It took me 12 years to realize just how all of my professional (and personal) experiences merged together to make me the career woman I am today. For a very long time I was unable to make sense of my professional life. I was so confused and conflicted.
My career journey started in 2005 after I graduated from Spelman College with a degree in Psychology and 2 totally different career roads to choose from: 1) a full time job offer in the Operations department at a Fortune 100 investment bank in New York and 2) an acceptance into the Clinical Psychology program at an Ivy League university.
While many people around me told me how "lucky" I was to have so many options and how much the "world was my oyster" - it was such a confusing time for me.
After a day or 2 of soul searching (not nearly enough time as I needed), I decided to pursue the money and put grad school on the back burner so I could work full time. From the very first week at the investment bank, I knew it was not the right fit. The people were cut throat, mean, overworked and stressed out. And worst of all, I was in no way utilizing my God given talents.
After years of ignoring my intuition - which was telling me that I needed a change - I got a rude awakening when I was laid off. It's funny how life has a way of speaking to you - first in whispers and then in a loud scream at the highest decibels. After 6 years of dedicating my time, energy and health to this place, they decided they were done with me and no longer needed my services - TWO WEEKS BEFORE MY WEDDING!
I'm not going to lie, at first I was depressed. Very depressed. I felt helpless and was at rock bottom. I was so used to being a top performer and over achiever - people like that do not get laid off, I thought. It was a very emotional adjustment period.
After months of feeling sorry for myself, binge watching TV and being glued to my couch, I finally decided that enough was enough.
I gathered all of my notes from helping people with their own careers over the years in Operations and HR (I didn't realize then how career coaching had always been apart of who I was), found myself a mentor, did some serious research and put myself through a sort of "job search bootcamp".
This bootcamp consisted of:
- getting into a success mindset
- setting clear and intentional career goals
- creating a new and improved personal brand
- putting together a top notch professional portfolio
- perfecting my job search strategy
- learning how to interview like a pro
After about a year of moping around and doing nothing, once I got a grip, got over myself and used my new strategies I was FINALLY able to find a job within 30 days! And it wasn't just any old job. This new job had a shorter commute, higher pay, better hours, great boss and I worked along side some of the most thoughtful and professional people of my career.
Although it took me some time to get to a place where I could appreciate all that I've been through in my career, I wouldn't change any of it. Like I said, all of my experiences have made me into the career woman I am today.
If you want to learn the exact steps I took to find my dream job, sign up for my free training!
Very truly yours,
Dorianne
