Stephanie Jenkins
Strategic Accounts Executive
Specialty Print Communications
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieodell/
1) What does “making your move” mean to you at this stage of your career?
At this stage of my career, “making your move” means choosing expansion over comfort. It means stepping into opportunity with intention and applying everything you’ve built at a higher level. Today, that looks like playing a key role in advancing our continued growth in tamper-evident print and packaging, refining our capabilities, strengthening partnerships, and aligning our infrastructure with where the industry is headed. “Making a move” to me isn’t about reinvention. It’s about leverage. Leveraging experience, relationships, and industry knowledge to create and keep momentum in an evolving market. A meaningful move isn’t always about starting over…..It’s about stepping forward…strategically and decisively, when the opportunity to expand your impact presents itself.
2) Can you share a moment when you took action that moved your career forward?
An unexpected transition became one of the most pivotal moments in my career. While I didn’t initiate the initial “action”, I was intentional about how I responded to it, putting focus on moving forward. I activated my network, had meaningful conversations, and evaluated opportunities through the lens of long-term alignment and impact. I wasn’t looking for a quick landing; I was looking for the right platform to grow. That decision, to be deliberate instead of reactive, moved my career forward. It reinforced that even when you don’t choose the moment, you always choose your direction.
3) What helped you recognize the right time to make that move?
What helped me recognize the right time wasn’t the disruption itself. It was the clarity that followed. When you’ve spent over a decade building experience and relationships, you start to understand your value with more precision. I realized I didn’t need to rush into the next opportunity. I could be selective. I could prioritize alignment, long-term growth, and impact over urgency. That clarity was the turning point. Sometimes the “right time” isn’t about external circumstances, it’s about internal readiness. I knew I was ready to operate at a higher level of influence, and that awareness made the decision clear.
4) What advice would you give women in print who are considering their next move?
My advice to women in print (and really, all women) who are considering their next move is this: build your reputation on integrity and protect it. This industry is smaller than it looks, and how you conduct yourself, especially during transitions, matters.
Know your worth, but don’t confuse worth with ego. Confidence comes from competence, preparation, and consistency. When you’ve put in the work, you don’t have to demand respect; you carry it. Prioritize alignment over impulse. Look for environments that value collaboration over competition and long-term partnerships (internally and externally) over short-term wins. The strongest careers in this space are built on relationships, internally and externally (we see a theme!)
And finally, don’t shrink yourself to make others comfortable. If you’re ready to expand your impact, step into it with clarity and professionalism. You don’t have to burn bridges to move forward; you can build new ones.
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