Life is full of surprises, changes, and compromises. Life also does not always go according to plan. Recently, I have been reflecting on my job search and what career I want for the rest of my life. I am at a career crossroads.
This year has shown me that I need to re-invent myself because I am not satisfied working in my current role. I dislike admitting it, but I have realized working in residence life is not what I want to do. This realization has led me to change directions.
If you hit a career crossroads, here is how I recommend to work through it:
The sky is the limit
Talk with your family, partner, and close friends
Your family, friends, partner, and mentors are your strong support network. When I hit my crossroads, the first person I went to was my loving fiancé to talk through options. Your support network is there to encourage you and remind you that you can do anything you want to do. If you start to feel like you are not being supported the way you want to be, don’t be afraid to tell them.
Think outside the box
When I did my first job search near the end of graduate school, I was extremely focused on working in residence life in the Midwest. That severely limited me to what I thought my skills were. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to think outside the box, and widen the tunnel vision that you may have. For example, I am widening my scope to admissions and various other opportunities.
Make lemonade from lemons
I’m currently making “lemonade” of my life. I did everything I was supposed to do to succeed in life. I received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, I built a great network, I made wonderful friends, I have a wonderful family, etc. But I am not feeling that happiness that I want out of a career. As such, I am working my way into law enforcement and becoming a police officer. Specifically, I want to be a police officer in higher education. I envision myself being that police officer who is the liaison between law enforcement and residence life.
Do not let bumps in the road get in the way of you finding success and happiness in life. If you ever find yourself at a career crossroads, feeling like you have no more options, remember to tell yourself there is always another option. You just have to find it, or better yet, create it!
This post is part of the Emerging SA Pro series following 4 awesome people: Aracelis, Emalie, Felicia, and Patrick, as they blog monthly about 1 year of their journey as either a new SA Pro or SA grad student. We are proud to help them share their stories as they break into our field.
