Ramaa Sharma (right) networking at our Newsrewired conference in November 2024

Ramaa Sharma did most of the jobs at the BBC in her 17 years there: radio presenter, broadcast journalist, digital and social media trainer, digital editor, social media and mobile editor, head of digital pilots. She even lead the broadcaster's Online Creative Review, a project commissioned by then-director general Tony Hall.

In 2021, she decided to take the leap into media consultancy. Nearly four years later, she's successfully carved out a niche specialising in artificial intelligence, diversity and inclusion, and digital transformation.

She spoke on the Journalism.co.uk podcast about her journey and shared advice for others thinking about making the same career transition.

The foundation of successful consultancy lies in understanding what you truly offer beyond the "journalist" label. Sharma discovered her core strength was solving big challenges, a skill she'd developed across multiple BBC roles without fully recognising it.

"In every role, I could see where the star was and would come up with how to reach it," she explains. This ability to identify problems and create solutions became the cornerstone of her consultancy work.

Try this: Reflect on your career pattern. What have you consistently done well across different roles? What do colleagues come to you for? These strengths often translate directly into consultancy services.

Sharma's consultancy success........

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