Today (30 July) is the International Day of Friendship. In the following story Randall Smith, Churchill Education co-founder, reflects on friendship, career change, supporting each other and scones!
I met a couple of my oldest mates on the job.
And in that time on the job, we shared a lot of stories about life.
The mortgages we were juggling, the beers we were enjoying, the families we were making, the promotions we were chasing, the bosses we were avoiding, the misadventures that made us laugh.
We never talked about the tougher stuff, though, or the possibility that we may change careers one day.
When it happened for me – the tough stuff and the change of career – my world became small and all that talk with mates on the job became silence.
I didn’t talk to anybody about it and pretty much no-one talked to me. The path through my career transition was rocky.
No man/woman is an island
This last week I spent time with a group of police officers here at our Churchill offices who were taking the exact opposite approach.
When a team member had hit tough times with some mental health challenges and the real possibility of a career change, they realised that supporting their mate required an open conversation.
Instead of making it about just one person, they decided to take time as a group, away from the office, to talk about the idea of life beyond this job – whether through a medical retirement or just realising it was time for a change.
The boss put together a Professional Development day for the whole team and reached out to ask us if Churchill would be a part of their team day.
We laid on the lemonade scones and they brought the mateship.
In the room, there was still the laughter, the banter, the stuff that makes conversations easier.
But there was also the willingness to acknowledge with each other that the idea of a new career could be both confronting, appealing and overwhelming at the same time.
They had practical questions – about industries, resumes, finances, qualifications – and we answered them all.
Then I told them that the two most important factors in successfully transitioning any career are:
- Being brave enough to know when the time for change has arrived – and taking action. Staying stuck in something not right for you will never give you the life you want.
- Being bold enough to ask about what options are out there – with people you know now, with people you used to know and may have lost touch with, and with people you’ve never met but someone has told you to reach out to. There are good people, some mates, some acquaintances, some strangers who are willing to give you a little of their time so you can benefit from their experience.
If you are at a crossroads, wondering how to get to the next step in your career, be bold enough and brave enough to ask questions and you’ll find the answers come.
The Churchill team tell me that today is the International Day of Friendship.
I told them it came early for the team at Indooroopilly QPS. That was the best of mateship we witnessed last Wednesday.
If you are stuck reaching out to a mate to talk about where you are at with your career transition, feel free to reach out to the team here at Churchill.
A little bit of brave can make a whole lot of difference.
Take care,
Randall
Randall Smith
Co-founder
Churchill Education
