Latest / Behind The Village Podcast / The Art of Making Career Changes and Designing Your Path | Jessica Lovett

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The Art of Making Career Changes and Designing Your Path | Jessica Lovett · Behind The Village Podcast

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You're listening to the Behind the Village podcast,
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where we invite you to join us on a journey to
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understand how to live a life worth living. Our
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conversation today is with Jessica Lovett, the
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Director of Career Services and Co -op with Lakehead
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University. Before Jessica moved into career
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services, her work history ran rambling through
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a variety of roles in several industries, ranging
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from agriculture through the energy, corporate,
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not -for -profit arts, and educational sectors.
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Thank you. At various points, she's been a small
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farm field worker, pipeline and facilities maintenance
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worker, office clerk, library assistant, street
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busker, music and drama teacher, marketing manager,
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interim acting executive director for a marketing
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and communications team in arts and culture,
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student recruitment manager, full -time student,
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full -time mom, and more. The information she's
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able to provide us is so helpful and so useful,
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not only through sharing what Lakehead can do
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to help, But with her own experiences and her
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own knowledge and career services, there's so
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much here that is helpful for people moving through
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transitions in their lives. So I think I was
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really lucky growing up that I had a lot of different
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interests. And so when you look at my professional
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trajectory or the things that I have done for
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money, I think they reflect all my different
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interests. When I was, if I look back on my career,
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I can see how I just sort of for a long time
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followed my instincts. I just was a very curious
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person. And I went, I was lucky and had a lot
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of family support and privilege. And I was lucky
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enough that I could pursue my curiosities and
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my interests along the way. I spent a lot of
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time in school. I spent a lot of time in extracurricular
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activities. I spent a lot of time hanging out
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with unusual people who introduced me to things
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like street busking. And I reflected a lot about
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what I enjoyed. And I just kind of for a long
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time made some curious, instinctual moves until
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I got to a point in my life where practicalities
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of having children and living in certain parts
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of the world. forced me to pause and be a bit
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more deliberate. I was about... How would you
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make a big change when it comes to your career?
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How do you navigate that? And what happens when
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it doesn't go to plan and you realize it's not
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a good fit? Four and a half years into my career
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as a marketing person, I was working for an arts
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organization in Toronto and... Had been really
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enjoying it. Loved working with my team. Really
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enjoyed being in the environment of the organization.
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But I was in an administrative capacity facilitating
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other people's creativity and other people's
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experiences. And I was starting to feel like
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I was missing something in my own creative practice.
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And, you know, at that point, my dream when I
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was younger was like to work in a university
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and be a professor. And so I thought maybe I
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should. go back to work, but I like what I'm
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doing. Maybe there's something, not go back to
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work, but go back to school. Maybe there's something
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I can do that can also help me stay in this professional
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environment for this organization I really like.
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So I started looking at professional education
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and I talked to my supervisor who was really
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supportive. described how I was feeling and I
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thought maybe I just needed to learn something
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new that I could try, suggested perhaps I could
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learn more about pedagogy, curriculum development,
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and then bring that back to the organization
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and develop more experiences that would, you
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know, facilitate lots of joy for the organization,
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but also allow me to learn and become more of
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a pedagogue in my own practice. So I set it all
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up. I applied to a master's in education. in
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curriculum. And I got in, I was really excited
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because the application process was outside of
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my experience, not being an education major,
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coming out of my previous education. Got in,
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super excited. I went and met with my designated
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advisor and I balanced my work schedule so that
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I could take this pretty substantial seminar
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course as the first introduction to this new
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experience. And I, you know, figured out the
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commute and I got to the campus. And my happiest
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moments in that experience were like the seven
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minutes I sat in the classroom in the learning
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environment and looked around and like said hello
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to all the other excited students that were coming
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in and thought about it and congratulated myself
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for, you know, doing something and learning.
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And I was so excited. I knew I had made the right
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choice to go back to school just based on how
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it felt in the room. And then the class started.
