An Introduction to Careers AF!
INTRODUCTION: Excerpted from Careers AF!: New Rules, New Tools for the Post-Pandemic Gig Economy by M. Michelle Nadon
“I’ve got to get out of this town, it’s just no good for me.”
I was sixteen years old when I wrote that in one of my journals, back in 1976. I didn’t know it then, but as I look back, it’s clear that “career-activism” is coded in my DNA.
I was raised in a government town in a working-class family. When we grew up, we were expected to get a (any) job and (largely) stay in it for life. Personal happiness and professional fulfillment were not part of the regular discourse. Yet even at that tender age, I instinctively knew that I wanted and needed a much bigger world.
As with most industry newcomers, my twenties were all about experimentation and survival. I didn’t give much thought at all to my future. At the time, it was all about moving to Toronto and dealing with “right now.”
“Right now” proved to be an intensely difficult decade. In each of the series of less-than-compelling jobs I ended up in, I found myself always daydreaming about what it was that I would really like to do—not just what I thought I had to do. When I stumbled into the arts and cultural arena in my late twenties, I finally found what I had needed all along: work that spoke directly to my heart.
I was incredibly eager to learn, and during my thirties I was as ambitious as all get out. When I saw a job I wanted, I went for it. I was never shy to take on something I hadn’t done before.
I came to learn (curiously) that motivation follows action. Most people wait for motivation to strike before acting. But I had always been motivated by “taking action.” And it wasn’t so much about the moves I was making, as it was about the thinking behind the moves. Each job I took on, I would ask myself: “What do I want next? Where do I want to be five years from now? What do I need to do to get it?
My “M.O.” was learning! Professional development. University courses. Events. Conferences. Volunteering. Committees. Networking. I tried my hand at writing editorials, public speaking, as well as developing and delivering curriculum. I tracked media stakeholders and companies in a giant “contacts database.” I read industry forecasts, business trends, and everything I could get my hands on regarding business best practices.
By my forties, I had broken into the senior ranks and had developed some executive chops, as well as some professional standing. I began to see how many of my colleagues were actually held back because they were so good at their jobs. I also witnessed colleagues’ lives beginning to be hugely disrupted by the growing “gig economy.” I came to understand that it’s not just about “who you know,” it was more about “how you worked it.” So . . . I learned to work it. Each step of the way, I grew my skills and knowledge, and learned how to better position myself, how to better leverage my growing networks, and how to keep the concept of “career activism” at the forefront of all my professional activities.
Mid-career, I hit the ceiling, as well as the curb. By then, I was too senior for mid-management jobs. Without greater educational credentials, I wasn’t going to enjoy more upward mobility. And, I wasn’t alone—I found both male and female peers equally and similarly challenged with “horizontal mobility”, and its evil counterpart “under-employment” as their only options. Then, my latest contract expired with no continuance on offer. (Insert giant sigh.)
I had, by then, also thankfully learned that I could probably generate income if I could figure out a way to fix a business problem. In this case, I saw clear improvements that could be made with respect to my industry’s hiring practices. And a light bulb went off! I thought: “What if I could start a company that would address the needs of both the employer as well as the talent?” Hm . . . And I wondered: “Did I have enough nerve to start my own business?” Was it even plausible?
After a year’s worth of market research (and a solid kick over the finish line from an industry exec who had my best interests at heart), I launched a small recruiting firm—one that would equitably source and screen talent for my industry, while also placing a strong focus on the talent’s career aspirations and ambitions.
Fifteen years of recruiting and thousands of career-coaching sessions later, I’ve never looked back. Each year, I ask myself the hard questions about what I want next, and I challenge myself to be willing to do what I need to do, to get it. In short, I continue to take the time it takes to get ahead of the process, rather than be victim to it.
“Career activism” has indeed become a way of life.
And it has served me exceptionally well.
My goal in writing this book is not so much to offer up a “career drunkalogue” (LOL), as it is to encourage others to follow my lead by getting clear on what it is that they want out of life—whether you start in your twenties, your thirties, your forties, your fifties, or even your sixties! It is to encourage all job seekers and freelancers to take risks on themselves. It is also to de-mystify the hiring process by offering practical strategies to help manage career moves with confidence—at the right times, and for the right reasons. My aim is to empower talent to make stronger, more targeted decisions about their career moves, and encourage them to take the necessary steps toward voicing and realizing their goals.
Because . . . if I can (and did) do it, anyone can. At the end of the day, it is not so much about “my story”, as it is about the concerted path I charted for myself—a path that you can undoubtedly chart for yourself too.
My plan for my sixties is to continue to provide career coaching and customized agenting services for talent, while I turn my sights towards writing two or three non-fiction books on my passion projects: animal rescue and animal advocacy. And, as I roll out my plan for this next, truly exciting phase of my professional career, there are three critical things that I want to impart:
Thing 1: Stop. Get quiet. Listen to both your heart and your gut. Forget about new years’ resolutions, or wishing and hoping, and instead, challenge yourself to make a bold, new “happy birthday wish list”, each and every year of your precious life. Stop, get centered, and listen to your instincts. Make the time to get clear on what it is that you actually want to do, not what others think you might, or should, or could, do.
Thing 2: Do not for a single second, think that any one thing cannot be done. Absolutely anything is possible—it doesn’t matter what age or stage you are at. Just start: Get in front of it, and seek out communities of interest who share similar professional pursuits. It’s all.so.do-able.
Thing 3: Take risks and invest in yourself. Be polite and be prepared, but make your ask! Go meet that person you really want to meet. Invite the chat that you want to have. Ask questions. Get informed. Grow your business knowledge and business acumen. Be present. Stake your claim. Ask for help, and accept help when it’s offered. Go “backstage”: find your peeps and hang with them. Sign up for that course, or apply for that program. Write that grant application, or the burning “outreach” email you feel compelled to send. While you’re at it, for heaven’s sakes, lighten up and let yourself have some fun with it!
★ In other words (and as they say in twelve step programs), “don’t be the person who, while dying, has someone else’s life flash in front of their eyes.” You deserve happiness and fulfillment—it’s your birthright. You owe it to your best self to get to know your needs, to own your wants, and to take them out into the world.
Ask yourself on a scale of one to ten: “How well am I managing my career?” “How happy am I, doing what I’m doing?” If your answer is anything less than ten out of ten, read on.
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M. Michelle Nadon is a highly regarded recruitment specialist who has provided talent development and career guidance to the Canadian media and entertainment sectors for two decades. Nadon’s company, www.mediaINTELLIGENCE.ca, links today’s businesses with top talent through innovative talent acquisition and recruitment models and cutting-edge career enrichment programs.
Nadon lives north of Toronto and spends all of her spare time, goodwill and company profits on animal rescue and animal advocacy.
Contact & Links:
Mobile: +1.416.533.6788 EST | nadon@mediaintelligence.ca
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