The other morning I was sitting on my balcony having my morning tea. I noticed all the trees in front of me did not grow up straight; not even the bee buzzing past me flew in a straight line.
So why do we think our careers need to be a straight line?
Throughout my life I have always been working, below is a list of job titles I was hired to do:
- Camp Counsellor
- Care Giver for severely mentally retarded children in the early 1970, that was term when I worked for the Children Psychiatric Research Institute (CPRI)
- Nurse’s Aid
- Relief/Part-time Counsellor for a girls group home
- Mental Health Worker
- Variety Store Clerk
- Home Care Assistant for Elderly
- Direct Marketing Sales Representative
- Photographer Assistant
- Accounts Receivable Clerk title was changed by manager to be Credit Analyst
- Filing Clerk
- Customer Service Representative
- Legal Bookkeeper
- Order Desk Clerk
- Temporary Office Assistant
- Payroll Clerk
- Payroll Administrator
- Employment Counsellor
- Employment Facilitator
- Self-Employed as Career Consultant
I had taken many of my jobs just to pay the bills, yet looking back I realized how much I learned doing different things in a variety of job roles. It was not until in my forties when I started to focus on jobs in accounting or payroll. I realized that record-keeping and sales were not my strengths, and I did not enjoy working in healthcare.
Yet I did like helping people solve problems.
So, in my fifties, I did a 365 degree turn to go into career/employment counselling.
Best decision in my career and opening my business has given me freedom, happiness, career satisfaction and harmony in my life.
Your career is not linear, be open to new opportunities, listen to yourself and follow your heart or for some people follow your research.
