Want to make a career pivot? Here's what this Google exec says you should do first.

Business Insider

a day ago

Google executive Mira Lane is all for following your passions and changing your career. That's exactly what she did.
But she encourages approaching a career shift with a plan.
"For people that are wanting to pivot, I would pivot with information," the senior director and founder of the Envisioning Studio at Google told Business Insider.
Lane, who started her career as a software developer and went on to create an AI prototyping lab that explores the impact of tech innovation on society, said that many people switch careers multiple times because they're uncertain.
She said job seekers should gather as much information as possible to make sure that the career pivot they're making is the right move.
That includes talking to people in the industry, watching YouTube videos about jobs that interest you, and trying out internships, Lane said. If you're earlier in your career, you should also try to choose a college that provides opportunities to gain work experience.
The idea is to "constantly get some feedback," Lane said.
Whether you're just starting out in the workforce or looking to make a shift mid-career, changing careers is common. However, Lane's advice comes amid an ongoing workforce transformation driven by AI advancements.
A 2025 World Economic Forum survey found that 41% of companies globally expect to reduce staff in the next five years because of the new tech, meaning more people may be forced to adjust.
"All the jobs are kind of evolving in this moment," Lane said. "Everything's kind of shifting. So you want to be in a space where you're getting a lot of signals."
That's how Lane navigated multiple career pivots. After starting her career as a software developer, Lane moved to program management and then later on transitioned to leading AI ethics and society at Microsoft.
After nearly two decades at Microsoft, Lane saw an opportunity for companies to engage more directly in conversations about the tools they were developing. That inspired her to build a team of creative strategists, philosophers, and researchers focused on discussing technology at Google.
"I don't like when technology is built, and then people have to deal with decisions that were made that weren't really intentional," Lane, who is also a visual artist, told BI.
Lane said when she was at Microsoft and was "poking around" for a new role, she met the person who would eventually become her boss at Google. She said he asked her what she wanted to do with her life and caught her off guard, so she asked if she could get back to him.
Even though she had an idea of her interests at the time, Lane said it was important to pause and think about what she really wanted.
"I wasn't prepared to just answer that on the fly," Lane said. "I thought, 'if someone's asking me, let me, reflect on it.'"
After some thought, Lane prepared a one-page pitch about the lab she wanted to create, which ended up becoming a reality.
Lane said once you get enough signals about what you like or don't like, you should listen to what "lights you up." If you find yourself following a path that doesn't make you excited, maybe it's not the right one.