season of Inner Warmup, where we are exploring the connection between our mental well-being and life transitions, we're so lucky to have Tiffany Voltz as our guest today.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Tiffany is a trauma therapist who travels alongside clients living with the effects of trauma and grief to be a support throughout their healing process. In addition to being a trauma therapist, somatic experiencing practitioner, and brain spotting practitioner, Tiffany is a mom, a wife, and a lifelong learner of the human spirit who holds coaching, meditation, and domestic violence advocate certifications. Tiffany is a successful midlife career transitioner who spent over 22 years as an HR and people operations executive in the Chicago tech community, where she made diversity, inclusion, belonging, vulnerability, and compassion core competencies of the organization she was a part of. In my conversation with Tiffany today, we talk about how she knew it was time for her to make that career transition, what the transition from HR leader to student to therapist looked like, and advice for finding that first role in your new career. Tiffany is such a well of wisdom and warmth. You can hear in this episode, one of the things that she said really touched me, and I'm sure that it's gonna do the same for you. Tiffany, welcome to the show.
Tiffany Voltz:
Taylor, it's good to be here. Thank you.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
I am genuinely so excited for this conversation. And for folks who are listening, they just heard me introduce you as a therapist. But in the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty recent switch. I know when I first met you, it was actually kind of at your point of transition where you had just resigned from a role as a chief people officer, which was the last role that you had in your career in HR. And so I kinda wanna start there. How did you know that you were ready to move on from this career that you'd built in human resources?
Tiffany Voltz:
Wow. Yeah. It's kind of fun to even just be brought back there because it is recent. However, it feels so far away at this point, but I feel like it was a job, a role, a career that I loved so much and I did it for, I don't know, over 22 years and so I was in that space for quite some time. But there was a part of me, even before taking that last role, where I was like, do I wanna do this role again? Am I not sure? And I was like, I think I have one more company in me and there were some challenges that I still wanted to accomplish in that space in my career. And then as that went along for me, there just started to be this, like, questioning that I started to have. And I think my mind and my logical and my analytical skills really won out for so much of the time that once I started to kinda let the heart get into the conversation a little bit more, it became more apparent to me that I think I need to do a switch. And I guess part of it is the and maybe even just the way that I did HR was potentially a little different than is traditional.
Tiffany Voltz:
And it was so much of those one on one conversations with individuals in the workplace where I wasn't talking to them about being an employee. I wasn't necessarily always talking to them about some strategic employee thing or whatever that was. It was like you are a human being in front of me with a whole lived experience. It's just not about this employee stuff. Right? And so in having those conversations and letting people show up as themselves at work and understanding, oh, we're bringing baggage from family in, we're bringing challenges from culture in, we're bringing all of these other things, it became so important to me to potentially do that in a different context and not always have kind of the company in mind as much as I loved that work. And I think I was yeah. I still get hesitant. I'm like, what is this? What is this? And being a person who is highly stretched in the hall, not a lot of bandwidth.
Tiffany Voltz:
There wasn't always space. I was like, if I could just have space to think about this. But I remember I'm kinda known for doing vision boarding parties with some of my close women friends every year. And I remember it so clearly, it was January 8th 2020 when we were doing this and just kind of thinking, like, what are the ways I wanna feel less of in the year? What do I wanna feel more of in this year? These words just started to emerge for me around courage, goals. I think I had on the vision board going big and, like, listening to my voice. And that just occurred to me as these words and these images and these pictures were coming up and I'm like, I'm going to do it finally. Like, the heart's saying it. It's loud enough.
Tiffany Voltz:
I can't quiet that down and it's time. And I remember talking to these women who I love dearly and they know who they are. Just like, I think this is it. And it was not long after that. In fact, it was maybe a week when I officially made the decision and, you know, talked to my leadership and let them in on what I was gonna do, which was gonna be transitioning into therapy.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Wow. Thank you for sharing that piece of your journey with us and kind of walking us through that moment. It's interesting because as you were talking about that, it brought to mind the moment I decided to quit my full-time job, which happened for me also with a group of women. And I was on this little weekend retreat, and I had maybe had an inkling that I needed to leave. And then all of a sudden, it was so clear. And you the word that you use there, these words started to emerge. And for me, that just brought back this imagery of, like, it was present. Those words were there.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
They just needed a space, and they needed you to be willing to listen, and you did.
