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'Smile more, complain less': How a job transition can make the difference

By // 13 January 2014
Before Karen Amatangelo-Block was the director of global recruiting at Abt Associates, she made a career switch that changed her life for the better. Photo by: Personal collection

When her work became more about reducing costs and less about recruiting top talent, Karen Amatangelo-Block knew it was time for a change. After nearly 15 years of hard work perfecting her craft in talent acquisition for law firms, Amatangelo-Block switched paths and began at Abt Associates.

It wasn’t a decision she made easily or abruptly, but the key for her, she said, was a passion to feel more like she was positively contributing in her workplace and being able to take her “toolkit” of skills with her.   

About the author

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    Kelli Rogers

    Kelli Rogers is an Associate Editor for Devex. Based on the U.S. West Coast, she works with Devex's team of correspondents and editors around the world, with a particular focus on gender. She previously worked as Devex’s Southeast Asia correspondent based in Bangkok, covering disaster and crisis response, resilience, women’s rights, and climate change throughout the region. Prior to that, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has since reported from more than 20 countries.

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