Somehow, today, you ended up here. And by here…I mean, here, on this blog reading about life and careers in environment and natural resources and the like from the perspective of our students and others who work here…here, in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University.
But how did you end up here?
How is it that today, of all days, you found yourself here?
Let me share with you how I ended up here today, here as in, on the blog. Today, I helped out at the Government Career Fair that the University Career Services Committee hosted over in the 4H building. Today, I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to current students, recent grads and not so recent grads about services we offer and also, about what to say as they met prospective employers. Helped them to shake the jitters a bit.
Today, I met a guy who was unemployed at the moment. He graduated from Ohio State 12 years ago. He had been working in sales for 9 + years which was by accident as his degree was in Psychology. He wasn’t sure how to approach the folks at all of these tables and what exactly to say to them as he hadn’t been in the “job search” mode for a long time.
This economy is a huge bummer. He was not the only person I spoke to that was newly unemployed. There were quite a few folks in attendance that had been out of school for way more than ten years and found themselves in the position of having to job search all over again because the economy forced them out of their cozy career nest recently.
So this guy, Mr. Psychology major aka sales guy, was talking about how sales wasn’t really what he wanted but it was what he knew how to do and how he just needed to find a job so he could take care of his family. You know, keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table, keep clothes on their backs. And I asked him, “What do you really want to do?” and he said, he didn’t know.
If you have ever visited me in my office for career advice, you can guess my next question because I ask it often. “What’s your dream job? If you could have any job in the world, what would you be doing?”.
And Mr. Psychology major aka sales guy said, “I really like sports and I would love to be a sports announcer but that will never happen”. My reply, Why not? Here’s the thing…this economy, as crummy as it is, can be a real blessing to you. And I don’t just mean to Mr. Psychology major aka sales guy, I mean YOU!
If you have found yourself out of work at the moment, this is a great opportunity for you to explore your passions. What is it you really want to do? And wait…here’s where the quote comes in…”Be the change you want to see in the world”. Ghandi said this and I think he meant that you can’t sit around on your derraire and expect the world to change because it should. You need to be a catalyst in that change movement. You need to take action and make things change. Your spark of change will spur other sparks and so on and so on.
Now I’m not saying that being a Sports Announcer is going to change the world. I know that Ghandi had other things in mind when he said Be the change – but the analogy is the same. Being a Sports Announcer might not change the world but it might change the world of Mr. Psychology aka sales guy. It might change his kids world. Which may change the lives of their kids and so on and so on. Have a I lost you on this idea?
Let me back track. This guy may not ever really be a sports announcer. He might get a sales job working for a sports organization or a broadcasting organization where he gets to work in the area of sports. He might end up sweeping the floors of the stage at ESPN and getting to network with the talent, learning the process of the business, watching, listening, preparing to expand, expand, expand his horizons. What I told him is, you’ll never know if you don’t try. And if that’s your dream, then go for it! Do whatever you have to do to get your foot in the door. Blog about sports. Apply for any and every job you can find with any organization related to what you want to do. Network. Don’t be afraid to follow your passions. Figure out how to, in a logically and in a financially sound way, you can earn, learn and transition your way into the career you have always wanted but were too afraid to try.
Be the change you want to see in the world. Take the skills and abilities that you have been given and apply them in a new way. Be creative. Think outside of the box. Network. Talk with other people about how to make it happen. YOU CAN make it happen…it may not be the exact path you thought you’d be on but it may be a pretty darn close second. And five years from now, you might look back and say, losing my job was the best thing that ever happened to me because it gave me the courage to try something I never thought I could do.
A friend of mine who was top of the food chain for a HUGE retailer in the US headquartered here in Columbus was recently given the option to retire. Again, the economy. She had been making a nice six figure salary with international travel every six weeks. It was a hard adjustment being “retired”. However, the company offered all kinds of career services. Networking groups. Courses on entrepeunership. Head hunter services. Amazing resources to help find a new job or transition careers. And she took advantage of every single resource they offered. And guess what she’s doing? Following her passion right into a new lucrative career. She loves to garden and cook and to eat whole, unprocessed, flavorful, organic goodness. She has been learning all about marketing, publishing, growing and more. And is using all of those new skills to move forward into a career based around foods. Happy as a lark is she…
I’m just offering up – don’t be afraid to follow your passions, don’t be afraid to make a change. It may just be the best thing that ever happened to you.
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