CareerTalk
FEBRUARY 2005 - Early Career Blues - look before you leap!
There's a certain point when a 'bad day at work' starts to become more than
that. After a while you look back and finally admit it - this isn't going to
get any better left alone. You're over-worked, burned-out, disillusioned, stressed
or bored to tears. It's a crazy corporate culture and you just don't fit. Your
inner voice is screaming 'get out' ... but it's not just a summer job. This
is the career you've dreamed of and worked for. Meet Patti and Gus.
Quiet, resourceful and naturally optimistic, Patti became an addictions counsellor
because she 'knew she could make a difference'. She was elated when her internship
at an agency evolved into a counselling job in substance abuse.
Year one was a roller coaster - overwhelming, emotionally draining and rewarding
all at once. As her confidence grew, Patti began to question and offer suggestions
for improvement. She was shocked when her ideas were dismissed and she found
herself facing a bureaucracy battling cutbacks and focused on survival.
For Patti it's a fundamental clash of values and ethics. She's disillusioned,
depressed and finding it hard to go on. If this is counselling, she wants out.
At 25 Gus is a top producer for his pharmaceutical sales team. With a degree
in chemistry and an easy way with people, he was recruited right out of college
.and hasn't looked back until now. He's enjoyed the people, the opportunity
for growth, the travel and especially the bonuses and perks.
Last year everything changed - a corporate restructuring, a new area manager
with ideas on 'improvement' ... and, just as Gus was starting to enjoy the territory
he'd slaved to develop, he was reassigned a new one. It's not fun anymore and
Gus is miserable. He's considered moving companies but he's worried the whole
sector is moving in the same direction.
Patti and Gus are not alone with their 'early career blues'. Young professionals
have always experienced an initial 'reality check' as they transition into the
work world. They fully expect they'll have to 'pay their dues' but soon after,
they're looking for a sense of appreciation and belonging.
When things get worse instead of better, it's a jolt. You start to panic, question
your career choice ... even your abilities. With emotions running high, your
decisions are sometimes impulsive and extreme. You just want to chuck it all
and find something else before it's too late.
But where to go and what to do? For some it's back to the cocoon of university
(graduate school buys time). For others it's dropping out to travel and regroup.
And while neither is necessarily a bad idea, if you don't take time to reconsider
and explore your options before you bail, you may actually be throwing away
a great career.
Patti and Gus needed to take a breath, cool their emotions and clarify the
roots of their dissatisfaction before taking any drastic measures. They also
needed a plan to give them perspective and a strategy for going forward.
When they came to me as individual clients, both were feeling edgy and anxious
to just 'get-out' ... but neither knew where to. Our initial interviews and
assessments helped to confirm their original career choices. They hadn't stopped
loving their work. If only they could put their talents to best use. Our goal
became to develop individual career action plans to explore other options in
their same industry sector and leave doors open.
The Results
Patti's dreams of helping alcoholics were undermined in a system that rationed
services and 'fried' counselors. A review of the sector (free service), confirmed
the diagnosis and the need to look outside.
Internet research produced a list of residential programs (non and for profit)
that employed full-time counsellors. They were better funded and more positive
- with enough time and resources for counsellors to do the job right. It was
exactly what Patti wanted!
One in particular caught her fancy - an island retreat for teens with alcohol
and drug addictions. There were no immediate openings but they needed help on
weekends - Patti jumped at the chance.
As she waits for the right job, she's connecting with several private clinics
and loving her weekend work. Still at the agency (part time), Patti's excited
about her future plans.
Gus wasn't hopeful when he first began digging into the pharmaceutical sales
scene. But, as he started to ask around, he found colleagues enjoying a wide
variety of work cultures.
Companies headquartered in New York, Montreal and Toronto had different corporate
styles . In the midst of industry upheaval, newer companies were starting to
focus on employee retention - looking for new ways to involve and support their
sales teams.
He noted than many of these companies were expanding into health supplements
.and, when he thought about his own lifestyle, Gus was excited by the possibilities
this raised. His updated résumé underlined a solid core of relationship
and sales competencies - portable skills in hot demand. It was certainly too
soon to panic about career options.
What we're coming to understand about early career blues is that they're not
always a sign you're in the wrong career. Resisting the urge to 'jump ship'
while you explore the different niches of your field or sector is an important
step in career self reliance. And in the process . you're building invaluable
self-knowledge and the kind of change skills needed in today's dynamic world
of work.
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