As you know a common theme in my articles is music, so to keep with tradition, I watched the BET Awards from 2013 last night. I saw a great collaboration between Charlie Wilson and no not the Congressman Tom Hanks played in the eponymous film, but the incredible Charlie Wilson from the Gap Band who performed with Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dog or Lion or whatever animal moniker he is calling himself these days. Nonetheless, it was an amazing performance of songs and it showed how much Charlie Wilson has reinvented himself from the 70's and 80's heyday while teaching those other awesome musicians a thing or two about funk. So I started thinking...if this 61 year old baby boomer can reinvent himself and prove beyond relevant in such a competitive and cutthroat business as the music industry, you can too.
Studies have shown that most people will go through 3 career changes in their lifetime so why not try now?
If you are an attorney and love books, why not look into becoming a copyright attorney in publishing?
It can't hurt to even check into what you are passionate about. I think it's very common for people to try a career and realize it's not for them. I started out in television news in NYC and realized I wanted to hire people to work in television and other industries and use my languages to do so. Think about it like this: Do you wear the same clothes you wore when you were 22? Even though jeans are always in style, you might have evolved into wearing skirts more or khakis. Your sensibilities change and so do the times we are in.
With technology, comes new jobs that you might not have been interested in years ago when you became a CPA. People change, so do their tastes and if you are in rap music so does your name apparently every couple of years. So follow your interests and try a new career or take classes to find out if you can turn your passion into something that might make you some money which is always a plus.
For example, I had a very bad speech impediment growing up. With the help and support of public school speech pathologists, I can now speak English. Because of my interest in linguistics from 5 years of speech pathology, I studied Japanese and Spanish and am now trying to learn Mandarin. My best friend since I was four stood by me during this difficult time of trying to learn how to speak effectively in English when I was a kid. She didn't make fun of me when the other kids did because I couldn't pronounce my R's and S's. So when I said, "my mom bought a new CAR" it would sound like "my mom bought a new COW". She stood up for me to the other kids and now she is a successful Public School Speech Pathologist and also does private tutoring after school to help other children who need additional help. She is my hero. Her passion for helping her best friend 30 years ago turned into a Masters in Speech Pathology and a burgeoning career in it. Passions turn into careers. I can now speak different languages, but more importantly her passion of helping her best friend, turned into her helping others learn how to verbally communicate.
Working in Human Resources, I see a lot of former teachers parlay their skills into learning and development careers. It's fun to think about the endless possibilities that are out there for you. I hope you find what you are looking for.
Reach out to friends or family in careers that interest you. Take them to lunch and pick their brain on their career trajectories. Network within your company! There are employee resource groups that help you meet your colleagues outside of your team. Find out by researching your colleagues or fellow alumni how they got to where they are. Read up on the industry you're interested in. If you're interested in becoming a nun, read "Nun's Life" magazine. Sorry...I couldn't resist referencing that scene in the classic movie, "Airplane!" If you need assistance in researching what new positions pay, check out salary.com and Careerbuilder.com for salary demographic information. Check out the articles on LinkedIn, Twitter My Jobs and even the company you want to work's Facebook page. Social Media is free and can help you find out who works where and how. You can reinvent yourself now! I also recommend getting back in touch with your alma mater's career center. And definitely reconnect with your camp, Boy Scout troop, swim team, college and high school friends etc. Trust me, you will have fun revisiting fun memories.
Now be prepared that when you find your next career and give notice to your manager, don't be surprised if you leave his or her office hearing the Gap Band's song "You Dropped a Bomb on Me". After all most likely you are very good at your current job, even though your dream one is still out there waiting for you to nail.
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