Where I Have Been, and Where I’m Going (AKA: Personal Stories About Professional goals).

This post is for every student that I have ever had: know that the chances of you affecting my life are just as likely as any impact I may have had on yours—it’s a mutual connection, thank you!

I seem to be lost in a little bit of a ‘reflective retrospective’ (or as Thomas Dolby might say: retrospectacle) today. It’s good… perfect for another rainy Seattle day.

About 3 years ago now, I set out to do something a little different with my career. I had been teaching non-stop for about 13 years, was presently a full-time teacher, with great students, and many opportunities to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Teaching was the unifying thread of my career, as I have created a very diversified resumé that covered so many areas of art and design (in some ways, this was also due to something called… layoffs). At the time, I found the diversity very frustrating, as it often hindered new work prospects (not always enough depth in any one area) influencing perceptions by hiring managers.

I just had to formally leave (full-time) teaching to rethink and re-evaluate. Professionally, I knew I needed to try some new things, and that was the key right there: I felt the pull, and just knew it was something I had to do. I didn’t even have a comprehensive game plan and didn’t quite know where I was headed: let’s just say it was a risk. Teaching represented stability in trying times. I loved so many aspects of it, felt very proficient at it, but I wasn’t developing as much in other professional areas.

So what did I do? Like Sting leaving the Police at the height of their popularity, I leapt without another full-time gig lined up.

I wouldn’t wish that move on anyone, but again—I just knew that I had to do it. I was patient, and contracts slowly started to trickle in again, like they had years back. Then something that never happened, happened: I started to pick up longer-term contracts as I continued to talk to people, build relationships, and just do everything to keep in touch with people. And all the hard work of years of talking to people started to really make sense.

There was a real sense that something was happening: I seemed to be in alignment.

Today, the ‘curse’ of a diversified resumé is actually becoming a blessing. Being able to move across a range of areas and projects, deal with a certain level of uncertainty, and create definition in uncharted territory is well suited for consulting and consultancies, and it’s a strong skill to build for anyone wishing to work in a leadership role, because you have to lead with the skill of being more proactive than reactive.  Of course, I still have deliverables that are determined by the client, but often I must navigate the uncertainty and help set the tone for the interaction with solid thinking that predicts hurdles before they happen.

What have I learned the last few years?

I started out looking for another full-time job that offered me the long-time tradition of what is considered “stable.”

In the meantime, life just kept happening, and something quite different was going on. I have almost come around to where I started: but not. Words of a very influential CEO and colleague echo in my mind as he has described what is needed to thrive in ‘the new’ climate: can you be flexible, agile, nimble, rolling on a dime, able to get the job done and do whatever it takes to get there, sometimes at a moments notice? Scary huh? 

The 'new stability' is the ability to not rely on anyone but yourself, when it comes to getting things done.  Even when an employer may be looking to hire you full-time, it still may not guarantee the long-term. You are the one who sets up the long-term, and the more flexible you can be, the more successful your options. Why wait for someone else to create it for you?

Don’t get me wrong folks, I’m still searching for the ‘perfect’ full-time or long-term opportunity… perhaps it exists, but in the meantime, I am not going to sit around waiting for the prospect of someone creating it for me. Life’s just too darn short!

  

I’m a Sagittarian, so I guess I am supposed to thrive on diversity and re-invention. I don’t take this thought lightly. I woke up from winter (maybe I’m manic) and rediscovered more of the “real” me (whatever that is). I rebalance my previous concepts of “self,” consider what I used to be, and know that there’s only room for a certain amount of that now, because change is a reality.

Ultimately, you need to accept yourself... 

And be driven by it.

Accepting yourself professionally, but from a very personal, inward level (don't get me started back on intention... that should still be fresh on the boards from the last post or two).

What I am trying to do here, and trying to do with this blog, is to have a forum to communicate, but also pass along some information I have gleaned through the struggles of the past few years: I just don't recommend looking for work in a way that just doesn't exist anymore. There is plenty of work out there, but it just doesn't exist through the "known channels" that have worked in the past. Business is different now, feel good about what you do—that's important—but be prepared to be flexible... and open minded.

I attach a low-resolution version of my “Infographic Resumé,” a true visual representation of information including what I have done, and where I’m going. My apologies go out to LJ, who requested seeing some of my early inspiration/work… the piece I was thinking of cannot be found. I will keep searching (isn’t that a great and symbolic concluding thought?)

See you on the journey…

m