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And I had almost an immediate adverse reaction
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to all of the content and everything that I had
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to do in the assignment. And I started talking
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to my peers in the class and asking them why
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they were there. And they were there for good
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reasons, but their reasons were very different
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from my own. And I realized this isn't the room
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I should be in almost right away. So I went home.
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I tried all weekend to do the first assignment.
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And at the end of the weekend, I dropped out.
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I did without fully exploring all of the content
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that I was about to be exposed to. It was kind
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of an instinctual move and it didn't turn out
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the way I wanted it to, but it did really clarify
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for me that. I did want to go back to school.
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And based in that experience, I realized it's
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not school that's out. I just made a bad choice,
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maybe a first course, maybe a program. And maybe
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what I needed was something super esoteric and
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academic. And that's when I decided to go back
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and do my doctorate, which took another year.
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But in that time, I kept working at an organization
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where I felt supported and valued. Everybody
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knew that I was going to transition back into
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school. And it wasn't a shock because I hadn't
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made any secrets of where I was developmentally
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and where I was internally. And as a result of
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them having been part of my early attempt to
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go back into some form of education. They were
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ready to support me with transition on the other
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side. So when I went back into my doctoral studies,
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I still stayed on as a freelancer and supported
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some work for them. And we had really good, we
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ended in a really good way when I left that organization.
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So the way that I transitioned perhaps wasn't
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perfect, but it certainly taught me a lot and
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I have no regrets. And so whenever anyone is
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thinking about making a change. I always encourage
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them now to be very thoughtful about your change,
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not paralysis, you know, no need to make a transition
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perfect. Make any move in the direction of your
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interests and you will learn something you didn't
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know before. It will open a door you didn't realize
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was there. And then see how you feel. Assess
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how you are now that you know what you know.
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And then make the next best decision because
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nobody can predict the future. I would never
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have predicted that I would drop out after only
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three hours in a pretty well -reputed program.
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But that was the right thing for me to do. And
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it led to good things afterward. When we're working
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through a changing career, how does career development
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help us with those transitions? How do we decide
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on a career trajectory? How do we get started
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with this change? Where do we even begin with
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a big change like this? And how can a career
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advisor help us? What we talk about within career
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development theory is that career development
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is a lifelong process. It's got lots of different
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steps. And often we jump to the action or the
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solution step without doing the internal work,
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which is about self -exploration and really touching
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base again with. your interests, things that
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you might have forgotten you really loved, but
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you set them aside for practical reasons. And
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we tend to psych ourselves out of pursuing lines
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that aren't really linear. The reality is a career
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trajectory for most of us is this wiggly, beautiful,
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chaotic mess where we keep learning. So you start
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with yourself. You think about how things are
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for yourself, your interests, your curiosities,
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and then you assess your skills and you try to
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see. You know, a little bit of research. What's
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out there that matches my skills, my interests,
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my curiosities? And then, like, get a little
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bit more active. Take a step. And a step could
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be a conversation with somebody. A step could
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be attending an event in community. And it takes
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you right back to reflection. Where am I now?
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What do I think? Where am I going? And so it's
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this cyclical process. Sometimes we think we
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go to school, we identify our career, we check
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that box, and we're done. That is not the way
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most of us get out of bed in the morning. We're
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always in process, right? We're always in some
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kind of flow. And when we take the pressure off
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of making a perfect decision and just accept
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the journey for what it is, it can be really
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rewarding. And I think looking back at my own
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transition from work into school, I didn't do
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enough. early exploration about the program that
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I chose. Because I think if I'd had a few more
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conversations and not tried to struggle all by
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myself looking at websites, I probably would
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have made a different decision. I learned as
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a result of it, so I regret nothing. But I do
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really counsel people just to have conversations
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with current students, with faculty, with working
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professionals doing work that you're interested
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in, whenever you're thinking about either a career
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change or... progressing to some more education
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to skill you up in an area that you're curious
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about. Everyone, whether you have children or
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no children, everyone has life constraints that
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differ, right? So it's a highly unique situation.
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And as I said, I'm learning about this. So in
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terms of... My role at the university, I'm the
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director of the career services and co -op team
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at Lakehead University. Career development practitioners
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are certified. They spend years accumulating
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theoretical and applied knowledge. When you're
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making a thoughtful decision, it really needs
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to start with a thoughtful individual process.