Tiffany Voltz:
Absolutely. They needed space. They needed the platform, and they needed me to listen to them too. But, yeah, it was a beautiful it was a beautiful moment of the experience in making the decision.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
So you had that moment where the words emerged, and like you said, you gave your heart space to talk. And then you can push back on me. My assumption is that then after that, it's like, okay. Great. Heart, you made the decision. Now, my mind and logistics and all of these other things need to come into play. So could you tell us a little bit more about, like, what had to happen between making the decision and then actually making that transition?
Tiffany Voltz:
Well, I had to let my women friends go because I needed to have a conversation with myself about it for sure. But, yeah, you're absolutely right. It was this place of, okay, this is here. This feels right to me, but how do I actually execute on this? Like, is this reality? Can I make this happen? One of the conversations was actually the first conversations I had outside of myself was with my husband and just saying, you know, this is what I'm thinking. It's gonna involve going back to school. I don't think I want to work while I do this. Right? Like, I think I want to really give this my full attention. That's kind of how I operate anyway, but I wanna just, like, fully focus on this new thing and really embrace it for what it is.
Tiffany Voltz:
And he, you know, which is so fortunate, was just like, yeah, absolutely. There was no kind of real question about it. It was more like, I want you to feel supported and that this makes sense for you. And so I needed to think about things like what schools would I apply to and when would I tell my job and what makes sense? And how will I transition out of this role and make sure that the company is set up for success upon my departure? And so really putting all of those pieces into place were important for me. I think because I was at the top of my game in HR too, it's like I was really thoughtful of the employees, my team, the company in general, and how to make this work for everyone while still keeping my needs at the forefront, I guess I would say. And so, interestingly, I feel like I figured out all those things, and I began to to start applying. I was like, I think I'm ready because I wanna give a good amount of notice of the job. And so I gave notice in January.
Tiffany Voltz:
So a week, maybe a week and a half or so after making the decision. And I was like, I'll give you until March, you know, of, you know, mid, late March, and I'm gonna be there to craft this plan. Everything's gonna be great. And the funniest part of the story for me was that I left in the pandemic. I didn't know that that was what was gonna happen but, you know, I always kinda joke. It's like, okay, I left HR and then pandemic happened and I don't know what to make of that as a connection but there was a lot happening all at once in hindsight. I feel like, oh, it was a lot, but it was also really necessary for me. Almost that pandemic time of not needing to go anywhere and not being out and about was so healing for me in ways that I would have never imagined outside of, you know, all of the loss and the fear and everything that was happening at that time.
Tiffany Voltz:
I was able to really sit with my decision then too because I wasn't going anywhere. So that was an interesting piece of it. But I think what was important about that time, again in hindsight, is you go through life sometimes even in these jobs or careers that you mostly like. But I was so burned out. Like I don't even know that I knew how burned out I was until I didn't have to go anywhere and felt that depletion in a way where I was like, okay. I'm starting to refuel. This feels good. Oh, my gosh.
Tiffany Voltz:
Like, it was just so so interesting to me where it's like I am - I can't, I'm not letting that happen again. Like, I even in this new career and there's lessons I learned along the way which maybe we'll get to, but just having that, like, that push to get it done, to push through this, to do through this, it's like I'm gonna have to learn some new ways in this new career in order for this to be the thing that I kind of take to retirement or take to the end of my working career. I wanna do this differently. And it gave me a lot of hope that I could because I was finally having space to be aware of it that I hadn't had before. So, yeah, lots of lessons.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Man. Yeah. And, hopefully, knock on wood, we don't have another pandemic. I'm wondering, would you recommend to people who are doing those transitions to try and build in some time for themselves even if they don't feel like they need it?
Tiffany Voltz:
Yes. Because I think we're just depending on how we are wired and all the things that make us tick in a workplace. I feel like sometimes you don't even realize it. How much you need to refuel. Because I think, like for me, I worked in the Chicago Tech Ecosystem. You just are used to kind of firing on all cylinders and it's fun and it's exciting. There's a lot of, like, awesome stuff that can come from that. But I was also a mom and a wife and a friend and I just feel like to be able to do all those roles at the level that I was doing them took a toll on me.
Tiffany Voltz:
And so space is so great even to just celebrate the transition as a thing that it is. Right? It's a big, new, old choice that you're making. And to go from one thing to the next doesn't it almost doesn't give it as much celebratory effect as it could have. It's like, I did this thing, and I want to fuel myself up in a way to know that I'm gonna really put all of my effort and energy and creativity to this new thing in a way that inspires me and fuels me. I think having that space is wonderful if you can do it. If you can, yes, I say, go for it.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Another follow-up question as part of your story is so you mentioned you were at the top of your game. Like, you were in the C-Suite. If you weren't in the C-Suite, how would that have impacted your decision of when to give notice as you were making that transition?
