Career Angst and a Career for Years
This was my wake up call. Literally, and figuratively. In the early hours of a Tuesday morning, long before I had any reason to be out of bed, I was awake with a buzz in my brain. Not a fuzzy headache kind of buzz, an energy untapped kind of buzz. If you’re like me, this sensation before the sun is up and the coffee made is rare enough to catch attention.
“What is this about?” I asked myself. “Should I try to fall back asleep or just get up?” Sleep seemed well and truly over so I turned my mind to what might be worth getting up before dawn for…Career for Years. It might sound cheesy, but I love my business. It’s the expression of my truest values out there in the world: People deserve dignity at work, and they should be empowered to make the best career choices for themselves. This is the bedrock on which Career for Years has been built, it is its mission and guiding principle. It is a wake up call.
"Ok, I don't want sleep, so what do I want?" I asked myself. And a thought walked through my open mind: how do we future proof our career for years?
“Really, Lydia?” I hear you ask. “That is what you were thinking at 4am on a Tuesday morning?”
YES! I was! It's an important question and it is what Career for Years is all about. Career angst is everywhere, it's in all of our 9-5's and it's a terrifying feeling...at first.
The restlessness or indignation we sometimes feel towards our roles, or the shock and disappointment that comes with retrenchment, are all totally hard and totally normal. We're human, and bound to have human responses to the myriad of circumstances employment/self-employment can throw our way. In small doses, these are not harmful, they're road signs, indications of the path we’re taking, information for consideration. After any extended period of time though, if unchecked, they go from being outliers to being our norm and that is downright dangerous.
As a career coach and training consultant over the past few years, and more recently as an IR/HR post grad, I have learned many valuable lessons that so far, have served me well. I manage my career for years, and the confidence in my ability to do so is a comfort when faced with career angst (yes I feel it too).
No one is immune to the economic, social, political, and technological forces which shape the labour market. We all must invent and reinvent ourselves to stay relevant and indispensable (check out Cal Newport’s So Good they Can’t Ignore You, for more on how to do just that). What I’m trying to say is, bullet proof careers are not static, they are constantly evolving. This reality is the crux of career angst (in my opinion).
The antidote to which is a Career for Years mindset.
Simply put the Career for Years mindset as 3 main pillars:
Your career is ever changing and will comprise of many roles (the loss of a job does not equate to a finished or ruined career)
Focus on not only what you do but how and why you do it to stand out in a crowd of similarly skilled and experienced peers
You are the curator of your skill set and attitude, keep it sharp, diverse, and valuable
It's both the positivity I see bloom in my clients when they become optimistic, empowered and autonomous in their careers, and the outcomes I have personally experienced with this approach to career navigation that help me combat career angst. I hope it helps you too.
As always, reach out to learn more or to work with me on your Career for Years mindset and goals.