(Wo)man’s search for meaning
This year a chapter of my life came to an end. It was a welcome end, but an end nonetheless. In June 2019 I was made redundant from my 9–5 PR & Comms job at a not-for-profit in Melbourne. This end simultaneously posed both the greatest opportunity for change and the greatest risk of a (somewhat inevitable) “WTF?” career-induced existential crisis. Whilst I’ve enjoyed elements of my work over the years and am deeply grateful for the experiences, something’s always been missing.
Graduating at the time of the global recession, my 20's were peppered with dead-end hospo jobs to pay the bills, freelance writing (often for free, but eventually paid), unpaid internships (advertising, PR, magazine journalism, record labels, you name it, I’ve done it). It was a time of scraping by, hoping for more, and feeling like I’d missed out on a ship that had already sailed. Ultimately my entrance into the music industry assuaged my doom and doubt temporarily, only for it to return a few years later. I left London in 2013 with the hope of finding answers.
Travelling round India and Sri Lanka gave me some space to breathe before landing in Australia at the end of the 2013. But I still didn’t experience the epiphany I was so desperately seeking. The next two years in Australia were a mish-mash of visa-driven job prospects; everything from working on a banana farm in Far North Queensland to an array of marketing, social media and comms roles in Melbourne. I eventually landed a sponsored position in PR & Comms for the aforementioned not-for-profit at the end of 2015. This has been my last 3.5 years.
So here I am, today. Facing the same question that has plagued me over the past ten years: what is my purpose? What’s next in my career? Which pathway do I take at this juncture in life?
I decided to start my very own search for meaning. Rather than following the usual linear job hunting strategy — update CV, apply for jobs online, possibly get an interview after weeks of lurking on LinkedIn or Seek, get demoralised, then rinse and repeat — I thought why not get creative with my job hunting and do something a bit different? Looking back on my career, I realised that I hadn’t actually obtained a job following the traditional method above. Each one was through knowing someone, whether it was a personal recommendation, a coffee here, persistently emailing the CEO for months there, but rarely, if ever, applying on a website for an advertised role.
There must be another way. In June 2019, I embarked on a personal odyssey to figure out what the hell to do next in this game called life. I began to dig deep, exploring potential career options through reading books, doing experiential activities, talking to people, getting feedback, applying learnings, meeting people for coffee for career chats, doing workshops, enrolling on courses. Basically, learning by doing, being curious, focusing on the process not the outcome and sharing thoughts and ideas with those close to me. It’s been messy, time-consuming, collaborative and involved a lot of colour coded post-it notes so far, but it’s been super fun.
This blog documents my journey. My hope is that by sharing my experience and documenting the process and activities I’ve done which have helped me, I can reassure, inspire and support others who may be experiencing doubt, uncertainty or malaise in their careers too.
*Also, last but not least a massive shout out to my dear friend Sophie who encouraged me to share my journey in this medium (no pun intended); I am so grateful for your support and inspiration, it means a lot.
