Mid-Career Crisis

If your role isn’t the right fit for you, could you start all over again? Ben Tutty talks to people who retrained and now work in fulfilling roles.

Most of our waking adult life is spent working. Despite that, around 40 per cent of Kiwis hate their jobs, according to a recent survey by culture coach Shane Green. Are you one of them? If you are, there are probably several reasons why changing jobs or retraining seems difficult or downright impossible. And the fact is, you’re right – changing careers is a gigantic undertaking, a leap into the unknown. But for some who’ve found a new calling, it’s well worth the trouble.

Crisis sparked a career

Liz Barry studied her masters in pharmacology at the University of Otago and got a high-flying job for a large drug company. It aligned with what she wanted to do, and what she felt she should be doing, but for some reason the job was the wrong fit. Then Barry’s parents were killed in a car accident. As the oldest of four, she took on the role of mentoring her brothers and guiding them through life’s obstacles, not to mention their careers.

Something about mentoring just felt right. She felt this was her calling so she now runs a thriving Auckland business as a life and career coach.

“There’s an unease when you know your job isn’t right. Sometimes it takes life whacking you with a four-by-two for you to realise you’re doing the wrong thing,” Barry says. “We’re often too worried about what we’re socialised to become by our culture and the people around us that we don’t listen to our intuition.”

Barry reckons once you face up to the fact you need to change it’s absolutely terrifying – but also liberating.

Soul search, research, job search

When I got my first big-kid job writing for an online business it started off great, then something changed and suddenly I hated it. I’d feel nauseous as I walked to work every morning and I got eczema all over my face from anxiety and lack of sleep. I ended up leaving suddenly one day and doing odd jobs to pay my rent, which apparently isn’t the best way to change careers.

Barry says instead of getting a facial rash and quitting out of the blue, there’s a threestep process you should try first – soul searching, researching, then job searching.

It’s about tapping into your network, getting out there and meeting people and talking about what you want to do.

“Soul searching is all about looking at your values and your personality type. It’s not about looking at what you’re good at but what skills you’d like to use; what you’re interested in. “If you have no idea, think about what conversation topics spark your interest, which movies you watch, what you’re reading. There are career clues everywhere.” Once you’ve taken a good look at yourself and figured out what you really, truly want to do, she says it’s on to step two. “Research. Do your due diligence. Research the job market. Speak to people who already do the jobs, find out if you really need a degree to do the work.” Most people skip step one and two and go straight to job-searching, which Barry says is a big mistake. She adds that job searching isn’t purely about jumping on Seek – to get the best jobs you have to access the hidden market. “It’s about tapping into your network, getting out there and meeting people and talking about what you want to do. “LinkedIn is awesome for a place to start.

Think about how you articulate your value proposition and convince someone you’re worth their time and money.”

Why it’s worth it

Soul searching, researching and job searching is a lot of hassle. Is it really all worth it?

Hannah, a psychotherapist from West Auckland, says her career change definitely was worth it.

“I was in a senior human resources position at an infrastructure company in Auckland. It was a good job and good money but it didn’t excite me.

“I wanted to do something that I was passionate about and make a difference.” While she was soul searching, Hannah realised she liked the parts of the job where she supported the development of young graduates and looked after employee wellbeing. So, five years ago she started retraining in psychotherapy. “I was studying full-time and working part-time and it was so difficult to switch between the corporate mindset and being a student. It was a huge life transition.

The big thing I’ve lost is money. That’s not my priority, but for some people it is. That may stop them changing careers and that’s OK.

‘’Psychotherapy was much more demanding academically and personally than I thought it would be. There were times when I wondered what I’d gotten myself into.” Hannah adds that there was stress about whether she and her partner could manage financially, but in the end she got her masters in psychotherapy and now has her own small practice. She says she had to make sacrifices but in the end it was worth it.

“The big thing I’ve lost is money. That’s not my priority, but for some people it is. That may stop them changing careers and that’s okay. “Being a woman, I also would have started a family earlier if I’d stayed in HR. If I was still in a stable corporate job, I would have been hanging out for maternity leave, but that wasn’t an option for me.

“That said, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m 100 per cent certain I did the right thing. “It was really, really hard, but I’m so glad I made the change.”