What I Do For Money

(And Why Falling into Your Next Job Could Be the Best Thing for Your Career)

I used to ask professionals when I was in college how they ended up in their current career. As a student looking for guidance about how I could achieve my biggest career goals, I always hoped they would tell me they landed their present gig because it was their childhood dream, or because they purposefully pursued it.

Instead, all I got was, “You know, I just sorta fell into it.”

Cue letdown.

In those moments all I could think was, “Great advice — I’m just going to go jump off a cliff and hope I fall into my dream job.” I didn’t want to be one of those people who stumbled into their current job like a drunk college kid stumbling into the next bar. I vowed to pursue with purpose and to never “fall into” my jobs by accident…until I did.

But first I stumbled. And then I fell and landed in a really great spot that happens to be perfect. Confused? Let me explain.

I took a job as a social media manager in Alabama after a six-month sprint of doing mission work and loving on God’s people. I was working part-time at a sandwich shop and *had* to get out of there. Though social media management wasn’t at the top of my career dreams list, it didn’t require me to steam sandwiches every day.

Unfortunately, that job lasted about as long as Vine’s popularity. Fast forward a few months and I found myself laid off with dwindling savings (but I did have some intense social media skills).

To make ends meet and start saving for a cross-country move to be near my boyfriend, I begrudgingly resurrected my bartending skills at a hotel bar. Shortly after landing my bartending gig, I was hired as a contractor for a local company to do graphic design and marketing, which made me feel a little better about the state of my career.

As I was burning the candle at both ends by working my day job and bartending at night, I decided to check out the hotel chain’s career opportunities in marketing. By some miracle, I had chosen to work for a hotel chain that was opening a hotel where my boyfriend lived AND that particular hotel was hiring a marketing manager. I’m pretty sure I screamed when I saw that job posting and then quickly applied. A few weeks later, I was offered the job and a moving stipend. So in a roundabout way, my bartending job paid for my move — just not in the way I had anticipated.

After moving across the country I was faced with the challenge of helping open a hotel. Though opening the property was rough at times, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I will never forget it. I learned so much about marketing and public relations, and I learned that I could hold my own in a variety of challenging situations.

After the hotel opened, I came to terms with the reality that though I loved my team and the experience of opening the hotel, marketing at the hotel level was not my passion. Around that time a software company that works with hotels posted a job I was interested in. In my heart, I had wanted to either work for a major brand at the corporate level or in tech. My prayer was answered when I received a job offer at that company.

So, what do I do for money? Besides thank God every day for the amazing career path He’s laid out for me, I get to write, develop marketing strategies, support a dynamic sales team, and work with really smart people.

It’s not a bad gig for something I sorta fell into.