The Pivot Effect- From Cleaning Fees to C-Suite Sales: The Wild Career Pivot of Summer Orellano
On this episode of The Pivot Effect, part of Sapient Insights Group's HR Huddle series, hosts Teri Zipper and Susan Richards sit down with Summer Orellano, who now leads sales at Sapient, to talk about her winding career journey from managing Airbnbs in Florida, to joining Sapient as a contract office administrator, to stepping into a sales leadership role while seven months pregnant with her third child. Summer, Teri, and Susan dig into what it really takes to pivot: showing up even on the hard days, taking feedback well, bringing authenticity into sales, and recognizing skills you didn't know you had. It's an honest conversation about non-linear career paths, mentorship, and betting on yourself. In this episode: How Summer's move to Florida led to an unexpected connection with Susan Why "right place, right time" isn't the whole story Turning operations and admin experience into a sales career Why authenticity and constructive criticism matter in sales Summer's advice for anyone standing at the edge of a pivot Connect with Summer Orellano on LinkedIn and Facebook. Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, culture, change, and HR technology, and check out our other shows: Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, and HR We Have a Problem.
