A Career in 6 Choices (Part 2) - and the truth behind each chapter!
Chapter 4 – The Re-invention
Somewhere around the age of 40 a question becomes more pressing:
Is this IT?
Suddenly you’re half way there. Taking a long cool look at what exactly that means and what needs to change becomes more urgent.
Will it be a case of head down and soldier on? After all, you’ve made so much progress, have gained so much expertise, knowledge, connections and there are many comfortable benefits to staying put.
But this is also the time when many decide to create a major shift. Perhaps mine wasn’t so radical after all, because when I decided to invest in re-training as a career guidance practitioner, I was actually picking up the women returner’s theme from a decade earlier. I wanted to have a more immediate impact – to enable people to shape a career that would suit them and reward them. I also wanted to be part of something bigger than myself.
I won’t write much about how this shift actually happened (except to say that a chance encounter in a conference lift played its part) but at this point I once again became a full-time employee and set up the first career service for a British University in Dubai. I loved the challenge, the fresh ground to be broken, systems, services and networks to be built. This is the atmosphere all new business-owners will recognize – creating something new. This I loved.
But it wasn’t my business, and when several years later corporate needs started to clash with guidance principles I held dear, it was time for a change.
This time, ethical autonomy was paramount, but something more insistent was on the horizon: authenticity
Subtext: autonomy, pioneering, making a difference, belonging, authenticity
Chapter 5 – The Passion
This looks like an unexpected jump, but it really isn’t. From the day I started a degree in English Literature at the age of 18, to today, several decades later, I’ve loved reading. More specifically, I’ve been fascinated by how writers do it – create characters a reader can engage with; a plot that balances predictability and surprise; produce prose or poetry that seems effortlessly them; and create a world where very different things are possible from our everyday experience!
This has been a life-long passion that means I read every day. I’ve also been intrigued enough to complete an MPhil in the subject and carried out PhD research into the stylistics of how we respond as readers – which ironically I gave up to write poetry!
Literature has been a constant part of my adult life and I’ve taken many opportunities to give it full expression. No surprises therefore that when I had the chance to also make it my career, I jumped at the offer! While not fully understanding what ‘Head of Programming’ for the award-winning literary festival in Dubai, I knew I had to find out.
This was passion in action. And for 4 glorious years I lived the world of authors, events, radio reviewing and creativity. This was a hugely exciting period of learning, challenging myself, collaboration, and yes, reading.
Skills from teaching, career service design and delivery, career consulting (especially listening), entrepreneurship, book group facilitator – all found voice!
Subtext: inspiring, advocacy, creativity, making a difference, sharing what I love
Chapter 6 – The Legacy
There could be many chapters before arriving at the pinnacle – THE one. Some people strike gold with their first career and find they can use their favourite skills, grow into new and fascinating subject areas, work with people they relate to and have an impact that gives them a glow.
But many don’t hit the jackpot immediately. The danger then is that their expectations can shrink over the years until it become ‘just work.’ With technology opening new opportunities, sometimes replacing older roles in the process, I think we all have to expect to re-create our careers at some point along the way. This would be the perfect time to take a look at the sub-texts that have been running throughout your career(s) and decide what’s going to be driving your next move – the one that brings everything together!
For me, this was launching my own business - Freestyle Careers. I’m able to create each day, each service and each marketing campaign; I can use my favourite skills of coaching, teaching and communicating; and I can see the impact of my work – career changers who have now found their own thing, and are on the way to bringing it to glorious life.
Subtexts: autonomy, authenticity, pioneering, creativity, service, inspiring change, leadership, ownership, purpose
Yes, there’s more than one chapter
When you fell into your first career, did you think you had to stay in it until your 40+ years were up? This was certainly the expectation of my predecessors and many of my peers. I broke the mould a little because there was always a new skill, a different impact, a new client group, another passion I wanted to turn into a career. I was lucky enough to be an avid learner, loved change (on my own terms), hungry to master new subject areas, careers and skills – for me, this kept life fresh, challenging and deeply rewarding.
The idea that we will all have several careers over our working life is now commonly accepted, and, as A.I. could easily force the issue, there may be imposed adjustments ahead. But rather than waiting for that to happen, wouldn’t it be more fulfilling to grab the pen and become the author of your own career story?
And if you’re wondering about those subtexts, more often than not they’re your values. They might also be an aspect of your purpose, or a particular passion. Each will have meaning for you - and when you can harness that in your working life, you might just be unstoppable!
This is your story too
Does this resonate with you? What’s your career story? And what’s the next chapter going to be? I’d love to know what your chapter titles have been, so please leave your comments and ideas below or email me at: becky@freestyle-careers.com
I haven’t included all my chapters here, but perhaps these out-takes were the ones that taught me as much as the six I’ve written about here:
The Obvious Choice – becoming an English teacher
The wolf from the door ones – supply teaching, tutoring, exam marking
The first overseas one – where nothing was as it seemed
The testing the water ones – university lecturer, tutoring second language learners
The Sales one – promoting an international college
The shop ones: local chippy, Saturday girl (Co-op)
The holiday jobs – food processing factory (x2), Christmas post delivery, chamber-maid & soup waitress, baby-sitting
So these will be another blog post – watch this space!
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If you want some help exploring what your next chapter might be, here are some starting points:
Joining the Dots > discover some WHY themes (free) > email me: becky@freestyle-careers.com
Discover Work that Sets You Alight > recover your flow (free) > request
Values Discovery > read more and set up a free discovery call
Quickstep Career Change Programme > read more and set up a free discovery call
An informal and free 30-minute career discussion > Contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk