My life has been
mapped out for a long time; I knew what I wanted, what I needed to get there
and put myself on a fairly strict time line. Well, as life would have it, I
might have as well thrown that plan out of the window and set it on fire.
When I first started
my career, I was so hungry for information, took all the training and classes
and put myself in (extremely uncomfortable) networking situations so I can get
one step closet to my goal; but all those things were with little traction or
progress. Fast forward, over a decade into my career I m gearing up to start
all over.
As you might imagine, I am terrified and have turned to other amazing
women for advice.
So, I asked a few people to weigh in with the one thing
they’d tell a someone going through a career change, besides, congratulations,
was this:
"4
years ago I decided to leave my career in banking and go back to school to
become a Registered Nurse. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever
made. All I could think about were all the negative thoughts rolling around in
my head. How was I going to be able to go to school and pay my bills? Am I
smart enough to even get into my program? If I do get into my program, am I
just going to fail or drop out? I was 26 years old and had done almost every
job under the sun. To date, I have had 16 different jobs and needless to say, I
know what I don’t want to do! It has been a long and difficult journey and I
still have another year of school to go before I graduate but I couldn’t be
more proud of myself. It is amazing what you are capable of when you really put
your mind to it. I can’t say I did it all on my own though. I have extremely
supportive parents who have been there every step of the way to ensure my focus
is on school. Nermisa and Zahra have also been huge supports by being my
cheerleaders when I start to get overwhelmed and frustrated with course loads.
So, my first bit of advice for changing careers is ensure you have a good
support system backing you up. It can be terrifying to step out of your comfort
zone and try something new but having great friends and family support makes
all the difference. Secondly, have confidence in your abilities and trust
yourself. You are more capable than you realize and when you put your mind to
something, great things happen. And lastly, don’t be afraid to fail. Sometimes
we think a new career will be a perfect fit but when you actually start doing
the job, you realize that maybe it’s not for you. You know the saying, there
are plenty of fish in the sea? I don’t think that it’s exclusively about
relationships. We are so lucky to live in a country where there are plenty of
job opportunities and careers to choose from. Sometimes we need to kiss a few
frogs before we find our prince, or in this case, dream job but don’t give up.
And remember, you are never too old to try something new!"
Stephanie, Financial Advisor to Nursing student
"I would tell new bloggers that they need to invest in their business. This could mean paying for courses, spending money on a photographer, building a website. Like all businesses, blogging doesn't make money immediately and requires an up-front investment! I didn't grow my audience until I learned to put money back into my blog monthly."
Lauryn - from Teacher to full time blogger
blog: www.lauryncakes.com || instagram: lauryncakes
"I would tell new bloggers that they need to invest in their business. This could mean paying for courses, spending money on a photographer, building a website. Like all businesses, blogging doesn't make money immediately and requires an up-front investment! I didn't grow my audience until I learned to put money back into my blog monthly."
Lauryn - from Teacher to full time blogger
blog: www.lauryncakes.com || instagram: lauryncakes
"You have to do it for your happiness. What is it that Marie Kondo said, only thing that bring us joy. If you new adventure does exactly that, go for it. First few days will be scary and probably extremely uncomfortable but week into it, it will be the new norm." - Adriana, Criminal Lawyer (7 years) to Marketing Consultant
Recently, one of the women I looked up to decided that she was leaving the company she has worked for for 23 years. I attended her going away party and her speech resonated with me so much. She said be thankful and grateful (for how your life had been to this point, and for those in it), be bold (take some risks, make come changes) and be flexible (d'ont plan everything out, go with the flow and take time). Starting all over is not an easy thing to do. It requires a lot of inner strength, courage, self-love, resilience, faith, and confidence. So be patient, most of these things take the time to be developed, you need to learn to be persistent and calm by treating yourself with love, compassion, and empathy.
Recently, one of the women I looked up to decided that she was leaving the company she has worked for for 23 years. I attended her going away party and her speech resonated with me so much. She said be thankful and grateful (for how your life had been to this point, and for those in it), be bold (take some risks, make come changes) and be flexible (d'ont plan everything out, go with the flow and take time). Starting all over is not an easy thing to do. It requires a lot of inner strength, courage, self-love, resilience, faith, and confidence. So be patient, most of these things take the time to be developed, you need to learn to be persistent and calm by treating yourself with love, compassion, and empathy.
