Dr. Matthew Nehmer Of The Colleges of Law: 5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Switched Careers
Education is not just about the credential. The value of a degree program is elevated by taking advantage of the experience. I went to grad school at GW because I wanted to be close to the world of politics and the people who make it go. Proximity matters. Getting close to people you can learn from and leverage their contacts matters. Taking classes and earning credits is only one piece of the puzzle.
According to the US Department of Labor, “The average person will change careers 5–7 times during their working life. Approximately 30% of the total workforce will now change jobs every 12 months.” The statistic is disconcerting for many. After all, we tend to think of our careers as a linear progression of increased skills and (ideally) earning power. We reached out to business professionals who have successfully switched careers in hopes of gleaning bits of their wisdom. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Matthew Nehmer.
A 25-year veteran of higher education, Dr. Nehmer currently serves as the president and CEO of The Colleges of Law, the largest, most distinguishedindependent law school in the Santa Barbara and Ventura region.
His professional journey began in Washington, D.C., at The George Washington University (GW) before pivoting to the Midwest to work for The Chicago School. He would later become one of the founding employees of The Community Solution Education System, a nonprofit organization with a mission focused on preparing innovative, engaged, purposeful agents of change who serve our global community.
Dr. Nehmer holds a B.S. in Communications from Western Michigan University, an M.A. in Media and Public Affairs from The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School — research interests include political science, media studies, and organizational lifecycle theory.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would like to get an idea of who you are and where you came from. Can you tell us a bit about your background? Where do you come from? What are the life experiences that most shaped your current self?
Igrew up in rural Vermontville, Michigan, a one-block long village with no stoplight. We were a 30-mile country road drive from Lansing. Most people in our world worked for the state of Michigan or the auto industry. I got a work release during my senior year in high school to work on a farm.
My parents didn’t go to college. I wanted to go but didn’t have a lot of exposure to options and scholarship opportunities. I remember meeting with my high school counselor. Instead of walking me though what it would take to get into schools like Michigan or Michigan State he suggested that I apply at the bow factory two towns over. People didn’t seemingly have high expectations for me.
But then I went to Western Michigan University. My world opened. I met smart people from places like Sterling Heights, outside of Detroit, and Ottawa, Canada. I lived in Kalamazoo for four years. Looking back, while modest in size, the city was a booming metropolis compared to where I’m from. I loved it, I still do.
While there, I got involved in politics. My mother was an elected official in my home township. She gave me an appreciation for public service and the process of convincing people to vote for you.
I eventually moved to Florida and got involved in political campaigns. I became fascinated by political communication, including speech writing and the framing of messaging to convince people to see things from your perspective. I was always a decent writer, and at its heart, politics, and leadership for that matter, is about telling stories. I continue to develop that skill, whether verbally or as a writer. It served me well.
Let’s jump right in. Can you please tell us about the career changes you’ve made? What prompted you to make these changes? Why didn’t you make the changes sooner?
I started my career in communications, public relations, and marketing. Today, I’m a college president. It took multiple pivots to make that happen. Looking back, I see it as about embracing curiosity, having a vision, and saying things like, “why not me?”
A common path is to be subject-matter expected and then move up to manage other subject-matter experts. Along the way, you can shape strategy and make decisions about your domain. I was on that path for years. I knew communications and media relations. I spent nearly seven years at GW writing news releases, institutional statements, web articles, and preparing faculty to talk to the media. I was good at that — still am I think.
But then I wanted to do something else. My time with The Chicago School and the System gave me the space to learn the business of higher ed. I studied admissions, finance, strategic planning, governance, policy — all the working parts of running a school. Those experiences, coupled with my foundation in storytelling, positioned me well for general management.
Have you ever made a career change only to find that your decision to do so was not at all what you expected? If so, how did you handle things?
I’ve been fortunate to find a career arc that is always evolving and perpetually engaging and enriching. I’ve never had a fling with a career pivot that ended poorly.
The statistic we cited above says that people might change careers about five times during their working life. In recent times some people have questioned the utility or benefit of college because of the often crushing burden student loan debt. On top of that, in light of this trend that people can expect to change careers five times, how can anyone hope to prepare themselves properly through college for five careers?
I encourage people to think of college as an experience and not a plodding exercise in collecting credits to earn a credential. The value proposition elevates when you make the most out of the experience. It’s about getting close to people who open doors to opportunity. It’s about accessing skills that will serve you onward. My journey is one illustration. Vermontville, Michigan, is a quaint place to come from. But opportunities will always be limited in Vermontville. If you want to work at the local bean plant, teach high school, or learn a trade then there are ways for that to happen. Should you seek something different, like working in politics, finance, or higher education, then you’ll need to find your way somewhere else.
Look at a university like GW. I went there for grad school and worked there for the first quarter of my career. It’s an expensive school to attend. And yet, it gives you proximity to opportunities that you won’t have elsewhere. GW is four blocks away from the White House. It’s in the name neighborhood, Foggy Bottom, as the State Department. It’s across the street from the World Bank. It’s adjacent to M Street where many of the top lobbying offices reside. Most of the top nonprofits have offices in D.C. You pay a premium for having access to the experiences and people who make these organizations go. In the end though, it’s up to you to take advantage and make it happen.
People from Vermontville can be college presidents, but they need to leave those places and seek education and experiences to make it happen. Colleges and universities exist to facilitate this process.
The other statistic we cited above is troubling; 30% of the workforce will switch jobs every 12 months. The cost to employers — not just in dollars and cents, but in customer service, customer loyalty, and other less tangible ways. What should the smart business executive do to retain talent, if anything?
It starts with finding the right people who fit your needs and culture. When interviewing people I ask myself three questions: Can this person do the job? Will this person love the job? And can we get along with this person, will he or she fit in?
