Career Development Perspectives from Beauty, Consulting & Healthcare | HireEdge Careers Unlocked

This post is part of our Careers Unlocked series, where we talk to professionals across industries about their career paths and advice for college students and grads entering the job market. Watch the full episode with senior executive Tamara Jurgenson: Tamara Jurgenson on Careers Unlocked.

Tamara Jurgenson has spent more than 25 years leading growth strategy and marketing across consumer products, consulting, and healthcare, with leadership roles at McKinsey, Estée Lauder, Coty, and Oak Street Health. She currently serves on the board of Unlock Health and advises several other healthcare organizations. 

Here are takeaways from our conversation with her.

Be open to opportunities that don't sound exciting at first. Jurgenson took an internship marketing a power company to businesses, assuming it wouldn't be interesting. She ended up loving it, and says the experience taught her not to dismiss opportunities just because they don't sound like a dream role on paper.

A single mentor relationship can shape decades of your career. The same professor who helped Jurgenson land that early internship remained a source of feedback and mentorship for years afterward. It’s a reminder, she says, of how much long-term value a genuine relationship with a teacher or advisor can hold.

Plans can change, and that's not a failure. Jurgenson intended to take over her family's costume jewelry business, but a sudden shift in fashion trends upended that plan entirely. She pivoted into consumer products instead, using the same instincts around trends and consumer behavior in a new context.

Scaling a startup means tolerating imperfection everywhere at once. At Oak Street Health, Jurgenson says every business function was forming simultaneously in the early days. Nothing ran smoothly yet, and that required extra communication and patience that more mature companies don't demand.

There's no single formula for great leadership. Jurgenson pushes back on the idea that all successful leaders share the same traits. She's worked for leaders she considered excellent and others she considered difficult, both of whom built successful organizations. Her advice is to figure out what type of leadership and culture brings out your own best work.

Advice: Careers are long, so don't rush the journey. Jurgenson's advice to graduates: not every career move needs to be a step forward, and there's real value in every experience, good or bad. Give yourself time to figure out what you're actually good at, rather than expecting to get it right immediately.

Want more career advice from professionals across industries? Check out the full Careers Unlocked podcast series on our HireEdge YouTube Channel.