So last night I was finishing up my taxes for 2009 (I know, I know, procrastination) and I was looking back at my income for the year. I came to the conclusion that it is going to be hard to beat the up and down of 2009 (to which my wife happily applauded). I know that Jason Seiden would say that a career path is a myth and given my path (or lack thereof), I am inclined to believe him given that…
- I started off the year gainfully employed
- I was let go unexpectedly mid-year
- I was picked up a couple of weeks later and worked as a contractor
- At the end of the year, I was told I needed to find steady income
- In between all of that, I did consulting, web work, writing and sold a social network on eBay
Where have I ended up? At a great company, with great people, doing amazing, challenging things.
My cool little HR career track was derailed and I’m now pursuing another career altogether. What’s that career called? I call it marketing for my parent’s understanding but it is obviously very different than a traditional role. How’d I get here?
1. I started doing what I wanted to do
I know I wanted to write more about HR but I didn’t wait for someone to tell me to start blogging. When I was interested in collaborating with other likeminded HR folks, nobody told me to start a social network. When I started building relationships and communities around ideas and people that I knew, nobody told me to do that. I just started doing it. And I kept doing it. And then I asked internally what I wanted to do next. The skills that I work with today are ones I developed on my own outside of the clock.
2. I didn’t limit my choices
Losing my HR job in the middle of last year was like getting thrown off a lifeboat during a rainstorm. Swimming with unemployment is difficult enough but with the economic conditions last year, I didn’t know what would be available for my niche. Whenever I threw my name out there, talked to people or asked for introductions, I was clear that I was open to alternatives outside of my seven year career path. This allowed the MeritBuilder opportunity to come at me. It was far from my career path but it was one where I had skills and contributions I could bring to the table.
3. I had enough budget to take risk
The opportunity to make the jump to a new career is a risk. Even riskier when it is an early stage startup. We looked at our financial situation and decided to make the jump. We didn’t ever resort to ramen noodles or anything like that. Some months were uncomfortable. We never got a second car. And when word came down that I’d have to find an alternative to working for MeritBuilder, we were comfortable taking some time and working on a couple of projects for companies that I had put off and then continuing my career journey.
4. I outworked and out-networked everyone
When you don’t have the skills that years of experience brings you, it means you get to work twice as hard until you figure things out. I’ve gone over my ridiculous minute limit on my cell phone twice and it was when I was unemployed. And it wasn’t even that long of a period either (three weeks total) but I was on the phone a lot. I e-mailed almost everyone I had a tight connection with and followed up with a phone call. When I got jobs, I e-mailed and called people who were doing the jobs to get help and ask questions.
5. I changed my own mindset
The hardest part for me is this whole idea that I am no longer taking a break from HR or trying something else out because of the recession. Everyone always asks me if I ever miss HR or if I ever want to go back. Of course I miss it (I miss parts of it I should say) but I don’t know if I’ll be back. If you would have asked me a few years ago if I would leave HR, I don’t think I would have thought so. I’m enjoying what I am doing right now. I’m used to have a most of the answers at my finger tips and now I have to research or call people.
I don’t know how this would have turned out if I had actually been more thoughtful but I do think following this method ended up helping me significantly shorten the process.
What’s your take? How have you weathered career transformation?
April 17, 2010 at 1:47 am
I agree on the changing our own mindset part and I also believe that it is the toughest part of all aspects of career change. We usually get trapped in the idea that we can continue utilizing our old habit because somehow our career path will show a linear projection in the end (as Steve Jobs said in his famous speech at Stanford University). I do believe the career “dots” will eventually connect, but I also believe that unless we are ready to ditch a large chunk of our past behavior, we cannot build a new career path.
Five years ago I switched my location (from Japan to Taiwan) and my job (from FAE to technical writer) and that required a big shift in my thinking as I mentioned.
April 18, 2010 at 3:02 am
Lance, you’re right about the mindset thing. When I look back to 2007 when I received my layoff package from PricewaterhouseCoopers, I was devastated. How could the place I poured my heart and soul into just look at numbers and cut my job? Over 220 HR people lost their job that day, and many more came after me. I did not know how I would live without that job.
Fast forward to today. Two companies, a blog, e-books, consulting, speaking engagements, and an HRevolution unconference (almost 2) later, here I am. I am stronger, happier, more networked than a mom of two little ones ever thought possible. I’ve learned that a career is made up of so many components and we have the ability to drive that ourselves. I don’t have the mindset I had until 2007 that a company was going to take care of me. I take care of ME.
Learning that made all the difference. Congrats on now having a career instead of a HR “job”. HR may weave it’s way back in here and there throughout your life. Just continue to do the great job you do of embracing change. Loved the post.
May 11, 2010 at 11:08 pm
Thinking out of the box, regardless of external expectations or requests, more often than not pays off in the future. Following what’s popular without regards to what you personally want would yield mediocre results at best.