Career Change, Job Searching, and New Beginnings

Hello Friends,

I hope you are all doing well. In the spirit of NaBloPoMo, I would like to delve into some new topics I have not discussed in much depth in the past. Over the past year, I have gone through quite a transition that five years ago I would not have thought I would. I left my first career in Early Childhood Education and working in childcare centres to taking Office Administration courses and thinking of a different job entirely. I made this change because I found that it was not a good fit for me anymore, my interests were changing, and I was feeling more ready than ever for a change after working in several childcare centres. I did not feel working in a school environment as a teacher was what I wanted either. I was always trying to figure out how to be happy working in the job field and it was a struggle for me. I was not getting out of it anymore what I did when I first finished school.

I have decided to go into Office Administration because I have always loved working on computers, and enjoyed working in customer service.in retail positions I might pursue a career as a receptionist at first, then maybe pursue a job as an Administrative Assistant once I gain more experience. I am excited for a new beginning and I am hoping that I love it, and this is what I really should be doing. It is hard to change our path when we always only saw one and thought we knew what direction our life was heading in. I think that we just have to make a change sometimes if something is not feeling right for us. We shouldn't compare ourselves to others and I know I did this a lot when I was in my first career. Just because someone else is happy in a job, does not mean you will find meaning in it as much as you try. I am just grateful that I realized it when I did and made the change. I am still interested in Early Childhood Education and Early Intervention but now I focus on that being more of an interest of mine and what I enjoyed studying in school.

      I read What Color Is Your Parachute? 2017: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard Nelson Bolles last year around this time and discovered that I would probably be embarking on a career change. When I worked on the fourth petal in the exercise, I discovered that my preferred working conditions were working on my own predominately, a quiet work environment,  and an independent work space. All of these things were hard to obtain in the childcare environment. It makes a lot of sense to me now, I enjoy working on my blog which is an independent job, love thinking of ideas on my own, and I love knitting which is also a very solitary and independent activity. The book allowed me to see myself in a different way and I would recommend this book if you are considering a career change because it really helps you to answer all of the important questions and to lead you in the right direction to your new career.

I will be applying for jobs soon as I will be finishing my Office Administration courses in December this year. I am starting to do job searches and looking forward to beginning a new career. I feel a bit nervous, but I know that is normal when making such a big shift and I hope that this career fits me better. Are you making a career change or have been thinking about it? Let me know in the comments below about your journey. It was one of the hardest things I have done in my life to make the decision to change careers, go back to school, and now I will be embarking on this new journey. It is so worth making the change in order to find the right career and to enjoy going to a job everyday that fits you perfectly and allows you to use your greatest strengths.

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading my career change story, if you would like to keep updated on when I post entries on my blog, please follow me on Bloglovin', Google Followers, and you can subscribe by email in the top right hand corner of the blog.

Have a great day!