From Minimum Wage to Six Figures: The Questions I’m Most Often Asked

From Minimum Wage to Six Figures: The Questions I’m Most Often Asked

📌 This week, I’m sharing my personal story of how I went from minimum wage to a six-figure career, and the six career levers that made it possible. Each day, we’ve been looking at two parts of that journey: what I got wrong at the start, the shifts that changed everything, and the lessons you can apply to accelerate your own career. Today, I’m doing something different. Instead of a traditional post, I’m answering the questions I’m most often asked about my journey.

Q: What was the hardest part of going from minimum wage to six figures?

Honestly? It was the self-doubt.

When I first walked into that temp agency and begged for “anything,” I felt like I’d lost my professional identity. I’d once run a successful financial services practice. Suddenly, I was in a minimum-wage role, with a five-year career gap, outdated qualifications, and the fear no one would take me seriously again.

The hardest part wasn’t the money, it was rebuilding my confidence.

What helped me was realising my skills weren’t gone; they were just hidden. By reframing my CV, investing in LinkedIn, and making my achievements visible, I began to rebuild my professional story. Once people could see my impact, opportunities followed.

Working with a professional resume writer can help here too. Not only do they craft your story in a way that’s magnetic to hiring managers, but the process itself reminds you of your achievements. That boost of confidence carries into interviews and negotiations.

👉 Lesson: Careers stall less because of a lack of talent and more because of a lack of visibility

Q: Which of the six levers made the biggest difference?

If I had to pick one, it would be network and reputation.

Your CV and LinkedIn get you noticed. Recruiters and trigger events open doors. But your reputation is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. That’s what gets your name raised for opportunities you didn’t even know existed.

Sponsors were game-changers for me. A line manager once said, “Zoe should take that project.” A director later put my name forward for a role. Those interventions accelerated my career faster than anything else.

And in my role today as CEO of Resume Pilots/CV Pilots, executive search firms tell me the same thing repeatedly: an executive’s reputation lands them roles faster and with stronger negotiating power than any recruiter ever can.

👉 Lesson: Reputation isn’t built overnight. It’s built through consistent results, visibility, and ensuring people know the impact you deliver

 Call to action: If you’re not sure, grab our Professional CV Review Service to stress-test your document.

Q: What do most executives get wrong when they try to level up?

They play it safe.

Too many executives recycle the same CV they’ve used for years, hoping it will “speak for itself.” They neglect LinkedIn, assuming their track record is enough. They wait for roles to be advertised instead of creating opportunities through trigger events or direct approaches.

At senior level, safety is the riskiest strategy. Safe blends in. Safe is forgettable.

If you’re at, or approaching, the C-suite, use your current title to open doors. If you’re Head of Marketing aiming for a Marketing Director role, make bold statements on LinkedIn. Secure speaking engagements that showcase your expertise. Build peer-level networks with other directors.

👉 Lesson: If you’re not actively shaping your narrative and positioning yourself, you’re leaving your career to chance

Q: If someone’s stuck right now, where should they start today?

Start with clarity and visibility.

Clarity: Know exactly what you want next. Not “anything senior.” Be specific; role, industry, remit, impact. The clearer you are, the easier it is for others (especially recruiters) to help you.

Visibility: Audit your CV and LinkedIn. Do they highlight outcomes, not tasks? Do they position you for the role you want, not just the one you have? Would a recruiter or board member know in 7 seconds why you’re different?

Once those foundations are in place, build networks that put your name in the right conversations. You don’t need hundreds of connections. You need the right ones - and genuine relationships. Help your network whenever you can, and when you need support, don’t be afraid to ask.

And remember: you can’t build a network overnight. It has to be built ahead of time.

👉 Lesson: You can’t network effectively or approach recruiters strategically if your foundations are shaky. Start there

Call to action: If you’re not confident in that answer, explore our LinkedIn Review Service to make sure you’re not leaving opportunities on the table.

Q: What surprised you most about your journey?

That it wasn’t linear.

I used to think career growth was step by step, each move a little higher than the last. The reality? It’s more like climbing a jungle gym: sideways moves, pauses, even step-backs, all leading to the bigger leap.

That minimum-wage contract didn’t look like progress on paper. But it was the springboard. It gave me the chance to prove myself, rebuild my story, and create momentum.

Sometimes you stay longer in a role than expected to strengthen your network. Sometimes you leave earlier than planned. Sometimes strategy drives the move, sometimes luck. The point is to embrace the messiness, learn what you can from each role, and stay intentional about your overall trajectory.

👉 Lesson: Sometimes the opportunity that doesn’t look glamorous is the one that unlocks the next big move

The Takeaway

When people ask me about my journey, they often expect a silver bullet, one trick that took me from minimum wage to six figures. But there wasn’t one. It was a combination of levers: CV, LinkedIn, reputation, learning, recruiters, and proactive outreach.

The key was applying them consistently, with intention. And the truth is, these levers aren’t reserved for me. They’re available to anyone willing to use them.

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap everything together in a complete roadmap: the six steps that took me from invisible to in demand, and how you can apply them to accelerate your own career.

Because if I could rebuild my career from the ground up, you can too.

📌 This blog is part of my From Minimum Wage to Six Figures series. Each day this week, I’m breaking down two of the six levers that transformed my career:

👉 Read yesterday’s post here: Recruiters & Trigger Events
👉 Continue to the next post here: The 6-Step Roadmap

Your next career move deserves more than guesswork. At Resume Pilots, we specialise in crafting executive-level CVs and LinkedIn profiles that get results. We showcase your impact and position you for six-figure roles.

If you’re serious about taking control of your career story, let’s talk.

 Schedule a call with our team today and take the first step toward your next big opportunity.