In April of this year, I started a contract with Discovery Channel. It checked all the right boxes…at the time. Using my existing skills, interesting company, exciting work, strategic, creative, account services… I had a full list of priorities I had worked through before going back to work, and it was definitely an exciting opportunity worth taking.
My contract will be ending on November 9, leaving me, yet again, in a position to figure out what “my next move” will be. I won’t be hitting the 1 year mark I had originally hoped for, but my 6 months at Discovery has been a great learning experience.
Before I went back to work, I was terrified. My resume has gaps from my time abroad at maternity leave and I don’t have a professional network here in DC – no connections to get me in the door. Coupled with my own insecurities, I was stuck – seriously stuck. So, I brought on a career coach – and it was a truly FANTASTIC decision.
It was expensive, but it was worth it. Why I had been so hesitant to invest in myself, looking back, seems silly. I endeavored to get the most out of my 4 sessions with my coach – and for the most part I did! If you’re on the fence about engaging a coach, please feel free to reach out with any questions – I would be happy to share more; but for the purpose of this post, I want to share a few things that have really stuck with me, and will greatly benefit me as I being my job search – again.
Write your own story.
One of the things that I was most worried about, was people noticing the gaps in my resume and passing some type of judgement on it – silly! A few things my coach said to me, helped me to get over this.
- If they’re really concerned about the fact that you took time off after having a baby, ask yourself if thats really a culture and a company that you want to work for
- Who says that your story has to start “well, I’ve been out of work for almost 3 years now…”
She was absolutely right. No part of me wanted to hide the time I spent away from the workforce – there is a ton of living and learning I did during those years – not to mention growing and raising a tiny human! But I was stuck on the idea that I had to live up to “honesty” in a way that wasn’t painting myself in the right light. Did I take time off, yes, but more than anything I was just out of practice selling my self, and with that honesty always has a place.
So, we built my story – my true story – “I am a marketing professional with 10 years of experience across … ” that is where it starts. When people ask me about my time off, that is another story – “After leaving my promotion and position at Anomaly, my husband and I moved to Oxford for him to pursue his MBA. During that time I travelled to more than 15 countries…then we moved from England, to Canada, and finally here to DC with our daughter.”
The truth of the matter is, its all true, but the way that we curated the details puts things in the most positive and self assured light possible. It’s not about angles, there is no angle – this is me. The only difference is the way I decided to talk about myself.
Transition.
When I say I made the most of my sessions, I still have some clouds over my final session with my coach – I was in a very dark place. See January Blues and 3 Tips to get out of a Rut for more evidence – and words of advice. I wasn’t very positive, I felt dark, defeated, and the thought of apply to the black hole that is “online job applications” left me feeling completely unmotivated. And this is why you work with a coach – the ability for them to help you through the darkness and transition into something even slightly lighter.
For me, we had to re-frame what my job search looked like. Things felt out of reach, cavernous and daunting. Rather than painting those dark mental images, she asked me to think about some physical object that was less threatening and more opportunistic. We settled on a door. A beautiful, blue or pink door, framed by light, beautiful stone work and a welcoming threshold. While on the phone, we searched for images of such a door and emailed them back and forth. The goal was to reframe my dark scary place to a place where opportunity is, all I had to do was move beyond the threshold and open the door – not as scary or ominous as I felt.
Since then, I’ve used that door metaphor for things like – getting back into shape, re-doing my resume again… the truth is, by visualizing and reframing things into a beautiful, welcoming space, I have been able to overcome… well me… I’ve been able to get out of my own way. Since then I have found the account “London is Pink” and created a beautiful pinterest board filled with beautiful blue and pink doors for when I need a little perspective.
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