Tiffany Voltz:
I think I would have just given less notice. I mean, I think it that really comes down to that. Like, I felt motivated because of where I was on a leadership team and how involved I was with strategic challenges in the business and then leading a team as well that I just wanted to give enough time to make sure that everybody was up to speed to transition into new roles after they just sort of accepted that this was the change that was gonna happen, that there will be enough of my time to problem solve with people and to plan to make the transition smooth. And it's just I just had a lot of responsibility and so I wanted to make it as peaceful as possible, particularly because I wasn't going to be moving right into school in March. I was gonna have some of that time. So I felt like I could afford to do that and that I wanted to do that. I feel like if I was in a role that wasn't at that level, I would, of course, still want the transition to be useful for those involved, but I don't know if I would have taken as much time. It would have definitely been a shorter notice period.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Thank you. Yeah. I wanted to to call that out for other folks. And it sounds like the questions to consider are, like, what would make this transition easeful for me, and what would make this easeful for the people that I'm working with. Because the people listening to this podcast are kind people. We don't wanna burn any bridges. And, also, you never know where your career is gonna lead you. And so as much as possible, you wanna leave in integrity and leave places better than you found them.
Tiffany Voltz:
Absolutely.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
So, let's continue your story. So you leave in March. You've got a whole pandemic. And then, eventually I mean, in the midst of the pandemic, really, you start school. And you chose a career path, a new career path that involves going back to school. Some folks who are listening are thinking about career paths that may not involve getting another degree, but I think it's helpful to talk about one that involves getting a degree. I can only imagine that it's a pretty different experience to be being a chief people officer, be really involved strategically in a tech company. And then all of a sudden, you're, like, back to being in class and being a student and learning some new skills.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
So tell us just what was that transition like?
Tiffany Voltz:
Oh my goodness. Yeah. I'm just I'm a little tickled by it because it when you say it, I'm brought back and how that really felt. I remember, like, sort of being excited. I was also always a person who really, like, liked school. Like, learning is sort of, like, it's a place of joy for me and it's great. But in this structured way of going to grad school, it was it was different. But I remember being giddy, you know, on that first day, like, what are the professors gonna be like, who I'm gonna meet, you know.
Tiffany Voltz:
So there's some excitement to it for sure. And also a lot up here, I would say, of just you know, I'm an older student at this point and then I think, you know, in terms of my cohort mates, it probably range from those just getting out of undergrad, to those of us who, you know, this was a transition and second career and so there were people who were older than me as well, but I think it trended towards the younger ends and just wondering like, oh my gosh, I'm in school again. Am I gonna fit in? Should I be quiet? Should I contribute? Just trying to find my way. But I think what it came down to is one of the kind of core values that I have is that I'm just very, very curious. And so I just let that be what kind of brought me through. Curious about my cohort mates' experiences, curious about how I was feeling on a daily basis, curious about the material, of course, too. And just letting that unfold for me in a way of this is a career that I'm choosing, this is the schooling that I need, let's have some fun with it, let's not stress out so much. But there was, you know, getting used to it period, I would say, of just feeling like, okay, this is this is the right choice.
Tiffany Voltz:
And just like feeling that we all have something valuable, I think, to contribute to a conversation. Once you have that as your kind of foundation, I think other things just fall into place, which is nice. But I, you know, we had some really great professors and, you know, came in contact with a group of people that, you know, I still, you know, are close today. We still meet regularly. My counseling queens and, we just help each other out and support each other. And it's been a really great experience from that. But, yeah, it was it's definitely a transition going back to the school grind and kinda finding my place.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
So I'm hearing some things that you did. I'm not surprised about this just knowing you, but you were really it's almost like you had metacognition about the process as it was happening, and you're being really mindful about how you wanted to show up and engage with this transition. I'm also hearing you talk about your counseling queens, and so it sounds like you created or sought out community. As you look back at that version of yourself who is just going into her first couple of semesters of grad school, what's the advice that you would give her?
Tiffany Voltz:
You belong here. I think it's as simple as that. It's it's you belong here and just show up as you. And that's gonna be okay. Be curious, and you belong here.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Well, Tiffany, I did not expect to tear up on this interview. Something about that just really struck a chord with me. I've mentioned it some places. I haven't fully said it, but I'm starting a part time PhD program, and I have a lot of feelings about it. But that reminder that we belong places, and whether your career switch involves going back to school or you're just going in a different industry. And a lot of times when you're switching careers, there's this gap where people are younger than you but have more experience than you in these different places. So that reminder of you belong here is something I personally needed to hear that truly struck a chord with me. And I'm hoping for other people that you just take a moment and internalize that for yourself, whatever that means for your situation right now.
