The following article was published on the front page of the Professional section of the Weekend Australian on January 23, 2010. It has been reproduced here with permission from the publisher.

Switch in time for success

Multiple career changes are the way of the future but they need to be managed well

PERSEPHONE NICHOLAS

INCREASINGLY fluid career paths are the way of the future, according to Ben Palmer, an organisational psychologist with Genos Pty Ltd, a company aiming to help make work a more meaningful and satisfying experience.

‘‘Major career change is going to become more and more mainstream,’’ he says. ‘‘As we move into a more conceptual age with the advancement of technology, automation and the outsourcing of ‘cookie-cutter’ type activities in organisations, what will be valued more and more is those who think conceptually and innovatively, those who bring a diverse set of experiences to solve novel and ambiguous types of problems. It’s people with a diverse range of experiences who typically lend themselves to those sorts of roles.’’

‘‘Employers are going to look for people who strategise well, people who can solve multiple problems, people who are creative in the way they think. A broad range of experiences in life helps people think innovatively and creatively. This is why people who have diverse career experience are often attractive to employers.’’

Palmer predicts that today’s teenagers will have anything between 10 and 14 jobs by the time they’re 38—which could make finding a logical career path challenging. He recommends professional assistance. ‘‘Go and see a career counsellor. There are lots of good ones who can help you consider things you might not have thought about. A lot of people latch on to something without really having thought about all the options available to them.’’

It’s about more than the role. ‘‘I encourage people to think about the sort of team and team characteristics they want to be part of. A lot of people think about career change only in terms of their role but there are other fundamental parts of the job to consider.Doyou want to work in a team that’s really focused on quality and output and getting things done? Or do you want to be part of a team that’s more about camaraderie and doing valued kind of work? I also encourage people to think about the type of manager they might like to work with and consider industry cultures.’’

Preparation is key to making a successful switch. ‘‘Be financially and emotionally prepared. A large career change can be exciting, but it can also be stressful. Be prepared for perhaps getting into a career and realising that it may not be ultimately the career you want. Like any major change in life, there’ll be things that are both positive and negative about it.’’

Changing career can bring mixed emotions. ‘‘With any change, it’s quite normal to experience a sense of loss, even if you weren’t inspired or enjoying your role. As with anything new, like riding a bike for the first time, along with the excitement, there is anxiety and stress. Typically when you make a major career change you do wind yourself back a bit and have to start your new career at a level which might not be commensurate with your previous role. So there can be a financial reduction as a consequence.’’

Pru Trundle knows what he’s talking about. The former senior project manager with Telstra has a degree in advanced mathematics and computing but turned her back on a six-figure salary to start her photography business, Little Bird, in 2008.

She enjoyed her time at Telstra, but has few regrets. ‘‘I worked really long hours and I hated that it was dark when I left and dark when I got home. I hated the politics involved in getting a decision made. It just took so long. But I miss the friendships and sharing ideas with my project team, workshopping ideas and interaction with people.’’

She believes photography is her vocation. ‘‘I grew up with a camera in my hand,’’ she says. ‘‘My dad worked for Kodak and was a wedding photographer too.’’ Her new career developed when she took a 12-month sabbatical from Telstra and travelled overseas where she took more than 7000 photographs. ‘‘The more I took, the more I wanted to take.’’

She returned to her job but enrolled at Melbourne’s Photography Studies College while on maternity leave—and her new career was born. ‘‘My lecturers said, ‘Just go and do it. You’re ready, you love it—get out there!’ ’’

She took their advice. ‘‘Little Bird took off on its own and I held on for the ride. It’s exhilarating how successful my business has become so quickly. ‘‘When I started, my focus was taking pictures of local families but it’s grown to cover editorial work for magazines and commercial work for businesses. I’m travelling nationally to do jobs and even heading to New Zealand for work. I go where it leads me.’’ Fulfilment came quickly. ‘‘The best thing is the feeling of accomplishment and self-satisfaction. People have images in their homes that I’ve created, which make them smile. I love that.’’

Mother to two small boys, she finds the life/work balance elusive. ‘‘Days never end. Work doesn’t stop. I work from home so it’s always here and it’s hard to switch off. The hardest thing is finding the balance between family and work. ‘‘I have my workdays and my boy days and I try to keep to that. You think, ‘I’m probably not the best mother in the world because I’m working or the best photographer in the world because I’ve got to spend time with my boys’. I feel I don’t do anything perfectly but I do my best.’’

Uncompromising, Trundle knows she has made the right choice but counsels others to think carefully before initiating a move. ‘‘Know that the change is right for you, that you’re really passionate and dedicated to it. Don’t do it on a whim. It has to be in you, it has to almost be that if you don’t do it you’ll go crazy.’’

Palmer believes managing change is the key to saving one’s sanity. ‘‘It’s advisable not to make too much change in your life at once.’’