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Now that I'm a few years into my career, I am completely surprised by how much my career path has changed from my original idea.
Public Relations agency work, continuing with clients mainly in fashion, attending consistent post-work champagne brand launches, and seeing features in Vogue, Cosmo, Fashion Journal, etc. But the more I got to know the industry, the less I was fond of the complete lack of work/life balance, the unreasonable expectations from clients who wanted the world, and the clients who were fabulous (no doubt), but didn't have the budget to begin with, let alone for me to pay the bills.
Working closely with clients in PR, I loved and thrived working with Executive teams. When we'd meet, it was natural. I picked up corporate jargon seamlessly, I had the innate ability (which I've continued work on) to see an organisation's need across their various divisions and provide advice and strategy, and in usually bleak and boring meetings, came creativity, inspiration and just damn good business.
So, I found myself, of all places, in Fortune 500, then Local Government, then State Government, each role learning more, getting paid more, and wanting more. But over time my more has changed. And with that, I’ve made bold moves that others might see as risky, but for me, it’s always been about choosing what lights me up and feels authentically aligned with my values. And I'm going to let you in on my little secret to making career choices that are right for you.
I write this as I'm currently between jobs. Earlier this year I left a job I loved with poor management to pursue my career goals. Last week, I left that job I had only been in for four months. To say it was nerve-wracking would be the understatement of the century—but knowing myself, and the sparkle I like to bring to work, it was a no-brainer. I know it was the right choice for me, and you can also land on when it's the right time for you to make that career move with my considerations below.
Define your personal values
Values might just seem like the words or phrases companies toss around at Town Halls or all staff gatherings to make it seem like they're working towards greatness, but have you thought about your personal values? I worked on my personal values a few years ago to gain a better understanding of what I wanted out of life and how I wanted my life to look.
Have a read of the values listed in this document here. Start eliminating ones that you aren't connected with. Keep working through the values that are most important to you until you have 5-6, no more. To gain a little insight into my mind, mine are: Fun, Independence, Intimacy, Respect, Self-care, and Self-development.
Once you have your goals defined, you can start to use these, not just for your career, but in life, to assist in decision making. Maybe you have some spare cash to play with and not sure how to spend it, for me, I'd have a look at my values and most likely land on investing in some self development, or even just put it straight into savings to enhance my financial independence.
For work, you can use your values to assess if the current role is aligning to what really matters to you most. In my job earlier this year, I didn’t feel like I was being respected or had self-development opportunities. In the role I was just in, I wasn’t having fun! Which is my main value. Identifying my values has helped me stay true to myself when navigating career decisions.
Identify your career goals
Career goals change constantly and will be defined by where you are in life. When I was a fresh Uni grad, I was eager for experience and could survive on $200 a week from working Dan Murphy's promo shifts and sneaking sips of the provided product (thank you, Fireball) before a night out. Now, my career goals are significantly different, more so revolving around growth opportunities, organisational culture and remuneration.
When moving jobs earlier this year, I wanted to 'go up a level' (government speak for the difficulty of a role and its remuneration), since I was already handling work that was way above my level in the role. After spending time in my latest role as a higher level, and not really feeling a significant challenge or difference in the work, with the work being less interesting or exciting to me personally, it started a catalyst of thought around whether the role was the right fit for me.
My other career goals included holding more approvals and decision-making ability in this higher level role. What I found after navigating into a larger organisation, was that the approvals process was lengthier and more stringent than in my previous role, which lead me to the thought process of, well if I'm not feeling fulfilled in line with my career goals, why am I here?
Define what work/life balance means to you
Work/life balance shows up more often in your LinkedIn feed than those wanky, fake interview stories entrepreneurs write to try to go viral. But realistically, work life balance looks different for everyone else. I have friends who will go into the office on a Saturday if it means they can get ahead on Monday, I have friends who want to spend time with their kids when they finish school, and I have friends who have chats with their mum at their desk between meetings. For me, work/life balance has extended past getting through a gruelling work day with enough energy to order Uber Eats and fall asleep early to do it all again the next day.
It's actually grown past getting through the day to enjoy my time after work, for me work/life balance has grown into enjoying my workdays, getting social interactions and positivity at work, doing great work whilst not under pressure from made up timelines by senior leaders, being able to be at home on the weekend, not stressing about the work I wasn't able to get done the week before. For me and my mental health, work/life harmony takes life's ebbs and flows into account, allows for creativity to shine, and for happiness to be the driving force for why you do what you do. As I get further into my career, this has become the biggest decision making factor for me, and for many of my friends, who I've had conversations with leading up to my most recent resignation. There are way too many opportunities out there to stay in a job that makes you unhappy.
Every career move, much like any great work of art, starts with a risk—trusting yourself (especially off the back off your strategic analysis) can lead to something brighter and more beautiful than you ever imagined.
And when it's time to make the move?
Negotiate your salary
During a cost of living crisis, for professionals a few years into their career, salary negotiation has to be a written part of your plan. Just like how you save your highest Tony Bianco's for special occasions, it might be a little uncomfortable, but you know their (and your) worth.
In the search, I found few roles that met my salary expectations, and those roles really only sat in government, and dare I say, in the boring sectors. In my career move, I found a fantastic job in an organisation I knew I would love, but in consistency with the industry it's in, the salary was not aligned with that of a state government role.
Going into conversations with the recruiter, being upfront, honest about your current or expected salary, being open about areas you're willing to negotiate (for me, it was the guarantee of a positive team culture), what skills you bring to the role that's above and beyond, and industry standard salaries, are all going to help your case. A trick I've always kept up my sleeve is researching your salary in the HAYS Salary Guide, to find out the average salary going in your field, and using that data to back your salary negotiations.
So, what are your personal values, career goals and work/life balance needs? Thinking about making a move? Feel free to DM me on Instagram or message me on LinkedIn and I'm happy to have a chat. And for anyone in the marketing, PR or comms space, I can pass along any open opportunities that I'm aware of.