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And accessing some help from a career advisor
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can really help you. With that, just like you
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go to a medical doctor for help with a physical
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condition, you can go to a career advisor for
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help with your career wellness. And something
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that if you do a little bit of research on this,
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you'll see was making the rounds about maybe
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six or seven months ago was to normalize the
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idea of a career wellness checkup that every
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year, once a year, you would kind of take some
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time, check in with yourself if you felt like
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you were reflective and didn't. need help with
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that or check in with a career advisor and run
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yourself through four or five points. And the
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first point would be, and I should preface this
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by saying, this is all to make sure that you
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don't focus only on what's bothering you about
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your current career situation, but you try to
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look at your overall wellness. When you think
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about your work wellness or your career wellness,
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you want to take a step back. Give yourself at
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least an hour of dedicated time and really think
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just whatever situation makes you comfortable
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to reflect in that way. Is it a cup of tea or
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is it a nice quiet place or is it loud music
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and a whiteboard? Whatever it is, run yourself
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through these questions. First, ask yourself,
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how does the work that I'm doing every day interact
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with my personal values and passions? Like what
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matters to me and how... Does work align or not
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with what I think really matters? So like me,
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how do I feel about this work? And then secondly,
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what about your personal growth? In the last
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year, can you think of something that your work
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has enabled you to learn or do differently? What
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are the skills that you're using well in your
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work and have you been using in the last year?
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And are there other skills that you have that
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you've been missing? Or seeking to use? How does
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your personal growth interact with the thing
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that you're doing with most of your time every
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day? And then we talk about those practical,
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physical needs. Does my job give me the financial
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means that I need for my every day? Am I paying
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my bills? Am I okay with my commute? Like, really?
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Is this working out for me? What about my health
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and safety at work? Am I in a place where I feel
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safe? The environment is conducive to my wellness
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that way. And then ask, is your source, is your
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work a source of human connection? How does my
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commitment to work affect my personal relationships
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and my non -work connections? Am I able to see
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friends, family, and do the things that I want
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to do in terms of my wellness? And then at work,
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do I have a good sense of belonging? Can I be
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my full self at work? Are my work relationships
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lifting me up? And so when you sit through and
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you do that, you walk yourself through just those
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parameters and you can sit and reflect. Do I
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really need to throw the whole, if I have like
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a hanging toenail, do I have to cut off my whole
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foot and jump into a new job? Or is there something
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I can do about that small element? Just by having
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a conversation with my colleagues or with my
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partner, if I'm self -employed or with my supervisor,
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if I'm directly reporting to someone, maybe there's
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a way that just by normalizing how I'm feeling
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about my job, we can take some steps. And then
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you can evolve within your job and not have to
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start over necessarily entirely in a totally
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new situation. If upon reflection, the things
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feel so big. that your current job just doesn't
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have room and space for you to continue to grow
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and feel. fully yourself. That's when it's really
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worth having a conversation with your supervisor
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about moving on additional opportunities. Would
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they support you if you found a role within the
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company or outside of the company that would
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allow you to move in the direction of your goals?
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When you don't put it out there, that's when
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you get into the situation where you're just
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waiting around wondering, why am I not getting
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promoted? Or why am I not getting the opportunities
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I'm interested in? If you're not telling your
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supervisor that there are things you're interested
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in, they may not know that you're interested
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in. So those sorts of opportunities, when you
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tell them if they give you the straight deal
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and they say, oh, I really wish I could provide
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that to you, but we don't have that right now.
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That's a good opportunity for you to say, is
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there any way else you can help me and look together
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for those other opportunities? And just having
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that conversation provides you with clarity,
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which will help you when you sit down and you
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do your work, your work wellness self -checkup.
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And you can decide, you know, overall, this is
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still really good for me. There's just that one
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skill. So perhaps I should pick up an evening
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or weekend course, work on that one skill that
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I'm not going to be able to work on at work.
