#030 - How My Weird Career Applies To Your Job Search

In 2011, I was a data analyst.

In 2012, I was a learning & development executive.

In 2013, I was a brand & attraction manager (while doing freelance writing on the side).

In 2015, I took voluntary redundancy and started doing freelance writing full-time.

In 2017, I moved to LA and became the number 2 at a healthy-lifestyle startup and I did sales, social media, community management, article writing, customer support, window cleaning, cave diving, and sheepherding. (Slight exaggeration but startup life, you know?)

In 2018, I moved back to the UK and joined a recruitment agency as a junior consultant.

In 2021, I joined my current company as a senior recruiter.

So, to recap: I joined the head office of a supermarket as a data analyst, then I became a learning & development executive, then a brand & attraction manager.

Then I left and did freelance writing for media companies, entrepreneurs, and authors.

Then I moved to the US and did a million roles for a startup.

Then I moved back and worked for a recruitment agency doing digital marketing recruitment.

Then I moved to my current company in gaming in a more senior role and I do all sorts of cybersecurity, IT, strategy, HR, and marketing recruitment, as well as LinkedIn content and this newsletter.

Phew. Lots there. I’ll take our new puppy for a wee while you catch your breath.

Okay.

Back.

I went from being a data analyst to a learning & development (L&D) executive because I got in touch with the head of the L&D team and told her I’d love to explore joining the team. We had 2 or 3 “coffee catch-ups” over the next 6 months. And then, lo and behold, a role came up in her team. Guess who she asked to interview for it, despite me having no real L&D experience?

I went from being an L&D executive to a brand & attraction manager because I did the exact same but over a year instead of 6 months.

I went from being a brand & attraction manager to a freelance writer because I’d been working on my writing as a side hustle for over a year and had gotten my skillset to a point where it was actually valued (monetarily) in the market.

I went from being a freelance writer to number 2 at a startup because the owner was a freelance writing client of mine, we’d been working together for nearly 2 years, and he knew he could trust my work - my results - in a bigger role.

I went from being the number 2 at a startup in LA to being unemployed back in the UK because of “creative differences” and a very low salary. Also, my mental health was shot. I needed a break.

I went from being unemployed to a junior recruitment consultant because I needed to “start again” and I needed to do something where the bar for entry was pretty low and that I at least had some skills for.

I went from being a junior recruitment consultant to a senior recruiter in the gaming industry because I stayed in my lane (recruitment), applied to a 9 month fixed term contract ( harder for the company to fill and less competition for the candidate), tailored my CV exactly to the job description, and prepped for my interviews like a college quarterback preps for the NFL draft (probably).

I’ve changed roles and industries and even careers a bunch of times, basically, and I’ve done it through a mix of hard work, smart work, and luck.

But.

There’s nothing special about what I did. I didn’t get a small 2-million pound loan from the family trust, and in almost every example above I didn’t have remarkable results or even a ton of relevant experience to rely on. I just tried to be as resourceful as I could. (Resourcefulness > resources. To an extent, anyway.)

So.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t change roles, industries, or careers. It’s not easy and you might need the patience of a saint, but it is possible.

And don’t let anyone tell you there’s “one way” to job search or there’s some secret you’re missing out on. Just look at all the above. I networked, I relocated, I made lateral moves, I made upwards moves, I took steps back, I changed roles and industries and careers, I got better at my craft, and hey, I even applied online. Imagine that.

Saying that, if there is one way to job search, it might be this: impatient with actions, patient with results.

Go forth and conquer, friend.

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