I didn’t set out to become a private investigator. I started my career as a librarian, then became a business owner specializing in business and market research. After 15 years, I pivoted and became a licensed PI and a Certified Fraud Examiner. Along the way, I learned that reinvention isn’t about abandoning who you are. It’s about building on what you already know and staying relevant as the world (and your clients) change around you.

Whether you’re choosing a new direction or being pushed into one, career transitions can feel unsettling. But they don’t have to derail you. Here are five lessons that helped me navigate multiple career shifts and stay grounded through them all.

1. Immerse yourself in learning

Every transition begins with curiosity. I’ve learned when to adopt a beginner’s mindset, even after years of experience. That means setting aside dedicated time to learn through conferences, webinars, books, and research.

Credentials can matter, but what matters more is staying engaged. Identify the experts in your field (or the one you want to move into) and pay attention to what they’re doing. Learning isn’t something you outgrow, and it’s never too late to start.

2. Tap into a support system

No one builds a sustainable career alone. Professional associations have been invaluable to me for continuing education, networking, collaboration, and accountability. Mastermind groups, mentors, coaches, and even informal peer connections can make a huge difference.

During transitions, it’s easy to isolate yourself. But that’s usually when you most need perspective from others who understand your challenges and can help you think more clearly about your next steps.

3. Be strategic

Reinvention works best when it’s intentional. Ask yourself: Where do I want to go? What skills or experience does that path require? What’s missing right now, and how can I fill that gap?

Strategy doesn’t require a perfect five-year plan, but it does require regular check-ins. Review what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs adjusting. Being strategic means making informed decisions, not reacting out of fear or frustration.

4. Prepare for the unexpected

Long-term plans are helpful, but shorter planning cycles can be even more effective. I’m a fan of setting 12-week or even monthly goals because they’re manageable and adaptable. They give you room to evaluate progress frequently and make course corrections before small issues become big problems.

Make sure to celebrate small wins, too. Career change can feel overwhelming if you only focus on the end goal. Progress is easier to sustain when you acknowledge it along the way.

5. Have faith

This may be the hardest part. Career transitions test your patience and confidence. You may need to change direction. You may need to pause. You may realize that a path you explored isn’t the right one after all.

That doesn’t mean time was wasted, and every step adds to your experience and perspective. Fear doesn’t disappear, but it can be managed. Sometimes the best plan is simply setting a deadline, taking action, and trusting that clarity will follow.

Staying relevant isn’t about chasing trends or reinventing yourself every few years. It’s about learning continuously, building strong relationships, recognizing opportunities, thinking strategically, and trusting your ability to adapt. That’s the secret to becoming a gumshoe librarian, and it’s served me well.

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What are some things you can’t find online?

Human intelligence (HUMINT) – This involves going directly to the people who may have the answers you need. As competitive-intelligence expert Ben Gilad puts it, “Only human sources can provide commentary, opinion, feelings, intuition, emotions, and commitment.” Including HUMINT adds color and depth to our reports, and helps us fill the gaps.

What’s waiting to be posted – It takes people, time, and money to add a public record or article to a website after it’s been created, and sometimes there’s not much of that to go around. So, the property deed record you’d like to see? It may be sitting in someone’s in basket, or the agency that creates those records has made the decision to cut back on availability.

Redacted records – For people in certain professions (e.g., law enforcement, court system, etc.), exposing home addresses or other personal information through online records can be be risky. Many jurisdictions have responded by redacting records.The entire record might be missing or just a part of it, and it can be a problem for those of us with legitimate reasons for needing that information.

Non-public, personal information – When it comes to Social Security Numbers, driver’s license information, banking records, and other data protected by privacy laws, you definitely won’t find these on the open web. This is one of the advantages of working with a professional investigator, since, with a legitimate use, certain information may be available through specialized (and restricted) sources.

The story behind the story – With anything you find online, there’s usually a backstory. For a recent due diligence investigation I verified our subject’s degree through the usual channels. After speaking with their university graduate supervisor, though, I learned that he was considered the “best and brightest” in the professor’s long career of working with PhD-level students. That was useful info, since my client was about to invest a lot of money in this individual’s new venture.

What can you do about missing information?

Don’t assume – Just because you can’t find it on the web, the answers may still exist somewhere. In someone’s brain, to-do pile, or filing cabinet. Remember that online research is a first pass. The next step is to pick up the phone. You can cover a lot of ground by making some calls, and I’ve discovered that people are more than happy to point me in the right direction.

Explore alternatives – The answers may not come from the questions you or your client thought to ask. Is there another way to get to the same place? For example, instead of asking for banking records, which, with few exceptions, you won’t be able to (legally) obtain, try to get a sense of someone’s finances through open sources such as public records and social media. No clues from your subject’s social media? Try their spouse’s profile.

Hire a professional investigator – A PI license is essential for access to certain databases, especially those with personal, non-public information. PIs are also trained in identifying the best sources for every situation, eliciting information from others, and knowing what’s legal and what’s not (buying banking records online is not).

Online searching is a great place to start. For in-depth coverage, though, take some time to step away from the computer and find what’s missing.

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It hasn’t always been this way. When I first started my business in 2000, some of us found it was best not to use the “L” word when talking about our value. Back then, it conjured up images of a stuffy library with nothing but books, but lately there seems to be a newfound awareness of and respect for our expertise.

What’s also changed is that librarians are everywhere. Instead of hanging out in libraries, we’re working alongside other team members in any information-hungry business. Many of us started our own information related-businesses and discovered there’s a growing need for our training and experience.