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Or maybe it's a volunteer opportunity that provides
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you with that reward or that refreshment to fill
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your cup back up so that you can go into work
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and do a good job and benefit from a healthy
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community and connection with people who really
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know you because you've shared yourself and your
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goals. When it comes to the reflection aspect
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of what works for us and what we're seeking out
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of our work life, is there such a thing as too
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much work? Are we supposed to love our job? Can
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it just be a means to an end? Work is a part
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of who we are, not 100 % of all we do. And I
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think wellness and work balance, as we were talking
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about a bit earlier, That's something that every
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individual defines for themselves. Your work
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-life balance and your sense of that perfect
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mix will change over time too. And so we don't
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try to achieve, I don't think it's realistic
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for us to try to achieve a constant state. We
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have to allow ourselves to fluctuate and to ebb
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and flow through high activity and low activity.
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allow that to change over time, just like other
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aspects of our wellness and health will change
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over time. You know, we talk about workaholics
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and slackers, like either end of the spectrum
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of that kind of that work ethic spectrum. And
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I'm not, I'm not a fan of either of those terms.
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And because I think it can be possible for one
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person to be 100 % invested in their work and
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to not have. many relationships outside of work,
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if they're work relationships, if they are happy
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with that, what's wrong with that? And it is
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possible. And I myself have gone through some
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of the like working all the time, working less
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of the time shifts over my life. It is possible
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for someone to look at you and say, you're working
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too much and just completely disagree with them
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because they're trying to assess what is an appropriate
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amount for you to work according to their own
17:30
work yardstick, if you will. Right. And it's
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career development and your work wellness. It's
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highly individual. As long as you're not putting
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yourself at physical risk of harm because you're
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not sleeping or not eating. Perhaps I shouldn't
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be saying things like this, but I feel like you
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can work as much as you want. And that is okay.
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We have to take some of the woulda, coulda, shouldas
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out of the conversation and allow individuals
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to define what is a healthy balance for them.
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There are people who feel that they need to love
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their work. And there are people who feel that
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work is a means to an end. So what I talk about
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when I'm when I'm connecting with students or
18:08
graduates who have questions about what to do
18:10
next and they are just like coming to me as a
18:14
support in that in that choice is I talk about
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what matters to you. So when you're starting
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with your career development process, you start
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with your values, your interests. And what is
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it that matters to you? Then we talk about how
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to make how to make that goal happen for you.
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And sometimes in those conversations, depending
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on the individuals, I say, you know, what do
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you love doing? And they're like, what does that
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have to do with this? I want to have a really
18:39
practical conversation. All right, let's have
18:41
a practical conversation. What do you need in
18:43
order to have the life that you dream of? What
18:46
is it that you're looking for on a practical
18:48
perspective? And then there's other people who
18:50
are super mission driven and they want to do
18:54
all the things from a very. heroic, community
19:00
-minded, helping mindset. And I'm painting with
19:03
a very broad brush here, but I guess my ultimate
19:05
point is there isn't a shoulda in should work
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be X, Y, and Z for all people, or is it wrong
19:13
to only feel that you should love your work?
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I think where we can be led astray is if we try
19:18
to use the same message or slogan. When we talk
19:23
about work. When I was growing up, it was always
19:25
women can be everything. You can have it all.
19:28
You can be whatever you want to be. Follow your
19:31
heart and you'll be okay. That assumes a certain
19:36
amount of privilege in the person who is on that
19:39
career path. And the practical reality is, for
19:42
many of us, we need to follow the money because
19:45
we have bills to pay. And sometimes following
19:48
your heart can... You can love what you do and
19:52
you can be good at what you're doing. But if
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you're not being paid for what you love doing,
19:57
you have a real problem. So what I talk about
20:01
with folks when we're trying to find that right
20:04
mix about work and what kind of jobs they should
20:06
apply to or where they might want to go next
20:08
if they're thinking about a transition is what
20:10
can you do? What do you like doing? What can
20:14
you be paid for? And what does the world need?
20:17
Where do you fall in your skill set in terms
20:19
of where you are right now? And what is the role,
20:22
not just for paid employment, but for community
20:24
service and volunteerism in what you're doing?
