First of all, very briefly, many thanks for all the comments that have been left on my previous posts - I enjoyed reading and replying to them and enjoyed reading the blogs that were linked to them too. Please do keep giving me feedback, even if it's (constructive) criticism. I am quite keen to get discussions going too, so don't hesitate in leaving a comment. I am happy to share all the lessons I've learned, so here's my most recent one....
As with everything in life, when an opportunity in life presents itself, you have to grab it with both hands. As you move forward on the conveyor belt of life, sometimes it flashes by with only a split second to jump up and grab it. For me, this was one of those moments.
As already outlined in previous posts, once I'd drawn up my financial plan in January 2008 - and took steps to implement it - I started to take stock of what I wanted to do with my life if I wanted to leave the accountancy profession. I spent the next few months mulling this over, but by spring in 2008 I still hadn't come to any definite conclusion. While frustrating, I don't think it's entirely uncommon among people who want to change career. So I decided instead to just identify what I had been interested in at school and university, and follow those interests to see where they would lead - if anywhere at all. In order to hone my eventual career-change decision, I decided to try out any possible avenues along the way if the opportunities ever arose.
For example, two things I'm definitely interested in are writing and people, both on an individual psychological level and a socio-cultural level. Trouble is, so many people are interested in these subjects - and are a lot better than I am at them, too - that it's really hard to break into these fields. Take writing for instance, where the odds are particularly stacked against the newbie. Even if you want to just get a short unpaid placement on a local newspaper for experience on your CV (resumé), that's hard enough, so the chances of getting one in the nationals is virtually impossible!
One evening in late March, my mum happened to mention the fact that her boss regularly played football (that's soccer to any American readers) with someone who was the editor of a well-known national daily newspaper. I think he regretted mentioning it at all because as soon as my mum told me, I was ringing the poor man at work the next day and pleading with him to mention me to that newspaper editor.
His protests that he "didn't know him that well, only casually" didn't deter me as I tried to persuade him (nicely, of course!) that if he could just mention that I was available for any type of unpaid work experience placement on that editor's newspaper, I'd be very grateful. "Well, OK...." my mum's boss started, hesitantly, "but I can't promise anything...."
"There's no harm trying though, is there?" I pressed. "Please....?"
"Well.... I can try.... but he's a busy man.... national newspaper.... they get thousands of requests for unpaid work experience every year...." he said.
"But you can still mention me, right?" I persisted. "There's no harm trying, is there? The worst he can do is say no, and neither of us has lost anything if he does....?"
Eventually, he agreed to mention me, if only to shut me up: I wouldn't be surprised if he was inwardly cursing my mum at this point!
Nevertheless, he was as good as his word: the editor told him to tell me to get in touch with his PA. I wasn't provided with a phone number or email address, but fortunately there was a switchboard number on the newspaper's website, so once I was put through to her I introduced myself and informed her that her boss asked me to ring her to discuss the possibility of an unpaid work experience placement (I had to write out my little speech before I rang her; I was so nervous that I was convinced I was going to completely fluff it!)
She was surprisingly receptive: she simply asked me to send her an outline of my experiences to date, and a sample of any work I'd ever had published. The last time I'd written anything - the last time I'd actually had time to write anything, before I started working long hours as an accountant and spending my spare moments studying for demanding exams - was at university in 2002, so I emailed her a PDF scan of one of my articles that got published in the student magazine. I hoped that the fact that I'd written it 7 years ago - when I was 20 - wouldn't count against me, but I wasn't expecting to hear anything, especially as my working and academic experience since 2002 hasn't really been relevant to journalism or writing.
I was therefore stunned and pleasantly surprised when I got a response inviting me for a two-week unpaid work experience placement, starting in June! Result!
So there you are - have a go and try any opportunity, because you simply never know. I really wasn't expecting to be accepted but I am glad I plucked up the courage to try! (It's the first time in my life that networking has actually paid off. My mum's boss has been profusely thanked in the meantime, rest assured!)
While obviously I don't know if journalism is for me - even in spring 2009, a year after my initial career change decision, I'm still undecided - I am sure this unpaid work experience for a fortnight will help me find out; after all, you can never be certain what any career is going to be like until you try it for yourself.
I have to admit, though, that I'm really looking forward to it and will definitely post to let you all know how it goes. Stay tuned!
Showing posts with label undecided. Show all posts
Showing posts with label undecided. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Quitting your job???? Don't you know there's a recession on????
