HER Story: Dana Manciagli - Power of Choices
HER Story: Embracing the power of choices and influencing the career paths of thousands
We recently had the privilege of interviewing Dana Manciagli, a highly accomplished corporate executive with over 30 years of experience in global sales and marketing roles at Fortune 500 companies. Dana's extensive career includes authorship, keynote speaking, career coaching, and the creation of the Job Search Master Class®, a groundbreaking cloud-based e-learning system that is revolutionizing the job search industry. As a distinguished honoree of the "Women of Influence" accolade, Dana's inspirational story is one we are honored to share today.
We pick up Dana’s story toward the culmination of her remarkable three-decade career with various Fortune 500 companies both in the United States and abroad. In the early 2000s, Dana joined Microsoft as a senior director, tasked with building a new sales team.
Throughout her tenure at Microsoft, Dana gained a reputation as the go-to person for career acceleration. Despite her demanding schedule, Dana’s office became a hub of advice on networking, job search strategies, and coaching for numerous individuals within Microsoft. She also became a sought-after speaker at Women's Conferences worldwide and generously contributed her time to The WIT Network, supporting women in the technology industry.
Dana helped many employees prepare for internal job changes such as promotions or following reorganizations. In many cases, she discovered that candidates required assistance in developing their messaging and presenting themselves with confidence.
"At a company like Microsoft, searching for a new job within the organization is as intense and competitive as changing companies. Following a reorganization, for example, many displaced employees seek jobs in other divisions," Dana shared.
A lesson in choices
In 2013, Dana made the tough decision to leave her job to become a full-time caretaker for her identical twin sister, Tracy, who was battling late-stage cancer. Dana's own experience with cancer, which she had fought twice while employed at Microsoft, had profoundly shaped her understanding of balancing adversity with strength to meet personal and career goals.
"Fast-paced and demanding environments like the tech industry don't generally accommodate the adversity faced by so many women and men," Dana explained. "Therefore, we need to be confident with our ability to make choices that enable us to accomplish our professional and personal goals. That's not easy!"
On a positive note, Dana’s guiding word in life became choices. She found it empowering and liberating to develop options and choose the path she would take. Dana's twin sister, Tracy, who sadly passed away in 2014, taught her the importance of avoiding societal expectations and becoming her own best advocate in all aspects of life, both personal and professional.
Reaching thousands of job seekers
Dana's second career chapter as a professional job search coach began with the publication of her book, Cut the Crap! Get a Job. She then expanded her impact rapidly into other educational and training models.
"I initially needed to put my unique job search process on paper," Dana said of her book. "I built prescriptive practices and tools based on thirty years on the hiring side of the table." She also provided private coaching to executives and delivered speeches nationwide.
Determined to make a broader impact on thousands of individuals rather than hundreds, Dana invested in her first professionally produced online course, the Job Search Master Class®, in 2015. This e-learning platform allowed her to continue assisting candidates who were employed, unemployed, underemployed, or seeking a career change.
Fast forward to the present day, and we can gain valuable insights from Dana's top "aha!" moments garnered from these past ten years of dedicated job search coaching.
Aha! #1: Identify Your Next Career Move First
Dana's foremost guidance for job seekers is to identify their next career move upfront. "Don't start writing your resume or applying for positions until you have this nailed down. It's not easy, but I have developed a new process to make it fun and interesting," Dana shared. My ’window shopping’ exercise enables someone to explore and analyze the job market while extracting the most relevant skills needed for each role type.
When candidates are asked about the type of job they are seeking, the most common yet ineffective responses are, "I'm good at so many things and have so much experience that it's hard to narrow it down," or "I'm not sure... what jobs do you have?" Having a clear goal in mind helps candidates exude confidence and leaves a more significant impression on hiring teams.
Aha! #2: Apply the 70 Percent Rule
Another crucial aspect of Dana's mission is helping candidates change their mindset to be positive and confident in their ability to secure their desired jobs.
"When candidates read a job description, they tend to focus on the skills they lack and count themselves out. However, it's important to realize that job descriptions often describe an ideal candidate who doesn't exist, explained Dana. My rule is simple: if you meet over 70% of the main requirements, go ahead and apply."
Further, Dana coaches clients to view those missing or underdeveloped skills as opportunities for growth, encouraging them to adopt the mindset of "That's something I need to learn" or "I will obtain that certificate."
Aha! #3: Acquire Updated Job Search Skills
Finally, Dana's third "aha!" moment centers on the necessity for candidates to learn updated job search networking and interview skills. Without these critical skills, crafting resumes and filling out applications will yield fruitless results.
"It's ironic. We study new technology, read about the latest business trends, and follow people on social media," Dana reflected. "However, when it comes to one of the most important aspects of our lives—our careers and financial freedom—we often wing it when it comes to precision networking and acing new interview techniques. Let's change that!"
"Everybody has a superpower to offer"
Dana's dedication to helping job seekers intensifies when it comes to supporting individuals facing significant challenges in securing meaningful employment. Underemployment can be just as severe as unemployment, in Dana’s experience, and large segments of the population encounter biases that require specialized coaching to navigate the employment world. To this end, she provides specialized job search skills training to military veterans, military spouses, and candidates with disabilities, equipping them to overcome obstacles to a satisfying occupation.
Dana firmly believes that every individual, each uniquely equipped, possesses distinctive superpowers to offer potential hiring teams. Often, they simply need to learn new techniques to define their goals, craft their personal narratives, and present themselves in a compelling manner to future employers. This is Dana's passion and expertise, and she eagerly utilizes it to support the aspirations of women in the tech industry.
"I'm excited to help the members of The WIT Network aim higher with their career goals and learn new job search skills," Dana affirmed. We’re excited, too.
HERstory is The WIT Network’s series where we share interesting and inspiring career journeys of women in our community. We welcome the opportunity to tell your story or someone you would like to nominate. Reach out to women@thewitnetwork.com if you have a great HERstory we should consider.