20:28
And I am a musician, so by no means am I suggesting
20:32
that you can't follow a creative career and be
20:34
really financially stable and really well. Settling
20:40
on the idea that a change in career is... What
20:44
you need? Where do you find support? Where do
20:48
you get started? When does Lakehead University's
20:51
role begin? Do they only help students that are
20:53
currently enrolled? Is it only for students who
20:55
have graduated? There's a lot of free supports
20:59
in the community. So when students come to Lakehead,
21:02
they can connect with somebody like me at no
21:04
charge, right? It's all in their fees. When they
21:06
graduate from Lakehead, if you're a Thunderwolf,
21:08
you can come and reconnect with Career Services
21:11
and we won't turn you away. We will connect with
21:13
you. We won't charge you. You're a graduate.
21:15
We're here for you. In the community, Employment
21:18
Services Ontario. provides access to career advising
21:23
and counseling and support and even practical
21:25
connections for various career pathways that
21:30
are in demand. And often there's some subsidized
21:32
training and recertification. So there's a lot
21:35
of resources in the community that I think people
21:38
aren't aware of. If anyone is struggling with
21:42
this and they're like, I've been looking on websites,
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I don't know what to do. I'm talking to my trusted
21:47
inner circle members and they don't know what
21:50
I should do. Don't disregard the community services
21:54
that are available all across Ontario and in
21:57
other provinces in Canada as well. I think there's
21:59
a real strength in community and in those conversations.
22:03
You can get some perspective even just by asking
22:06
someone, you know, what do you think I'm good
22:09
at? I have a sense of what my own skills and
22:13
abilities are, but I'm seeing it from the inside
22:16
and I'm super in my head. So getting a perspective
22:19
from the outside can be helpful. When you talk
22:22
to somebody who knows the labor market really
22:24
well, knows the opportunities really well, and
22:26
knows different options of support, you're not
22:28
asking them to tell you what to do. You're asking
22:31
them to help you find information you might not
22:34
be aware of right now. And that's a way to...
22:38
learn something new, which changes your lovely
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chaotic path, right? It opens a door you didn't
22:42
realize. I do highly recommend accessing in -person
22:47
or public services that are human, not bot -based.
22:53
But you also do need to look at job boards and
22:58
see what's out there and make your own determination
23:00
based on job postings. There is an equally valid
23:04
alternative approach where you can go to your
23:07
local job board in Simcoe County, where we are
23:10
based. It's workinsimcocounty .ca. And you can
23:14
find aggregated job posts across all industries
23:17
in our county. And even just reading different
23:19
job posts and turning off your inner critic and
23:23
allowing yourself to pay attention to your curiosity
23:26
could move you in a direction that you didn't
23:30
know was. was possible just by being curious.
23:33
Because even if you don't have the skills right
23:35
now for a job posting that you're interested
23:38
in, there is a pathway from your present point
23:40
to whatever that skill level is. So if your first
23:43
step is, am I curious about this? Do I like this?
23:46
And then you explore what is the pathway to getting
23:49
there? What are the various pathways to getting
23:52
there? Because there's always more than one.
23:54
How much time do I want for this transition?
23:57
I will often ask somebody, how quickly do we
24:00
need to make a change? How urgent are you feeling
24:02
this need for change? And then based on their
24:05
response, we would path it forward. So sometimes
24:08
people walk into the office and they're like,
24:10
I'm graduating in two weeks, help. And I say,
24:13
okay, let's get you going. But remember, there's
24:15
no timeline on access to my services. So we can
24:18
lengthen that out a little bit. Sometimes somebody
24:20
comes in and they say, I'm feeling dissatisfied
24:24
with my current professional situation. This
24:28
is especially relevant for grads. And I want
24:32
to make a change within three years. So then
24:34
we talk about what that looks like. There's so
24:36
many different ways to get where we're going.
24:38
And ultimately, if the person involved is feeling
24:42
like they're taking an active step forward, it's
24:44
a good step. We really recommend that when you're
24:49
thinking about career transitions, it can be
24:51
quite stressful. They say one of the most stressful
24:53
things is buying a house, making a job change.
