Three signs it’s time for your career pivot

Learned first-hand by FW founder, Helen McCabe

By Melanie Dimmitt

Published 23 March, 2026

Three signs it’s time for your career pivot

Learned first-hand by FW founder, Helen McCabe

By Melanie Dimmitt

Published 23 March, 2026

Previous article How to actually make your career switch

One woman knew she was done when she lost her competitive edge. For another, it was boredom. Burnout was the breaking point for yet another.

The latest season of Too Much: The Switch features eight successful women who’ve made major career changes. We’re talking screeching gear shifts from Formula One car engineering to croissant making. Prima ballerina dancing to midwifery. Hairdressing to policing.

Through these and many more whiplash-inducing turns, we’ve learned that even the most extreme pivots are possible. Now, Helen McCabe is breaking down exactly how to know if it’s time for yours.

In the first of two bonus episodes, the founder of FW and FW Jobs Academy shares the signs that told her it was time to take the leap from magazine editor to entrepreneur.

1

Your gut is speaking up

For some time before she made her move, Helen could sense that she wanted a change. “I had that gut feel that I needed to do something,” she says. And that something was already starting to catch her eye.

“I also had a couple of big moments where I saw the energy in a room when there were a lot of women together. And just thought, there’s something to harness in that.”

Helen also flags situations when you find yourself in a role you never really signed up for.

“Maybe you fell into that job and a boss kept saying, ‘You’re really great at it. Can you just take on this responsibility, and that responsibility?’ And you wake up and you’re doing all these things that you’re okay at, but you never planned on.”

Is it time to get things back on course? Or could it be that a shift is already afoot?

2

Your industry is changing

As Editor-in-Chief at The Australian Women’s Weekly, Helen saw the writing on the wall. “I was doing a lot of research around print media and magazines. I was watching the numbers… and where the future audiences were going to come from. So I could see that my industry and my career and my skill were all slowly declining.”

This is not a sign to sit on. Helen stresses the importance of “staying across trends and insights – things that are happening in your sector – so that you’re up-to-date”.

Better to jump on your own terms than have the rug pulled from under you. But maybe your switch is less about staying on the pulse and more about what matters to you.

3

You just can't do it anymore

Helen is clear about this point: “If you really dislike the business, if you really dislike your boss, if you walk in every day and go, they’re just full of crap. I don’t believe a thing they’re saying. I don’t admire them, I don’t like what the organisation does. They’re the reasons that you leave.”

Whatever your motivation, if you’re waiting for the timing to be “perfect”, you’ll just keep waiting.

“Every year that you stay in your organisation, turning up to your morning meeting, wondering when you might do it, is every year you’re a year away from doing your own thing,” says Helen.

Maybe the question isn’t whether to jump. It’s how much you’ll regret it if you don’t.

Too Much is a podcast series proudly supported by Victoria Police, who are looking for more women to join their ranks. Consider making the switch and explore a career with Victoria Police.