20. Lucky Number 8
From Holding Space for Unicorns by Alicia Payne
August 23, 2025 · 13 min · Season 1 · Episode 20
About this episode
Alicia reflects on her 15-year journey in the IT industry, sharing lessons learned from her career pivot from music teaching to tech sales.
Upon realising it's been 15 years since I started in the IT industry, I've done a lot of reflecting lately- and naturally, this led to an idea for a brief solo episode In this episode, I share the winding path that led me from music teaching into my first tech sales role. What began with countless interviews, rejection, and self-doubt became a story of resilience, opportunity, and alignment- one of my biggest life lessons to date. You’ll hear: How a background in music shaped my confidence and drive. The setbacks and lessons that came with early interview rejections. Why resilience and persistence are often the real differentiators in a career pivot. The moment clicked — it alland how “lucky number eight” changed my life. Why not being everyone’s cup of tea is more than okay. It's my hope that someone out there is going through a job search or career pivot journey, hears this and knows that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There certainly was for me. About Alicia Payne Alicia is a mother of two young children, and a Senior Account Manager at Nintex in Melbourne, Australia. Her tech career spans 15 years across channel and direct sales, working for Australian and Global…
People in this episode
Host: Alicia Payne
Topics covered
- career pivot
- resilience
- tech sales
- self-doubt
- music background
- job search
- life lessons
Keywords
- career transition
- interview rejections
- persistence
- confidence
- opportunity
- life lessons
- tech industry
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Nintex
Books & works: Master of Music
Places: Melbourne, Australia
More episodes of Holding Space for Unicorns
- 22. On Expectations · April 8, 2026 · 6 min
- 21. Holding Space for Johanna Korhonen · September 8, 2025 · 42 min
- 19. Holding Space for Dani Burns · June 22, 2025 · 37 min
- 18. Holding Space for Pamela Moodley · April 23, 2025 · 35 min
- 17. I Always Knew I Was Sparkly ( A Little Story About ADHD) · February 26, 2025 · 10 min
- 16. Holding Space for Caity Randall · December 2, 2024 · 45 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Holding Space for Unicorns podcast page.