24:57
having a family change. Getting a job change
25:02
can be one of the most stressful things. So as
25:04
soon as someone is an applicant to Lakehead,
25:06
and even if they haven't accepted or declined,
25:10
I will usually take a referral from our admissions
25:13
office. For instance, let's say you've applied
25:15
to two programs and you're trying to decide which
25:17
one you want to go with. I'll often sit down
25:18
with an applicant or potential future student
25:20
and just listen to them about what their goals
25:22
are and share some information with them about
25:25
careers that we have seen connected to those
25:28
programs. And the thing about university programs
25:30
is they teach you very broadly transferable skill
25:35
sets, like really deep skill sets that are almost
25:38
always at the top of job postings, like communication,
25:40
creativity, problem solving, teamwork, collaboration,
25:44
whether you're coming right from high school
25:45
or coming back into university after some time
25:48
out, as I did when I was making a transition.
25:51
You know, those broad topics can sometimes be
25:54
a little hard to translate. So I will sit down
25:58
with a future student and I will show them school
26:00
to work transition tools that are available online
26:02
through the government of Canada. Sometimes students
26:05
need better help to understand where do I go
26:07
if I graduate with an English degree, for instance.
26:09
So I'll sit down with them right as soon as someone
26:11
is an applicant. It's never too early or too
26:13
late for current students to connect with us.
26:16
We also offer a lot of events. before you decide
26:19
to become an applicant, like open house at all
26:23
of our campuses, and that's coming up. And our
26:25
recruitment team will do some initial conversations
26:27
with potential future students, talk with you
26:31
about part -time options or full -time options,
26:34
shorter format or longer format courses. So we
26:37
do offer a lot of supports and you don't have
26:39
to be a current student to start getting engaged
26:42
with us. And then the other thing that I guess
26:45
I would... would like to share for people is
26:47
that whenever I offer other sorts of events in
26:50
the community, like a career fair or an information
26:54
session, or like this past weekend, we had a
26:58
science exploration activity. Whenever possible,
27:02
that is for anyone who wants to walk in. Lakehead
27:05
University is Simcoe County's university. We
27:07
are here to serve the community. You don't need
27:09
an appointment to visit our campus. You can just
27:11
walk in, talk to the people at the reception
27:13
desk and say you have a question about careers
27:16
connected to our programs. And if I'm on campus,
27:18
I walk out and I say hello and I either make
27:20
an appointment if I don't have time to connect
27:23
with you right then or I connect with you right
27:26
then if I can. So just walk in, walk in and see
27:29
us. As many events as possible are open to the
27:31
community. Those people that know me know that
27:37
I made a major career switch within the last
27:39
year. And I really grappled with it. I struggled
27:43
with the idea that there would be a loss in knowledge
27:45
that I had worked so hard to gain over the last
27:48
eight years. How do I reframe that if I'm choosing
27:52
to move into an industry that is not linked to
27:55
the one I was in previously? So this is where
27:59
you think about actually, and this is how sometimes
28:02
we can fall into thinking. this is a loss, right?
28:06
I've just tanked 10 years of my life into a career
28:09
that I've chosen to step away from. And if you
28:11
take a little, I don't know if this is helpful,
28:13
but if you take, for you specifically, but if
28:15
you take a little mental shift and you think,
28:18
what are the skills that I've been using in this
28:21
industry for the last 10 years or whatever it
28:23
is that I've really enjoyed? And what am I really
28:26
proud of accomplishing here? What are the skills
28:29
that allowed me to accomplish that thing I'm
28:31
so proud of? Which of these do I want to carry
28:33
forward with me? We have so many transferable
28:36
skills. And when somebody is taking a hard, a
28:38
hard, like, let's say a hard pivot right out
28:40
of one sector into another. Sometimes we think,
28:43
oh, it's totally different. Why would anyone
28:45
ever hire me for this other sector? Because all
28:47
my jobs are in this, you know, totally seemingly
28:49
unrelated thing. There is a lot more connectedness
28:53
between your skills and you as the individual
28:56
than we realize sometimes. So once someone has
29:00
thought about their... goals and their aspirations,
29:03
and they've really made the decision to leave
29:04
a sector and go into a totally different one,
29:06
then the process becomes, okay, let's establish
29:09
an inventory of my skills. Let's creatively think
29:12
about what I've accomplished. How would I present
29:14
that in a way that's going to make it clear to
29:17
this new industry that I have the ability to
29:19
do the things that are required? And then we
29:22
work with people about the right format for their
29:24
resume to be skills leading, not... role and
29:27
title leading, which can sometimes lead to a
29:29
snap decision contrary to the candidate, right?