I swear, if I could have a pound every time I've heard a version of the above question I'd be a seriously rich girl by now. One of the first things you realise - when you first announce your intention to change career - is that not everyone agrees that it's a good idea. I reckon it's fair to say that once you've made that decision, you need a mind of steel to resist some of the doubt and incredulity that comes your way. As if making the decision to do it wasn't hard enough!
Obviously I'm not referring to my closest friends, boyfriend or family; they were relieved as it meant they didn't have to hear me moaning about my job anymore. Well, my mum isn't totally comfortable, bless her, as I explained in my previous post ("Back To The Beginning") but I'm sure she'd want the best for me.
No, the people I'm referring to here were my accountancy colleagues, or friends that had been colleagues, even the ones who'd proclaim (either in the office or at Friday drinks) that they didn't like their jobs either. Many of them thought I was mad. I remember when I handed in my notice last summer at the accountancy firm I worked at: I'm sure my boss just thought I had a bad case of PMT. It took some time for me to convince him I was absolutely serious. "But... but... but..." he spluttered, "don't you know there's a recession on? You won't find another job! Accountancy firms aren't hiring that much at the moment, you know, it's not like two years ago!"
By that stage, I wasn't quite so fussed. I'd been planning this for a good few months, since about Christmas 2007 in fact. Even if I didn't know what career I wanted to change to at that stage, knowing back then that I definitely wanted to change career was enough to galvanise me into taking my first action: sorting out my finances.
What? I hear you cry. You mean like budgets and savings? But that's boring! And you'd be right. It is. But necessary. Who was it who said "when the going gets tough, the tough have cash"? Making a career change isn't always smooth sailing. So, you have to be prepared. That means financially as well as emotionally - the last thing you want to be thinking when you're worried about whether your career change will work or not is "Shit - I'm flat broke!"
After doing some research, I was shocked to discover that I was being vastly underpaid; the market rate for someone of my skills and experience was about 10-15% more than what I was being paid. I asked my boss for a pay rise. He refused. I realised then that I had to leave.
The other factor in my decision to leave was that around this time I started to get sharp pains in my chest, like searing hot knives, on a permanent basis. I was only 26 and in good health. The doctor was convinced it was stress; while I was doubtful of his diagnosis for a while I did notice that as soon as I handed in my resignation notice, the pains magically disappeared. 'Twas a miracle, I tell thee!
Before I handed in my notice, I contacted a recruitment consultant to sound out the job market, and in particular, the market for temporary and contract jobs. In summer 2008, the job market was certainly a lot better than now, so I was able to get a temporary job in commerce rather than an accountancy firm. I figured that, while I had enough savings to last me a few months without work, it wasn't enough to give up accountancy completely. In fact, with a mortgage to pay, it may well take quite a while before I am able to give up accountancy completely. But I'm on the way to doing so, rest assured.
The temp job paid pretty well, which was good as it enabled me to to save more money into the "emergency cash fund". (Also known as "career change fund" or "my boss can shove this job up his arse fund" - take your pick). It was so hard trying not to spend the extra cash I was earning - why is it that the moment you go on a budget, suddenly you are surrounded with so much temptation? I think the only thing that kept me from splurging during this time was the knowledge that the less money I had saved for the career change, the longer I'd have to stay being an accountant!
While I still don't have the financial resources right now to quit accountancy completely, I've had time to read books on changing careers and think about what I want to do. I can't quite sit down and say "OK, I want to do X, and I definitely know that's what I want to do," so what I've decided to do is follow what I'm interested in and actually try it out. My temp contract finished last month, so I'm looking for another accountancy job to continue funding the career change, but in the meantime I have started that English Literature A-Level I wanted to do 10 years ago. I found a place that does distance-learning qualifications - it's called the National Extension College and for those of you in the UK, the website is http://www.nec.ac.uk/. I spent ages looking for a reputable distance-learning company as there's some real scams out there on the Internet, and I found this one on a UK government advice website.
In addition to that English Literature A-Level that I've finally got round to doing, I'm also doing an A-Level in Sociology (opted not to go for Psychology in the end), also by distance-learning with the National Extension College. I had to use some of my savings to pay for all of them, but hopefully it'll be worth it.... when I actually get started on the courses! The good thing about doing it this way is that I get to try out whether it does suit me or not; and if it doesn't, then I suppose I shall retreat back to my accountancy stepping-stone and think again.
