"The Thing" Before "THE Thing": The Road to Fulfillment

Lately, there have been a few stuck moments for some of my clients around feelings about the "perfect job."

Spoiler alert --- > there's no such thing.

Sometimes you have to take an "in between" gig to get you closer to the thing. The fulfillment thing.

It's a tough pill to swallow as many of my clients are ambitious and anxious to find their calling and their reason for being right away. Guys, it just doesn't happen like that.

Changing careers is a PROCESS. You can't expect to have this life-changing revelation and then snap your fingers and it's there waiting for you. Changing careers is a job within itself. When I start working with my clients, I make it clear that the objective isn't just to find them a new gig —(great if we do) the purpose is to help them become more clear and confident that they know what changes they want to make, and how they can make them.

A great example of how we take these steps towards progress is what I like to call "the thing before the thing."

Let's say you've been working as a store manager in a retail environment for six years and you decide that you have a real passion for Marketing. You need to start thinking about how you're going to get your foot in the door. Real talk, you aren't just going to walk into a fab marketing manager role with zero marketing experience, so how will you achieve your goal?

Is there an admin role in the marketing department that could be a nice stepping stone into the function so you can learn more about marketing? Approach this in small steps.

I get it. You don't want to take a pay cut.

You've worked hard to get to where you are at. Guess what? You aren't happy. You'll need to make sacrifices when you start thinking about making a big career change. If your SoulCycle lifestyle won't let you take a pay cut, then perhaps you need to think about where you can make some cuts in order to get to the end goal.

The reality is if you do this the right way you will not be in that admin job for long, and bonus — you will be HAPPIER.

Another example of this is around industry changes.

I have a client right now who is very intrigued by the travel industry and has a retail background. She saw a position working in a retail location for the luggage brand, AWAY. In her mind, she could apply to that role because she already has that experience, yet it is with a company that intrigues her. This would also help her get in with the company and open the door up for other opportunities.

There is a huge mindset shift around changing careers and you need to make sure you are fully ready to say yes to different options and be open to things you wouldn't necessarily be open to. You essentially have two choices: stay in a career that you hate and doesn't fulfill you at all, or take a job that isn't exactly what you want, but it is closer and the bigger picture suggests you can get farther within the company and be happier.

Trust the process.

Mic drop.