Turning over leaves…
In my previous post, I mentioned an unpaid, unexpected sabbatical. People’s reactions to my taking it have been a mixed bag. Some clearly concerned about my job prospects in the current economy, others high-fiving me and saying I am an inspiration for putting myself first when it would not have been that hard to continue sucking it up and pushing down the stress until “a better time”. Maybe it sounds cheesy, but I am reading a fantastic fiction book called “The Measure” right now, and without giving anything away because y’all should totally read it, it’s cemented in my brain that I made the right decision because you just never know how many opportunities you could get for something like unfocused time off to heal, relax, and recenter.
In the spirit of the cobbler’s kids never having shoes, I am a people developer, culture builder, and sometimes team therapist that up until now has not spent much time making sure that I was aligning my personal goals, values, and passions to what I do for a living. I don’t want to live for my job, which sometimes happens when you get the perfect match, but heck what’s wrong with finishing work each day with a fist pump because it was energizing, exciting, and restorative? Some days, I’d take just one of those 3 you know? So here I am, trying not to just scan through companies and job openings, swiping left (or right, I don’t actually remember which direction is supposed to be good or bad) and hoping I find the right match. Research, introspection, challenging assumptions, none of that is new for me, definitely some things I needed to be reminded to do for myself. Thus turning over leaves, and not turning over a new leaf for the title of this blog post. Also because Fall is kicking in and it is by far my favorite season.
I know myself pretty well after 25 years of post-college work, and I know that I struggle without an “Accountability buddy”. So, about a month into my sabbatical, I began working with a career coach*. I’ve made a tremendous amount of progress so far by having someone to provide direction, to challenge me, encourage me, and to keep my eye on the prize. And as a bonus, I’d been working with Carol for years in her capacity as an organizational coach so we had some history and experience together. The thing we started with was an activity where I reflected back on my personal core values, my strengths (Clifton in this case), and my leadership style - many things she had helped me to better understand over the years. It was a great reminder that I have a somewhat unique and valuable combination of skills and personal values to contribute to an organization, and that I should incorporate those things into my conversations as I look for my next job. Next, I spent time reflecting on what was important to me, important enough to use as filters for finding my next career opportunity. My “deal breakers”. It was surprising what bubbled up, and what didn’t, as I thought about the kind of company culture I wasn’t willing to negotiate on, and what job activities really filled my proverbial cup. It was a little intimidating thinking about putting those filters out into the world, because I suspected it would narrow the scope of who I would be happy working with by a LOT, and it did. I came to realize that how potential employers react to my “filters” tells me what I need to know about my prospects with them. One of my favorite mantras is “all facts are friendly, you just might not like what they are telling you”. So I know that I will be disappointed to find out there are a lot of really intriguing roles and companies out there that ultimately do not align to my values and needs, and so will have to come off my list. That’s already happened in my company research so far. On the other hand, that’s so much less disappointing than investing time and energy into a company BEFORE finding out they’re not right for you!
I’ve barely scratched the surface here on the months of work I’ve put in so far, and I am looking forward to taking some of the fear out of making a career transition by sharing how I’ve experienced it and learned so far. If you’re curious to hear more, or are considering your own unpaid sabbatical journey and would like to know what I’ve learned, reach out and we can setup a real or a virtual coffee! I’m also excited to have an opportunity to share what I’ve learned so far at the upcoming Women Who Code panel discussion event, “Navigating Career Transition”. Maybe I’ll see you at the event?
Until next time, don’t forget to pause on your journey, look up AND down, and enjoy the beauty of transition that autumn is offering us right now, assuming you’re in my kind of geography anyway :)
*if after reading this you’re intrigued by the idea using a career coach, let me know if you want an intro. I’ve been working with Carol professionally for years, and working with her as a personal career coach has changed my life!
