Waiting For My Career To Come to Me

Like Martin Luther King Jr., I had a dream…but my butt woke the heck up before it finished! I planned my life around being a psychologist, which didn’t pan out, to say the least.  Check out this post for details.  Here I am now, woke and without a plan.  I still don’t know for certain what career I’ll end up in.  I’m done chasing random ideas out of desperation though.  Now, I’ve decided to go the route of waiting for my career to come to me.  I know, I know.  This strategy seems kind of risky considering I’m no spring chicken.  But it hasn’t let me down so far.  Read on if you’re curious, or if like me you’ve done the right things, at the right times and still got stuck in a career rut!

If you’ve read this post, then you’re all caught up.  Losing my job came on the heels of losing my career vision.  I pulled out that resume and started turning my limes into margaritas because I needed something strong to get me through this!   I’ve historically looked at the resume as the document used to showcase my skills, show how much I’ve grown over a period of time, list my training and highlight what I want to contribute to the establishment to which I am applying .  It’s also the guide I use to help me expand my skillset when necessary.  The resume is the ultimate manifesto of passion, commitment and hustle.  If you know what you want and where you’re going, the resume is a powerful tool.

That ain’t me! Remember, my job was supposed to be a way stop, not a destination.  I was supposed to be a Developmental Psychologist and my job at the time was to provide experience in general research skills.  As I begin editing though, I start to feel myself.  I wasn’t paying attention but I’d progressed through many skills and had in fact seen the most growth in administrative research skills.  That got me thinking, but I still didn’t see my future in this area.

In two weeks I was hired for the same position but different department.  I’m loving it. First day there’s a breakfast spread waiting for me!  What?!  Fun fact—my relationship with food is second only to my relationship with my family.  Great start!  Things only go uphill from there.  It’s a lateral move and since this might turn out to be the main gig, I’m open for long term, sustainable vertical movement.  You guys with me?

The needs of this new department are such that I’ve ended up using more and more of my admin research skills.  It’s the proverbial “when preparation meets opportunity”, but I didn’t realize I was preparing!  I’ve become more specialized in my current role and find that I see a future somewhere in it.  Plus, I am tasked with other projects that speak to many of my other strengths.  There is opportunity for so much growth here.  In the absence of confident direction, I work on sharpening my soft skills and work ethic.

Where am I now career-wise? Well, I’ve since narrowed down an area of interest.  To take the pressure off, I’ve made the decision that I will wait for my career to come to me, even at this stage of my life.  By “wait” I mean that I am not going to pick any and every career idea right now just because it looks good on paper.  I still don’t know for sure where I want to end up. The more I participate and volunteer for projects, the more I see my path developing.  I believe that in time, that path will reveal itself because I am doing the things that are both engaging and rewarding.  I swear, it’s as if I’m “feeling” my way through this! LOL!  What I’m doing feels totally right.  Faith and Feeling–that’s the plan.  I didn’t feel this way when I was pursuing my Psychology degree.  I think it’s partly because I know myself better now.  My dramatic behind didn’t lose 15 years in vain!

Waiting for my career is an active process despite it seeming so blasé.  Here’s a list of what I’m doing in the interim:

1. I’m working closely with my resume
2. I’m shoring up my soft skills and work ethic through practice and volunteering for projects.  It doesn’t matter where I end up, those two areas are keys for success
3. I’m volunteering for projects that speak to me and not projects that just pass the time
4. I’m working on my hustling game! I’m really trying to feed my passion and remain focused
5. I’m looking more closely at who does what.  People are mentors to me and don’t even know it!
6. I’m taking a risk because this is probably the kind of strategy one would use at a younger age.  I’m ok with it though.

How have you reset your career path?  As you can tell, I’m making this up as I go along. I would love to hear other experiences!  This is one of those topics that begs for support and networking!

Thank you as always!

Olanta

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