Argentinian restaurant on a Tuesday night in the south of England. February cold fogging the windows. Pampas-raised steak oozing juices. Very hard keeping what I know from Yerman; I took him on 16 years ago. Concentrate! Award-winning performance chattering about sport and a smattering of current affairs is required.
Wednesday morning; meeting room 303. Full team present. Who looks comfortable? Who doesn’t? Is it because they know they’re safe…..or is it just temperament? Ability to read this is blurred. We’re given the speech; no obvious facial betrayal of yarn-telling. Always thought This Codger was shifty though. Bottom line is seven into five doesn’t go; and we’re playing away from home here.
This is how it started; a nine-month run in to the redundancy. Length of service and the desire to do something else made it appetising. Alternative career dreams came along like a clutch of 46As. There was the not-for-profit sector, tour guiding, teaching, blogging, culture and heritage. Nothing was beyond the previously-suppressed expansive capabilities that were about to be unleashed on the world. The flames of expectation were fanned by the emotion of departing goodwill.
January arrived with days difficult to fill. What was previously seen as a nice occasional working from home environment became a place where I had too much time on my hands. Job websites didn’t easily deliver a clear match between my career dreams and my skills and experience. Networking coffees threw up more questions than they provided directions. Spring into summer; pretty much parked the puzzle for a while.
Started looking at the previous career in the autumn, got a call from my previous employer asking if I would be interested in a conversation about coming back. Still here at time of writing .
The learnings are several. Do not underestimate how crucially important your existing work environment is to your life. It’s not just the technical skills and financial compensation; there’s also the hugely important aspects of location and related social infrastructure. It’s very easy to lose sight of the importance of these; a bit like air and water we take them for granted.
Dreams are of course important; they do however need to be managed. When you’ve done a brief bit of luxuriating in them, road-test them vigorously. Can you really see yourself successfully doing these new things? Delve into the areas to ensure you are completely aware of the necessary skills, aptitudes and experiences. Talk it through with people in the area, start to build a new network relevant to these new areas. Networks of likeminded people are crucial to move into a new area.
Have conversations outside your comfort zone. Do more listening than talking; read the signals coming back. This is important, and difficult to do as we all love the sound of the variety show in our own heads. It may not suit us to hear it but no response or follow through from someone probably means you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Share your experiences and ideas and do so widely. No-one is alone in a change situation; there’s always something new to learn. No-one is alone in a change situation. If you are feeling stuck or alone, contact Newstage. They know this territory and understand the difficulties you may be experiencing. It’s good to talk…..there are a lot of potholes along this road…..safe journey. Words of a 57-year-old finding his way!!
Joe Journeyman.