When I told friends I was leaving my job – without another one lined up – they were surprisingly positive.
Good for you, they said, life’s too short, you’ll be great whatever you do.
But, naturally, they were curious about my plans.
Well, I replied, first I’m going to take a little bit of time for me. Time to recharge and reset, and then we’ll see…
I don’t know where the word ‘reset’ came from. But one of my friends seized on it.
“A career reset! I love it. Maybe we all need to do that – say every 10 years, just reset and try something new!”
This got me thinking… how different might our working lives look if we weren’t afraid to press reset once in a while? Yes, I know there a million practical reasons why we don’t. But let’s put those aside for a moment, and just imagine the possibilities…
What if…?
Maybe you’ve trained as an architect, but now you’d rather design websites than buildings.
What if you’re a hairdresser, but you’d prefer to be trimming hedges than fringes?
Or perhaps you’re an accountant, but hate sitting at a desk all day – you’d rather put your number skills into teaching maths.
We’ve all daydreamed at some point about a different path: what would have happened if we’d studied that course, accepted that job offer, pursued that hobby? If you could reset and do something new, what would it be?
And it’s not just about what we do, but how, when and how much we do it. In my 20s, I just wanted to be doing something interesting and going out for Friday night drinks. In my 30s, I was focused on a good salary and job security, as I climbed onto the property ladder and started a family. In my 40s, it’s more about being there for my kids and looking after my own wellbeing.
Walk the line
We’re so used to seeing careers as a linear thing – ideally, a line that points relentlessly upwards. But what if your line is more of a zigzag, or a figure of eight, or a series of dots?
While the ‘job for life’ may be a thing of the past, there is still an expectation that we choose a career and stick with it. We’re told that having a series of seemingly unrelated jobs will make us look fickle, unreliable, lacking in direction. (Not to mention that it’s actually pretty hard to achieve: employers typically look for experience in a similar role, while retraining and starting again at the bottom may not be financially viable.)
But is that changing? The media is awash with stories of the “Great Resignation”, often attributed to people re-evaluating their work during the pandemic. Are more of us taking time to reset? Or will we prioritise stability (and cosy offices) in the face of soaring bills?
My own reset has been fairly minor – “evolution not revolution”, as the corporate cliché goes. Rather than doing something completely new, I’m using my existing skills (writing, editing and translating) in a different way.
What about you? Do you like the idea of a career reset every once in a while? Or have you already restored factory settings for a complete reboot?
Kate Mounce 