Stay “miserable” or change your career already…
“I was not going to stay at a job and be miserable. Everyone around me would have been miserable too.”
That statement came from Lorna Francis, a former colleague and good friend. Many moons ago we worked together in Manhattan at a fashion publication called Footwear News. (Yes, we all had to pay our dues folks.)
I recently asked her about her decision to get the hell out of journalism and pursue her passions — food and entertaining. I wanted to know how she was able to leave a long-time career and embark on something totally new with no guarantees she’d be able to ever make a living.
So many readers tell me about what their dream jobs would be, but few have the guts to go for it.
Lorna’s “miserable” comment goes to the very heart of this.
I believe she would have made her co-workers and bosses miserable if she stayed in a gig she didn’t love. Lorna has always worn her heart on her sleeve. She’s brutally honest and will tell you to your face what’s wrong with you. That’s what I love about her.
Maybe this attitude is what gave her the strength to make a major change mid career.
Is there a personality type of someone that can successfully shift career gears?
There are two top types, says Marci Alboher, author of One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success.
There are the “I-do-what-I want” career changer and the “I-have-no-other-choice” career changer, she explains.
Alboher, who also writes the Shifting Careers blog at the New York Times, says Lorna sounds like the kind of person who doesn’t care what other people think, and that makes her a prime candidate for someone who can shift careers easily. Most people are worried what their spouses, parents, friends will think and have difficulty following their work bliss.
The other big category of career changers, she says, are those who are pushed into making a change.
“It doesn’t feel like a choice,” she adds, “but these people make a change because they are laid off, scared or just tired and they’re pushed to a place where they say, ‘what do I have to lose?’”
Lorna left the shoe publication to go into television in the 1990s. I thought she was nuts back then but she saw herself as a TV producer. Well, she took a cut in pay and went off to become a successful producer in cities from Florida to Alabama, and ended up producing for a Houston station.
One day, in 2003, she realized she was numb to the world of news because of all the rapes and murders she was writing about, and on that day began her quest for a new career.
She enrolled in culinary school in Houston for an 18-month program and quit her job at the TV station. To make ends meet she took jobs at retailers like Ann Taylor and Pier One, and the jobs were anything but easy.
“At one point I felt embarrassed working in retail because people treat you differently. They act like they’re better than you,” she explains.
But she persevered even as she struggled financially.
When she graduated she landed a job as catering coordinator for Perry’s Restaurant Group in Houston, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sound happier.
I just recently received an email from her that shows how proud she is of her new career.
During a recent high-end party she helped organize, she did such an incredible job that the D.J. who was also hired for the gig sent a letter to her manager about what a great job she and her team did.
While it was normal to get a letter from the people that hire Perry’s it was unusual for a vendor to praise the staff:
Special kudos go to Lorna! She is a wonderful asset to your catering team! Everything ran smoothly due in large part to her leadership and direction! She is a wonderful person!
Lorna was so proud of this letter she wanted to share it with her friends, and it proves that you can survive and thrive when you finally decide to make a major career change.
“I am a firm believer that if you are passionate about something, you should take the leap of faith,” she says. “There’s nothing wrong with taking it, and failing, but there’s something wrong with not taking it at all, and regretting it later.”
See how happy she looks:
June 17th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I think we go through phases in our work lives, especially if we are in an environment that experiences much change.
I recently walked away from a job with a quasi-governmental agency (read: a job with good pay and fantastic benefits) after more than nine years. During my first two years, it was the (then) greatest experience of my life. During the next two to three years, *I was miserable*.
During that period, I often contemplated leaving. Maybe it’s not something everyone can do, but I was aware that personal attitudes tend to bleed over into the work environment, so I did everything I could to ensure I was giving 100% at work, and that I did my job with a positive attitude. It was during my private time (especially on Sunday evenings) where my dread of my then current work situation weighed most heavily on me.
One thing of which we can be sure: time passes. Another is this: things change.
I made it through that funk and began to find enjoyment in my work again. The nature of the work had changed, and so had the composition of my team. While still not fully satisfied with the job, the next two years were some of the most challenging and rewarding of my life thus far.
About two years ago, I finally had an opportunity to move to another business unit in the same company. It was a department to which I had applied numerous times. It was a long-awaited opportunity, and it brought many challenges. Most of the past two years were fantastic.
Then, this spring, an unexpected opportunity presented itself. After more than nine years (just shy of reaching my tenth year, a coveted extra week of vacation, and the type of contentment that cause many to become “lifers”), I left the company for what has always been my dream job.
Was my change as drastic as the one you described? No. I’m in the same industry. Instead of being a cog in the IT wheel, however, I’m now working to build an IT department for a mid-sized manufacturing company. Instead of coordinating IT efforts across a half-dozen functional divisions, I’m setting the direction and making it happen. I’m the go-to guy who will receive all the glory when things go well, but I’m also ready to take all of the blame when they go wrong.
So, what’s my point? Had I not stayed with my former employer during those difficult years, I likely would not have been prepared for what I’m doing today. The number of scenarios I encountered during my first weeks that mirrored situations I handled at my former employer was shocking (and seemingly providential). Had I pulled my stakes as during those two years when I was miserable, I’d have missed some tremendous learning opportunities (including those that built my character).
So, while I agree that Lorna made the right decision, I want to tell others that, if they can maintain a long-term perspective, even their bad work experiences can turn out to be good ones.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I am also proud of Lorna. I know her struggle. Many nights - and days- we both shared war stories about our time in the television industry.
Lorna has worked extremely hard to attain everything that she has.
Her story is uplifting for all of us working to find a “career” and not a “job”.
Keep going Lorna!!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:54 am
She does look happy:-) I view life as an adventure nowdays. It is easy to get attracted to titles and fancy jobs. In the end of the day you have to do what makes you happy. With both failure and success along the way I have been blessed with the oppourtunity to try so many things in my life. Would never want it in any other way… I am the modern version of “the old handyman” - a person that could tackle any problem and land on their feet.