Episode #6 with Gemma Laurelle: from criminal lawyer to video games voice actor

Welcome to episode #6 of the Career Pivot Podcast, hosted by Bec Sands. This episode is available on Spotify, Stitcher and iTunes, and if you enjoy it, I would love it if you could please subscribe and leave me a review.

In today’s podcast episode, I interview Gemma Laurelle, originally a criminal lawyer with over a decade of experience and now a video games voice actor, game enthusiast and actress.

After 10 years as a criminal lawyer, Gemma found that she had lost passion for her work, was more stressed than ever, and noticed that her health was suffering too. Taking control, she made a drastic career change, leaving her position as a barrister to pursue her passion for gaming and acting – an outlet she had previously used to escape from the day-to-day.

Gemma has also recently produced, written and starred in a new comedy series Vikings Now (a show following the disastrous adventures of three Vikings banished by Odin to modern-day Australia as punishment for their epic mistakes).

Show Notes

1:26 Where Gemma was at before she pivoted her career, and how she went from a “highly repressed” to “highly expressed” environment.

2:15 The accumulation of moments that encouraged Gemma to pivot her career, despite being in what she’d thought would be her ‘dream job’.

3:56 How Gemma worked up the courage to make the big change.

4:50 The elements of the job that were fun - but the one thing it wasn’t giving her that she truly needed.

6:25 The first steps Gemma took to pivot her career.

7:50 How the mind can stop you from taking a step forward and taking action.

10:03 The biggest challenge Gemma faced when transitioning her career, and how she overcame it.

13:10 The best things Gemma finds about working for herself and having her own business.

16:10 How Gemma transitioned from the frenetic pace of being a criminal lawyer to being in her own business and able to spend more quality time on each client.

18:30 What it means when you can’t switch off from work, which is true for so many industries, and the impact it can have.

20:40 Gemma’s top three recommendations for someone who feels they aren’t in the right career or role for them, and what they can do straight away.

25:00 Two of the books that have made a massive impact for Gemma in relation to finding and pursuing her passion.

Additional links:

Work It Out, Mel Robbins

Find Your Why, Simon Sinek

Find out more about Gemma Laurelle.

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