So, what are these librarian superpowers, and why are they so important in my work as a PI?

We know the information landscape – One of the first required courses in my graduate program at the University of Denver was Understanding the Information Landscape. There I learned where information hides, what forms it takes on, and when enough can turn into too much. Librarians are information experts, and, since investigative work is all about information, I use that knowledge every day.

We know how to find out what our clients really need – Librarians call it the “reference interview,” and we learn this skill early on, because people rarely ask for what they need. We learn to ask probing questions to get to the root of the problem, explore solutions, and even offer alternatives. I rely on this as an investigator to remind me that I need to keep asking questions.

We know databases – As a reference librarian, I’ve searched databases covering just about any topic you can name, and I’ve taught others how to get better results from their searches. I’ve purchased and managed electronic sources and know how to work with vendors, and now I rely on this expertise to help me find the best information as possible for my clients. 

We know how to find valuable web content – University reference librarians often create study guides, curated lists of online resources that students use for course assignments. As part of the team responsible for developing a virtual library for the first accredited online MBA program, I covered a set of diverse topics, including engineering, health sciences, mathematics, criminal justice, and much more, and now I’m able to locate and evaluate web content, no matter what the subject. 

We know how to organize information – Librarians are trained to manage and share huge amounts of information, and they quickly get up to speed on what’s important to their clients and what’s not. In investigative work, finding is just the first step. All that data needs to be sifted through, organized, and turned into reports that answer questions and inform decisions.

If you’d like to listen to the full webinar on Running a Successful Private Investigations Business, the recording is posted on the AIIP website.

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Then, just like everything else in life, the answer arrived just when I needed it. The message was from Kim Dority, someone I had always admired, because of her non-traditional library career. At the time, Kim was a VP with Jones International, developing a virtual library for students enrolled in online degree programs. In the email, Kim explained that they needed someone with a math background, and she asked if I was interested in joining their team. I did, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

In the 20 years since that fateful message, my business took off, morphed a few times, and here I am – a licensed private investigator and Certified Fraud Examiner, using my MLIS skills for investigative research and analysis. It’s been an interesting journey, with lots of mistakes and difficult lessons learned.

Here are just some of my biggest mistakes and what I learned from them:

1. Build it and they will come – I was under the impression that, since my first two clients reached out to me, I just needed to hang my shingle, print my business cards, and others would find their way to my doorstep. I quickly discovered, though, if I wanted to grow my business, I needed to put in some effort. I joined the local Chamber of Commerce, (gulp) attended their networking events, and found a business coach who taught me how to think like an entrepreneur.
2. When you’re busy, you don’t need to market – It’s natural to avoid marketing and focus on client work, but it leads to a cycle of ups and downs, and the downs can get really bad. I learned that, even when I have plenty of work, putting in the effort to get out and meet people or write a few blog posts definitely pays off.
3. Client needs never change – When business got slow, I kept trying to market the same services to the same people. Then I realized that times had changed. My clients no longer valued my skills as they did in the past, so I did some market research and found out what they did value and how I can meet those new needs.
4. Chasing clients is the way to get more business – When I decided to pivot, I thought that I could pick a new industry, sell my services, and I’d be busy again. Wrong again. Prospects sense your desperation. I discovered that attracting clients by establishing myself as a thought leader and sharing my knowledge through speaking and writing was a much better approach. 
5. I can do this alone – One of the reasons I started my business and why I work from my home office is because I’m an introvert. When faced with a choice, I prefer to be alone and to work alone. I’m also a big control freak, so I couldn’t imagine letting someone take over a portion of the work. I quickly learned that this limits what I can offer clients, and now I regularly work with subcontractors so that I don’t need to turn away business.

I’ve never regretted that fateful decision to join Kim’s team, and, even with these painful lessons, I’ve never looked back – and I’m looking forward to the next 20 years!

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It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, you’re probably going through career changes. Maybe your job is changing, because employer and client wants and needs keep changing. Or maybe you’re forced to make a change.

In this webinar, I share lessons learned from several career pivots — from grad student/volunteer to librarian to business researcher to private investigator.

Briefly, here are my 5 tips for surviving career transitions — while staying sane:

• Immerse yourself in learning
• Tap into a support system
• Be strategic
• Prepare for the unexpected
• Have faith

Learn more by listening to the webinar recording.

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Ever since grad school, I’ve focused on how to use my Master’s degree in Library and Information Science and my information skills in other ways besides in a library setting. I’ve done that by starting my own company in 2000, specializing in research and analysis. It’s been a fun journey from librarian to private investigator, and I’m always happy to talk about it.

We first discussed why I added a PI license to my MLIS and some of the similarities between research and investigations. In Colorado, if you research someone’s reputation, which most of my client work involves, you need a PI license. Also, it always seemed like a natural career progression, using similar skills and expanding from there. For example, as a researcher, I’ve always used databases. As I librarian, I taught students how to use them. As an investigator, I’m using different databases, but it’s still database searching.

Then Chris and I talked about some of the differences between research and investigations. One big difference I’ve noticed is that I approach investigations with a lot more skepticism about my subject. I assume something is amiss from the start and look for evidence to the contrary. In research, the approach is more about gathering as much information as possible, with no decisions made until the information is in.

Chris also asked whether investigative work has become as digital as everything else in our lives. Yes, a lot more is online these days, and all PIs do some amount of online research. But, you won’t find everything online, and you need to be careful about what’s missing. That’s why an online investigation is often just the first step in a deeper, more complex investigation.

You can listen to this short podcast or read the transcript at the Beyond the Book site. Enjoy!

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