Who else needs to ditch careers?
By: Cynthia Marinakos
Tags: Life Lessons, Inspiration, Self Improvement, Writer, Career Change

When’s the right time to leave?

‘Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we are seeking.’ — Barack Obama

I remember sitting at my hotdesk outside a partner’s office. My resignation letter had been written. I was in denial.

I kept feeling like I didn’t have to go through with it. No-one had a clue that I hated it there and I was about to resign.

Everything would change once I’ve handed it in. It didn’t have to happen.

The realization that changed my life

I knew within 1 week I hated it there. It wasn’t for me.

My soul whimpered pathetically every day for months. I wasn’t helping anyone on a personal level. Not making a real difference to anyone’s lives. That was important to me, I realized.

Yet I was scared.

My parents were going to freak out. I was leaving that stable job in a big company. Where they’d take care of me. Pay for my travel. Give me many amazing opportunities. They were so proud of me.

I couldn’t tell them of course. My dad’s philosophy is ‘a rolling moss gathers no roots’.

It felt important to organize something to go onto. Something to say to my colleagues and director. A reason for leaving.

I applied to teach English in Japan. And got accepted.

Then I resigned.

I still didn’t tell my parents. Instead, I put on my suit and heels every morning, and continued to leave the house early with my laptop bag.

And headed to the beach.

I spent two weeks sitting in the driver’s seat of my car. At the beach. In my full suit. Teaching myself Japanese. Then I’d arrive home at the end of each day as usual.

I did that until I got another job (much to my relief). I ended up passing on Japan — I didn’t want to feel like I was running away.

Only then did I tell my parents I’d left, ‘but don’t worry, I got another job’.

They were surprised. Shocked. And disappointed, though they didn’t say it out loud.

Jobs were everywhere

I worked at a cosmetics company. Filling mail orders and managing their website during the busy Christmas period.

I thought I’d enjoy this job outside the corporate world. But retail wasn’t for me either.

Fast forward several years later, and I’d worked in Student Administration, Personal Training, Bookkeeping, International Recruitment, Tutoring, Event Management, Hostessing (in restaurants), and many other jobs in Boston, Melbourne (Australia) and Vancouver.

I was lost

Often I felt like a drifter. I was alone trying to figure out where my compass was taking me. My friends were still in their corporate grad jobs 5 years afterwards and seemed so irritatingly happy.

But then it happened…

I finally stumbled into my ‘perfect’ job in Online Communications — the perfect blend of meeting new people, writing and editing, managing projects, and creating websites.

It fulfilled my need to be social while being an introvert. I could use my skills in web without having to do any programming!

I built and managed websites, created content strategies, and improved business processes. I spent time understanding what website users do — and what they expect from websites.

Throughout it all I discovered my passion:

Content writing.

I write content for all things online (and offline too): email newsletters, ads, radio scripts, web pages, social media posts, brochures, prospectuses, and more.

More than a decade later, I’m still in this field. As a freelance digital copywriter.

I actually get paid to do what I love. Who would have thought that would happen?

Yet I made it happen. I didn’t know how it would pan out, but I stuck with it and looked for any opportunity to make it happen.

If I could do it, there’s no reason why you can’t too. Really.

We all have a nagging voice in our heads that work it’s damndest to be heard. That voice that doesn’t like change. That just wants a cushy ride.

The voice that smirks when you throw your hands up in the air and sigh ‘It’s just too hard. Why bother?’

You know the one don’t you?

I bet you do… so here are a few practical ideas for you to get past the paralysis. Past the excuses.