People tend to focus too much on the first question. Sometimes you just need someone to fill a role, a quick solution to the problem of a vacancy. But if you want people to stay, grow, and make a substantive contribution, it’s the other two questions that matter. Will this person love it here? How will you know? What separates the top performers from others? Will this person fit into our culture? Again, how will you know?
There’s an algorithm in hiring that helps solve the optimal stopping problem. In other words, how many people do you need to interview before you have enough choices and insights to make an informed decision. The answer is around four. Interview four people and you’ll have a good feel for the current pool of talent and what kind of person stands out. Maybe your hire is in that group, maybe not. The point is that good decisions come from widening your options enough to establish an informed benchmark.
I personally know of at least five people who decided to quit their jobs (three gave their notice immediately) because they “didn’t like the person the job was making them become.” From your experience and perspective, is this sentiment a broader trend? How important is it for an individual’s personal values to align with the values of an organization? How can companies help correct this?
It’s about finding people who have an affinity for the work and fit the culture. It goes both ways. Employers need to be intentional with knowing what they’re looking for with new people, and applicants seeking fulfillment should have a feel for the type of place where they want to work. It works best when it’s a win-win.
What are a few things that employers, managers, and executives can do to ensure that workers enjoy their jobs?
Fulfilled employees think, “I belong here. I’m making a difference” They experience mutual trust and respect from their managers and the organization at large.
It takes work and intentionality to create these conditions. Employers should ask themselves, “How do I want an employee to feel when they finish for the day?” Do you want them to be enthusiastic and inspired or bored, frustrated, and disengaged? Enthusiasm is more difficult to preserve than frustration. It takes a leader to see the value in creating a culture where people are intrinsically motivated to perform.
Can you share a few things that employers, managers, and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture?
As mentioned, curating culture takes work. It starts with leadership. What kind of people do they want to surround themselves with? A work-hard-play-hard culture is different than one embracing work-life balance. A throughline through is mutual trust and respect; to be respected is to be respectful. Employees are smart. They can sniff out those who are inauthentic and don’t look out for others. Typically, when people leave it’s not toward a new opportunity but away from their current situation.
Leaders who want to improve work culture should start their inquiry by looking in one place: the mirror. They should ask, “what will it take for me to trust my team? What will it take for them to trust me?” Create that vision and make it a reality.
Some business leaders believe that the solution lies in the gig economy. Do you believe this trend supports this belief? Do you think the gig economy lends itself to a sustainable and stable business model?
The gig economy works best in a purely transactional arrangement. Need transportation, hire an Uber or Lyft driver. Need something fixed? bring in a third-party.
Gig workers don’t work as well for solving systemic problems in the organization. You can hire consultants but the best solutions typically come from within, among people who understand the culture and its current capabilities. Organizations built to last are those that accept that change is inevitable — i.e., what worked in the past will not always work in the future — and that success comes from solving problems resulting from change and executing those solutions. It’s about keeping your organization in balance between identifying new opportunities for growth and maintaining the capabilities to seize those opportunities. Gig workers can only do so much to contribute to this process.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Switched Careers?”
- Education is not just about the credential. The value of a degree program is elevated by taking advantage of the experience. I went to grad school at GW because I wanted to be close to the world of politics and the people who make it go. Proximity matters. Getting close to people you can learn from and leverage their contacts matters. Taking classes and earning credits is only one piece of the puzzle.
- Say “yes,” especially early in your career. Volunteer. Serve on a work task force. Look for opportunities to expose you to new skills, experiences, and people. I volunteered for political campaigns and met a lot of smart, well-connected professionals. I got involved in a lot of different projects at work. It’s about getting your name out there. And when people have a good experience working with you, they want you on their team.
- Career pivots happen in stages. I started in communications and media and today serve as a President and CEO. It was a methodical process to get there. I needed more education, so I pursued a Ph.D. I needed a broader base of knowledge, so I found ways to interact with people who could teach me new skills. I needed more experience, so I found the time. I invited myself to board meetings. I taught myself Excel so I could understand, and then build, financial spreadsheets. I learned admissions forecasting and then started developing my own models. It’s not just practice, but deliberate practice involving feedback from experts. All of this contributed to having the confidence to take on more responsibility.
- Build your brand. Remember the business trope, “want to get something done, give it to a busy person.” Be that person. Be the one who gets invited to meetings and projects because of the value you add to the effort. Be the one who people like working with. Imagine if your organization had a draft where the leaders picked people to be on their team. Strive to be the №1 draft pick. It just doesn’t happen. It takes work and dedication to get there.
- Enroll others in your vision. Want to do something different in your organization? Tell people about it, especially decision-makers. They usually listen. And if you’ve proven value and become someone they want to stay on the team, they will enroll in your quest and do what they can to make it happen. I did this on my journey. I told the CEO that my goal was to be a college president. He leaned in and asked questions. He helped make it happen. And when you reach your goals, don’t forget those who helped you. Acknowledge them and thank them for their guidance and support.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Jim Collins uses a metaphor of windows and mirrors when talking about Level 5 (top tier) leaders.
“Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors, or bad luck. Yet on the other hand… Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company — to other people, external factors, and good luck.”
It’s a quote about the value of embracing an internal locus of control. It centers me on the practice of humility and responsibility when things don’t go wrong and the power of acknowledgement when things go right.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a living person in the world or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I mentioned Jim Collins. I admire his work so he’s on the list.
Our readers often like to follow our interview subjects’ careers. How can they further follow your work online?
You can find me on LinkedIn. DM me and I’ll respond.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Dr. Matthew Nehmer Of The Colleges of Law: 5 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Switched… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.