Reinvention is not starting from scratch: a talent specialist's advice for times of change
Learn, unlearn, and start again. For Guillermo Ceballos Serra, that is the axis of personal and professional reinvention, and it has no age limit. "It doesn't start at 60, or at 40, it starts much earlier," he explains.
Nor does it mean throwing everything away: it's about recognizing accumulated capital and, on that foundation, building new networks. Someone starting over is not defenseless, because they carry with them what they already know.
The idea, he says, is broader than it appears. It's often associated with someone in transition or wanting to change industries, but the reflection applies throughout life. We live longer and the work world changes increasingly faster, making it almost impossible to sustain an entire career in the same company or activity.
Consultant Guillermo Ceballos Serra offers deep reflection on the art of reinvention for employability and a more fulfilling life. (Image assisted with AI).
The end of a contract
Ceballos Serra describes a shift in the "psychological contract" between people and companies.
Before, if you were honest and worked well, you built a career, received promotions, retired from the same company, and it took care of you. Today that is no longer guaranteed.
His advice is to commit fully to the organization, but without delegating management of your own career. He adds that you must be attractive to the labor market, something achieved by delivering value.
"The art of reinvention doesn't start at 60, or at 40, it starts much earlier"
His perspective comes from practice. As a consultant and coach, he interviews many people daily and jokes that he could write a book titled "How to Fail Successfully." Those conversations show him the biases and gaps many face at this stage. They also show him the cost of comfort: people earning well but unhappy, postponing change with phrases like "I'm already 50-something, why would I get into this?"
His own path
Ceballos Serra left the corporate world in 2010. Thinking about "the day after," he began building his personal brand, because, he explains, it works through contacts: "I can post ten ads and no one calls me." He already knew that day after would be consulting.
Before that, he had experienced his own reinvention. He's a lawyer who reached Human Resources through Labor Relations. When he lost an internal search to a candidate with U.S. experience, he decided he needed something more to differentiate himself and enrolled in a master's in Economics and Political Science. His company was only willing to finance studies in Human Resources or Law, but he proceeded with what he considered complementary.
Guillermo Ceballos Serra will lead a seminar to leverage each person's professional capital and redirect it toward a new professional identity.
How to do something different without starting from zero
For Ceballos Serra, the first mistake is believing reinvention means erasing everything. The useful question is what path leads to something else without straying too far.
His answer is to look at the edges of your own background. "Every career has a core body of knowledge, but at its borders it touches other sciences and other groups of people. That's where sources of proximity exist," he insists on the idea that you don't have to discard everything built, but readapt it to a new identity.
He moved from Law to Human Resources through Labor Relations. One of his brothers, an engineer, ended up in credit assessment at a financial institution. Neither jumped into the void: each walked a bridge between two disciplines.
The other obstacle is mental: setting limits before trying. His advice is not to decide in advance that change is no longer for you. Once the bridge is identified, the second step is a concrete plan to reach where you want to go.
How to build the new network
"It works through contacts," he insists. That's why he began building his personal brand before leaving the corporation, with a blog, thinking about the day after. The key is anticipation: don't wait until you're outside to start becoming known.
"Being attractive to the market is delivering value, and that value must be visible to others," he reflects.
Hence the network is the third pillar of the seminar, after personal capital and the plan. It's not just about digital contacts: the proposal includes an in-person group of people who connect with each other and continue the conversation over coffee afterward. That shared space was the original idea behind the seminar.
Being attractive in the market is delivering value.
A perspective from mining
These ideas resonate particularly within the mining industry. A mine has a lifecycle that includes closure, and the people and communities that developed around it need to continue growing when that stage ends.
The logic Ceballos Serra proposes helps think about it: the skills and knowledge acquired today shouldn't serve only for the current position, but be capital that can be carried to another activity.
Applied to the sector, this means identifying which competencies are transferable (technical, management, safety, logistics, supplier and community relations), finding "bridges" to other industries, and building networks that don't depend on a single employer.
Avoid saying in advance that change isn't for me.
The sooner you start, the more options you have. For workers, local suppliers, and nearby communities, preparing for the day after the mine is also a way to protect your own development.
What you'll find in the seminar
The seminar proposes assessing your own capital, developing a plan, and building a network. The approach is practical and participatory, with each participant designing their own learning and development project for the coming years. Upon completion, attendees will be able to identify beliefs and barriers limiting learning, recognize their transferable competencies, incorporate continuous learning tools, and design a personal reinvention plan.
It's aimed at professionals in career transition, executives and middle managers, entrepreneurs, people nearing retirement, and anyone interested in developing their adaptive capacity. It's organized by UMSA's School of Business and Faculty of Economic Sciences.