Tiffany Voltz:
Yeah. Take it in, Taylor.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
I didn't expect to have my own therapy session today.
Tiffany Voltz:
It's funny how that happens. Right?
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
I do wanna loop back on for a second because I I talked about your transitioning from HR to therapy and why you wanted to make a transition, but I didn't actually ask you why therapy.
Tiffany Voltz:
Oh, yeah. I think I just have this viewpoint about people that if they are just given a container with which to kind of feel safe enough to explore their just honest truths, that they can do such remarkable things. And I think I found that even in HR when we really started to talk about things and what made people tick and all of that, they would make the best decisions for themselves, for their companies, for the people in their lives. But like, just having that non-judgmental space to do it was just not always there for them or they felt even. Sometimes therapy is so much, it's like, well, then I have a problem or there's a diagnosis or there's all of this. Like, sometimes it's just space to talk, right? And to allow ourselves to be to be honest without necessarily even needing to make a decision. I think that's super important too. Like I know I fall into that habit.
Tiffany Voltz:
Like, once I know that I've gotta do something about it, it's like, no, not necessarily. But now I know and when I have space to do something about it, I can. And so just being able to work with people, to get to know themselves better, and to build that self trust was really, really important to me in the work that I did in HR. I was like, I think therapy is the best context for me to do this in. And the idea of the ripple effects that can happen for somebody who is allowed that and is just free to be truthful, not even to the world, but like to themselves. So many of us aren't necessarily truthful to ourselves because we're afraid of what that might mean. And so being able to be that for someone became the draw for me. So just, say it.
Tiffany Voltz:
Say it out loud. There's so many therapy sessions that I'm just saying. It's like, okay. I think I feel something coming out. Like, I know you wanna say something. Just say it. What would that feel like? Well, how liberating would that be? And I actually work with a big portion of my caseload is trauma. I'm trained specifically in trauma therapy.
Tiffany Voltz:
And to even think that you can be playful and creative and joyful and trauma is a weird thing, potentially. But it's it's actually the thing that some clients embrace the most. If you're navigating through trauma, that means you're not generally having fun. And so how do we bring that back into our worlds as a way that us just have our birthright to be joyful and to have fun and to to play and have creativity? And so that became really, really important to me and there were aspects of therapy too, that was, talk therapy is certainly a piece of the work that I do, it's bringing the body into the therapy experience. And some of us have very challenging relationships with our bodies for all the good reasons. And to be able to be a part of somebody's journey with that where we can listen to what the body is telling us and use that as a a means to heal, it just it all was like, this is what I have to do. This is definitely what I have to do. And I'm just, I'm just so grateful that I get to do this every day.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Thank you for sharing that piece of your experience with us. And it's just so clear as I - I'm lucky I get to see you talking about it, but you can hear it in your voice too that you have this conviction about the work that you're here to do, especially through therapy. I'm wondering what's been the most surprising part of this transition for you?
Tiffany Voltz:
I feel like there was, I will admit just a little bit of fear that I would just take all of these stories and all of these challenges and everything that my beautiful clients are going through and, like, take them through my world and through my experience. And that fact would be a difficult thing to navigate. I think in therapy, you hear a lot about vicarious trauma, compassion, fatigue, all of these things, right? And so I think then, because I was fully aware of it and I don't know if we're talking about it more now and there'd be training and grad programs potentially, but it was something that I was like, oh, am I gonna - is that gonna happen? Because I came from this career feeling very fatigued and very burned out. But I'm finding that it's just it's just not the same. And so it's a good surprise, I would say, where it's like I can hear these stories of people's inner struggles and challenges and be so attuned to those individuals and then still leave that there with them so that I can come back to it. Like, I'm not taking it to my family and I'm not taking it to my friends. I'm tired. Like, we'll we'll say that, but it's just a different thing.
Tiffany Voltz:
There's just such a I feel such a reward with the work that I think it's it's a very good balance for me to to go through those, you know, those challenging times with with clients, but now see them getting better, seeing them thriving, seeing them just feel safe enough. At the end of the day, that's kind of what it is and building that trusting relationship and I just wouldn't treat it for anything at this point. And so I'm I'm glad it hasn't taken me in a direction that I was a little bit fearful of because of my own patterns and behaviors and tendencies. But I feel like I've been better boundaried with it, which is really, really great. And just, yeah, just so enjoying the work. So rewarding.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
I love this for you, Tiffany.