So.... that's a potted history of how I started my career change, and where I am at the moment. Obviously it's very much a work in progress and there are topics I've touched on, like personal finance issues and first steps, that I want to go into more detail and share my tips and advice on. Probably the next time I take an afternoon tea break.
Obviously I'm not referring to my closest friends, boyfriend or family; they were relieved as it meant they didn't have to hear me moaning about my job anymore. Well, my mum isn't totally comfortable, bless her, as I explained in my previous post ("Back To The Beginning") but I'm sure she'd want the best for me.
No, the people I'm referring to here were my accountancy colleagues, or friends that had been colleagues, even the ones who'd proclaim (either in the office or at Friday drinks) that they didn't like their jobs either. Many of them thought I was mad. I remember when I handed in my notice last summer at the accountancy firm I worked at: I'm sure my boss just thought I had a bad case of PMT. It took some time for me to convince him I was absolutely serious. "But... but... but..." he spluttered, "don't you know there's a recession on? You won't find another job! Accountancy firms aren't hiring that much at the moment, you know, it's not like two years ago!"
By that stage, I wasn't quite so fussed. I'd been planning this for a good few months, since about Christmas 2007 in fact. Even if I didn't know what career I wanted to change to at that stage, knowing back then that I definitely wanted to change career was enough to galvanise me into taking my first action: sorting out my finances.
What? I hear you cry. You mean like budgets and savings? But that's boring! And you'd be right. It is. But necessary. Who was it who said "when the going gets tough, the tough have cash"? Making a career change isn't always smooth sailing. So, you have to be prepared. That means financially as well as emotionally - the last thing you want to be thinking when you're worried about whether your career change will work or not is "Shit - I'm flat broke!"
After doing some research, I was shocked to discover that I was being vastly underpaid; the market rate for someone of my skills and experience was about 10-15% more than what I was being paid. I asked my boss for a pay rise. He refused. I realised then that I had to leave.
The other factor in my decision to leave was that around this time I started to get sharp pains in my chest, like searing hot knives, on a permanent basis. I was only 26 and in good health. The doctor was convinced it was stress; while I was doubtful of his diagnosis for a while I did notice that as soon as I handed in my resignation notice, the pains magically disappeared. 'Twas a miracle, I tell thee!
Before I handed in my notice, I contacted a recruitment consultant to sound out the job market, and in particular, the market for temporary and contract jobs. In summer 2008, the job market was certainly a lot better than now, so I was able to get a temporary job in commerce rather than an accountancy firm. I figured that, while I had enough savings to last me a few months without work, it wasn't enough to give up accountancy completely. In fact, with a mortgage to pay, it may well take quite a while before I am able to give up accountancy completely. But I'm on the way to doing so, rest assured.
The temp job paid pretty well, which was good as it enabled me to to save more money into the "emergency cash fund". (Also known as "career change fund" or "my boss can shove this job up his arse fund" - take your pick). It was so hard trying not to spend the extra cash I was earning - why is it that the moment you go on a budget, suddenly you are surrounded with so much temptation? I think the only thing that kept me from splurging during this time was the knowledge that the less money I had saved for the career change, the longer I'd have to stay being an accountant!
While I still don't have the financial resources right now to quit accountancy completely, I've had time to read books on changing careers and think about what I want to do. I can't quite sit down and say "OK, I want to do X, and I definitely know that's what I want to do," so what I've decided to do is follow what I'm interested in and actually try it out. My temp contract finished last month, so I'm looking for another accountancy job to continue funding the career change, but in the meantime I have started that English Literature A-Level I wanted to do 10 years ago. I found a place that does distance-learning qualifications - it's called the National Extension College and for those of you in the UK, the website is http://www.nec.ac.uk/. I spent ages looking for a reputable distance-learning company as there's some real scams out there on the Internet, and I found this one on a UK government advice website.
In addition to that English Literature A-Level that I've finally got round to doing, I'm also doing an A-Level in Sociology (opted not to go for Psychology in the end), also by distance-learning with the National Extension College. I had to use some of my savings to pay for all of them, but hopefully it'll be worth it.... when I actually get started on the courses! The good thing about doing it this way is that I get to try out whether it does suit me or not; and if it doesn't, then I suppose I shall retreat back to my accountancy stepping-stone and think again.
So.... that's a potted history of how I started my career change, and where I am at the moment. Obviously it's very much a work in progress and there are topics I've touched on, like personal finance issues and first steps, that I want to go into more detail and share my tips and advice on. Probably the next time I take an afternoon tea break.
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