Lost in your career?
If you are feeling lost in your career, this might be just what you need!
I have always dreaded the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” interview question.
I love having a mind that is opened to opportunities, new jobs, experiences or even new countries. I see myself in a place where I am continuously growing and I am more excited about the journey than the actual destination.
Careers are no longer linear and monolithic. They are rather colourful, polylithic and unique. The linear progression has become a spider web.
It goes a bit in different directions, sometimes up, sometimes down, but every thread makes the web a bit stronger.
The same goes to career paths. Sometimes we don’t get the promotion we expected, or maybe we went a different path, you took a “lower” job or even one that had nothing to do but every single experience matters and is helping you make your web stronger.
When I reflect on my career:
I worked in logistics in China and I taught me how to open a business in China and being the only woman in the room.
I worked for a small Italian skincare company in APAC and it taught me how to make the most with little budget and few resources.
I worked at the European chamber of commerce and I overcame my fear of speaking in public with audiences of hundreds.
I worked at Apple and it taught me how to be a leader not a manager.
I worked at Estée Lauder and it taught me how to work with multi cultural teams and manage change during a global pandemic.
I opened my own business and it taught me how to be the secretary, operations manager and CEO all at once.
Building a new spider web
Because I unexpectedly moved countries, my spiderweb is gone and I have to start building it from scratch. Maybe you too, because you lost your job, or took a break to look after your baby, or just decided to have a sabbatical.
But guess what, you are not really starting a brand new spiderweb from scratch: you have already learned all the skills you need so this time you will build your spiderweb faster and stronger.
