How to craft your ideal career
As we emerge out of a global pandemic, more and more working women and moms are questioning the existence, purpose and legitimacy of their careers. Under the pressure created by this generalized health crisis, the lack of adequate childcare and the unequal gender division of labor at home, to cite a few of these obstacles, women are leaving their careers in troves. While many are re-inventing themselves through business and entrepreneurship, others are left disoriented and in search of purpose in their lives and work.
It’s in the midst of this global health crisis and a general sentiment of exhaustion and burnout among working women and moms, that more and more conversations are emerging about re-imagining what our ideal careers look like. Gone are the days of subscribing to the traditional, patriarchal view of careers governed by glass ceilings, concrete walls and painfully lacking diversity. Working women and moms are now seeing past the illusion of traditional representations of success, and instead opting to re-define their own ideals of purpose, fulfillment and balance.
Where the cult of the hustle culture was prevailing not too long ago, we’re now seeing the rise of movements like slow living, or the Nap Ministry, which are advocating for more present, healthier and less pressure-ridden lifestyles. This includes a more holistic and saner way to thrive, and not just barely survive, in our careers, as more employees are choosing, even requesting to continue working from home and companies are feeling the strain of un-motivated and burnt-out workers.
What all this is pointing to, especially for us as working women and moms, is the urgency of re-imagining the way we work and live. It’s a loud call, if there ever were any, to be active agents in the future of the world of work. And as we collaboratively craft our ideal careers, here are three tips that may help us get started in this endeavor:
- Re-packaging and re-purposing our skills
As working women and moms especially, we never quite start from scratch, but always from experience. The breadth and wealth of life experience brought on by working women and moms, also translates into an abundance of personal and professional skills that can be re-packaged and re-purposed into powerful careers.
It’s not a hazard, for instance, that so many working women and moms are re-converting into entrepreneurship, where their managerial abilities, natural empathy and compassion, are allowing them to start and nurture successful businesses.
- Tie in your passions, interests and dreams
Passion is fuel. However, in the pursuit of a traditional depiction of success, we often end up pursuing someone else’s goals for us, whether it’s a loved one’s, a boss’s, or even just someone we admire and wish to emulate. Yet, the real question is: What are our true interests, dreams and passions? Not just other people’s, not just what’s popular on social media, not just what others envision for us, but what we have the ability to see in the eye of our minds and the depths of our hearts…
How can we use our skills, whether formal or informal, innate or learned, at the service of the dreams, passions and interests we’ve always had? Ultimately, these point us towards our purpose, however it may manifest in different seasons of our lives and work.
- Building a career that works for us
Last but not least, building a career that works for us, rather than one we desperately chase after and constantly work for, is the goal here. We tried the hamster wheel of modern success, exhausted ourselves on the never-ending corporate climb towards an unbreakable glass ceiling, ran towards an ever harder concrete wall, all in the midst of a pandemic, in between school and daycare closures, unending Zoom calls and piling dishes… And we’re tired…
We want careers that work for us, as working women and moms. Careers that don’t require us to shut off any part of ourselves, or restrict the authentic fullness of who we are. Careers that don’t require us to choose between motherhood, marriage and a well-paying job. Careers that don’t force us to leave our sanity, health and authenticity at the door, to prove we’re worthy of sitting at the table. Because we are, we always were…
At the end of the day, crafting our ideal careers is not about settling for the lesser of the evils we may encounter on our professional and personal journeys. Neither is it about picking the safest options for ourselves and our families. What it really is about, is understanding and owning the magnificent extent of the power and influence we hold as working women and mothers, to use our skills, talents and abilities to build a better world of work.
How are you crafting your ideal career?
The Corporate Sister.
