Second act

Brave new world

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO THROW IN JOB SECURITY AND SUCCESS TO GO IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS AND CAREER SATISFACTION?

WORDS TANIA GOMEZ

As a high ranking executive managing more than 200 staff and five offices at the world’s largest travel company, David Mannix was undoubtedly the textbook definition of success. But he turned his back on it all in 2017.

“I remember distinctly the moment when I realised that I had to escape this corporate beast before it consumed me,” David says.

“I was standing up at a regular meeting with my office staff, delivering a message I did not believe in.

“This wasn’t me. It made me re-evaluate what I wanted from my career and indeed my life.”

David’s story is becoming more common.

Once upon a time having a career involved finding a job and staying there until the day you retired.

These days, more and more people are walking away from established, successful careers to tackle a passion project or pursue a dream.

In fact, of the one million Australians who changed employers or the business they ran in the past year, more than half made the move into a completely different industry or occupation, according to the 2018 Participation, Job Search and Mobility Survey.

If the first part of your career was a resounding success, what can you expect from the second act?

Finding your why

A recent worldwide Gallup poll found 85 per cent of the world’s one billion full-time workers were unhappy with their jobs.

Meanwhile, a study conducted by Ohio State University researchers found those with career dissatisfaction in their 20s and 30s report having more issues with sleep, anxiety and depression later in life. So, it’s no surprise that we are increasingly looking for other ways to achieve career satisfaction.

For career coach Adele Leah, helping her clients to find their driving force is the first step in beginning their second act.

“It’s about really digging deep about what you want. What’s going to make you happy? What’s your version of success,” Adele says.

Where David was concerned, he soon realised his career success didn’t necessarily align with his vision of what being successful meant.

“I enjoyed the feeling of climbing the ladder and making a success of my career,” he says.

“Yet the higher I got, the less happy I became ... Yes, there is job security and recognition, but at what price are these worth to you as a person if you are doing it for the wrong reasons?”

Ultimately, this realisation was the catalyst for his decision to start the Arcadia Expeditions travel company.

For former university academic turned doula and Birthaims founder Aimee Sing, the seed to explore a different career path was planted during her first pregnancy.

“I was so much more interested and invested in pregnancy, birth and mothering than I was in my PhD topic,” Aimee says.

After an empowering experience birthing her second child, she says she was hooked on the experience of bringing new life into the world and set about making the change.

Making the move

Delve into the mechanics of pivoting and develop a plan; these are the most important things you can do before a change in direction. Leaving a successful career can be daunting, so it pays to know exactly what you’re in for.

If you’re striking out on your own, Adele suggests starting your new job as a side project at first. This allows you to work on drumming up potential business and gives you the time to get the foundations of your business in place. Additionally, you can also

Second acts

Considering a big career change? You’re in good company. Famed bridal designer Vera Wang was not only a professional figure skater but the youngest senior fashion editor at Vogue at the age of 23, before she decided to focus on creating her eponymous brand. Barack Obama worked as a lawyer before becoming a senator, and eventually the US president. Years before she became the Aussie smoothie queen, Boost Juice co-founder Janine Allis worked for two years as a yacht stewardess for rock star David Bowie, travelling through France, Italy, Monaco and the Caribbean.

explore any further education or training you may need to give yourself the best chance of success.

Research is also key.

“Look into that sort of role, talk to people of all ages in that industry. Speak to someone who’s been in the industry for two or three years, someone who’s been in it for say 10 to 15, and someone who’s been in it for 30-plus years, then you get a range of ideas and perspectives,” career counsellor John Taccori says.

But what about all the skills you have already built up?

“I really believe that no one wastes their skills, their knowledge. And when they move to a new career, they always bring that knowledge with them. We just transfer those skills in new situations,” Dr Taccori says.

Ultimately, daunting as it may be, you just might find your new role becomes the high point of your working life.

“When you find that career calling that’s when you really start finding career happiness, fulfilment and satisfaction,” Adele says.

It’s something with which Aimee agrees.

“Once I started down this path it just felt right. I was happier, felt more fulfilled and really felt called into this work. I enjoy it so much that it doesn’t feel like I am ‘working’ — it is my soul-work,” she says.