PONDERING A CAREER RESET?
Here's how to know you're ready
Words
KATHERINE ORMEROD
At the start of any new year, it’s natural to become reflective. In the relative peace of January, you may very well realise that something in your life doesn’t feel quite right. It might be a relationship which needs a retune, or perhaps lifestyle habits and routines have veered sensationally off the track. For me personally, the first month of the year has often given me the pause to think about my career and helped kick-start a series of pivots, the most recent of which has seen me retraining in construction and bricklaying. Yes, you read that right – I’m currently in the midst of the mother of all career shifts.
How many jobs have I stayed in too long? Probably all of them. Even if you find yourself profoundly unhappy, when it comes to our professional lives, so many of us believe it’s better the devil you know and end up staying in positions well beyond their sell-by-dates. It takes enormous courage to step outside of your comfort zone in every facet of life, but when we reckon with job changes, it takes on a whole other level due to the financial impact. Many of us tussle with anxieties around scarcity and if you’ve struggled to make ends meet in the past, taking risks with your salary can feel not just scary, but dangerous too.
I’ve taken multiple leaps of faith during my career and have done so while quaking in my boots. When I jumped from working as a senior editor at Grazia magazine into setting up a digital content business without any real blueprint, I barely slept for months. Since then, I’ve pivoted into ghostwriting, with 14 books under my literary belt, set up a financially successful weekly newsletter and become a fully-fledged content creator.
During my most recent pivot the stakes have felt high. I now have a big mortgage, two kids to drop and collect from school every day and my career is going well. It feels madness to shake everything up. And yet, I haven’t felt scared in quite the same way as I have in the past. Perhaps that’s because there are so few expectations - I am, as far as I know, one of the only former fashion editors to attempt to retrain in construction. What’s more, as just 1 percent of on-site workers are female in the UK, as a mid-life mum, it certainly wasn’t the obvious choice.
The first question is – understandably – why? Here there’s the rational answer: my husband and I recently purchased the house that we’d been renting for the past three years, and I plan to project manage the renovation, so wanted to gain a new skill-set. But there are other reasons too; I have decorated our last two homes top to bottom single-handedly, but I’m frustrated at not being able to go further. Wallpapering and upholstery are one thing, but breeze blocks and render are quite another. In my last book, Your Not Forever Home, I wrote about the gender inequality and prejudice across the construction industry and how the lack of female role models makes women believe they are not capable of DIY. That really lit a fire. Finally, I can see the massive market of women renovating homes up and down the country who might like to work with someone who doesn’t either ghost them mid-project or ask to speak to their boyfriend.
Three months in and I’ve mastered several key carpentry joints and explored the ways woodwork dovetails (pun intended), in home construction. I’ve completed my painting and decorating unit with distinction and, most transformative of all, I’ve discovered a real passion for the artistry of bricklaying. When my multi-skills course finishes, I’m moving immediately on to a brick and block course and if I pass, I’ll be looking for an on-site apprenticeship this summer. That’s the thing with pivots – you don’t always know where you’re going to land. Bricklayer definitely wasn’t on my bingo card, but here we are. If you don’t walk through fire, you’ll only ever stand still.
It is so easy to just tick along when you have responsibilities and women can especially focus on our obligations rather than opportunities. But, in my experience, taking chances usually leads to more freedom and flexibility – because of my pivots I’ve been able to curate my own working hours and that’s allowed me to be a far more hands-on parent than if I’d stayed in my office job. As for how to know when to jump, it’s a cliché, but there’s no time like the present. If you look at your desk and know it won’t lead you any closer to where you want to be, it’s time to put the wheels in motion. Will it be ok? I won’t lie; there will probably be some hairy moments. But you’ve got to get on the train at some point – so you might as well nip it in the bud now.
Also, a pivot doesn’t have to be final – instead see it as adding a new string to your bow. Be sensible and make sure you can cover yourself financially for at least six months and if, like me, you’re studying, accept that you will have to make compromises. I work most evenings and during the weekends after my kids go to bed. For me, it’s worth it, and not just because I love gaining new skills and finding new streams of revenue. But because I only feel a true sense of ease – no matter what month of the year – when I know I’m following my gut.
Katherine Ormerod is an author, journalist and content creator, who is currently retraining in construction. Read more of her work via her weekly Substack, Every Shade of Grey and and her monthly column at Wardrobe Icons.