Tiffany Voltz:
Thank you.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
So I wanna tap back into just a little bit of your HR knowledge for a moment because one of the hardest parts when you're switching careers is just getting your foot in the door for the next career. And I would guess it's a little bit different for therapy as we're we have a shortage of therapists. We need a lot of therapists to work and to do the good work that you do. But I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on how people could land that first role as they're transitioning into a new career.
Tiffany Voltz:
Yeah. I think that there's there's a part of it that starts off internally within First, and that's a little bit of confidence because I think we sell ourselves short. And I guess what I mean by that is, you know, I think as a therapist, it's a new role, but there's many aspects of that role that I've been doing in my former career, if not my whole life. And being able to sort of say, like, okay, this is a new title, maybe a new industry, maybe it's a change, but there's probably some overlap. And being able to be aware of that and then feel confident in that, like, oh, I can speak to those things. Like, I can speak to my empathy skills and my active listening and, you know, all of those things as a therapist because that's how I did my job before. So I think that's really important. Where's the overlap that you can say, like, I've actually been doing this in a different context and this is how I might apply it in the new role, in the new career.
Tiffany Voltz:
I think it's also important before right away jumping into the new role or career transition is that you start to talk to people who are doing the work that you wanna be doing. I think that's really, really helpful because you get a sense, you start to build a network and then when you're ready because you've done the training or boot camp or whatever it is, you've already talked to people. It's not sort of like, okay, I'm done now. How am I gonna find this new role? Start to interview people. What does this role look like for you? What do you like about it? And start to build your network. And it can kind of feel networking is not where people feel like, I'm not a networker, but have it more so be just this curiosity piece again. Like this is a field that I'm interested in and I'm just curious how did you get into it? Like just have it be conversations. It doesn't have to be so outcome based.
Tiffany Voltz:
I can't tell you how many people I have talked to, HR heads, who are thinking about therapy at this point. They, like, see me on LinkedIn. It's like, would you have a quick conversation? And I'm always saying yes because I think it's really important to know other people who are doing a similar thing. So don't be afraid of that. Start to research people and start to reach out to them because I think you might be surprised. There are people who are willing to to talk about their story and that'll help you along the way. And then that's a lead for you, someone to reach out to when you're ready to make the actual lead.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Thank you for that advice. The confidence, and to use a very HRE term, but, like, finding those transferable skills and understanding that things that you do can still apply. Like, I think of one of my friends and a former Inner Workout employee who had a whole career in childcare and now works in marketing. And you'd be surprised the number of transferable skills and being creative and being improvisational and these different things that she has been able to make connections. And I really wanna underscore that for people listening who are like, well, my career shift, there are no transferable skills. I promise you there's at least one.
Tiffany Voltz:
At least one. Probably five, but at least one. Yeah. I agree.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
And then, yeah, the talking to people. Like, having those conversations I was gonna say worst case scenario, but it's not even worst case scenario. You might have a conversation and get closer to this is what it would actually look like for me to do this career, and I don't want that. And what a gift to then not quit your job and not go into these other things. I also see other people who have had conversations and realize, oh, I thought I wanted this thing, but I actually want this other thing that I didn't even know the name of, and I wouldn't have known that if I wouldn't have had the conversation.
Tiffany Voltz:
So true. I agree with that. And you're right. It's not worst case if you learn something that says that's not for me. Like, how about a win? For sure. For sure.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Yes. It's a win. It's a a gift. And this whole conversation, honestly, was was such a gift. Thank you for being willing to share your experience and some of what it was like for you to go through these transitions. If people want to stay connected with you, what's the best way for them to do that, Tiffany?
Tiffany Voltz:
Yeah. I feel like LinkedIn is kind of the the way. Like, that's the the easiest way. And, you know, I am in a therapy practice, and so, depending on what they wanna connect with me for, you know, it would depend. But if it's about this career transition phase or season or period for them, fine. You can find me on LinkedIn, Tiffany Voltz, and I'm happy to have those conversations with people.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Awesome. We will make sure that that is linked in the show notes. Thank you so much, Tiffany, for being generous with your time, especially when you are often being so generous with your time with other people, I appreciate you sharing a little sliver of it here.
Tiffany Voltz:
Aw, thank you, Taylor. It was a pleasure.
Taylor Elyse Morrison:
Inner Warmup is a collaborative effort. It's hosted by me, Taylor Elyse Morrison, Danielle Spaulding provides production support, and it's edited by Carolina Duque. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend. And if you're looking to continue your inner work, our free Take Care assessment is a great place to start. On that note, take care.