29:31
So there's a lot of strategy at play in making
29:33
a career pivot. And the biggest first step is
29:36
just not what I don't have, what do I have, and
29:39
how do I present that in a way that makes my
29:41
competencies clear? So it's possible to make
29:44
a hard pivot or a sudden change. There's some
29:47
strategy and there's a lot of support to help
29:49
people with that. Don't be afraid to ask questions
29:52
and don't be afraid to come out to all the activities
29:55
at the post -secondary or the educational provider
29:58
that you're considering and engage there because
30:01
that's why those activities and events are held
30:03
and everyone wants to see you succeed. So there's
30:06
no stupid question to ask at any of those activities.
30:09
Don't be afraid to speak up if you do have a
30:12
question. That's the other thing I would. highly
30:14
recommend people do. It's okay to make a plan
30:16
too, right? Some people are big fans of career
30:18
plans and like they want it all mapped out. But
30:21
I always say a plan for your career, it has to
30:25
be a general guideline, you know, goals and general
30:27
guidelines. You can have some specific things
30:29
along the way that you want to do, but you have
30:31
to give yourself permission to edit and revise.
30:34
plans should be guidelines, not planks to walk
30:36
off of. Start with your curiosity and then explore
30:39
what is out there and see what resonates with
30:43
you amongst all the many paid opportunities.
30:45
And there are really well -paying options associated
30:48
with almost every point of curiosity. So yeah,
30:50
that's your starting point. Follow that spark.
30:53
And it's also okay for like, you might have a
30:57
giant spark for the world of theater, but not
30:59
want to work in that all the time. So think about
31:01
your vocation and your avocation. as you think
31:04
about all of your career -related activities.
31:07
What we didn't really talk about is the role
31:09
for dreaming in your career planning, right?
31:11
And so the one that I did really by accident,
31:14
so this is people who know me laugh when I start
31:19
talking about how my dream is to be a hobby farmer,
31:21
to have a small farm business, to go into an
31:25
agritourism something, somewhere down the line,
31:28
long way in the future. And the job that I held
31:32
that I honestly talked to everyone about as being
31:35
my happiest job ever was the summer I spent picking
31:37
asparagus on a small farm in Cambridge, Ontario,
31:42
with some friends of mine who were getting married,
31:44
who invited me to join them in the field for
31:46
the summer. So I was a field hand for a summer.
31:49
It was the happiest thing I have ever done. It
31:51
was very concrete. It was at the end of the day,
31:54
I had made food and there were gross things about
31:57
it. And it was physical work, you know, my gloves.
32:00
They were so crusted with asparagus juice that
32:02
they would stand up by themselves at the end
32:04
of my shift. I was tired. I didn't get up really
32:07
early, like with the sun, work all day. But it
32:11
was very rewarding. And I think somewhere in
32:16
the back of my head that created the seed of
32:19
my hobby farm dream. And so that's something
32:21
that I did pretty accidentally on a word of mouth
32:24
recommendation that. I wouldn't have done otherwise.
32:28
I don't think I would have applied to that ad
32:30
otherwise. Because I was looking for teaching
32:33
jobs at that time and I was playing the occasional
32:36
gig and I was not like I was not thinking about
32:39
labor in that way. I was thinking about professional
32:42
work or educators work. And that labor job was
32:47
one of the best things I could have done and
32:49
has sparked a dream that I could come back to
32:52
that kind of work actually later on when. when
32:56
I'm ready to invest in a small farm and enjoy
32:59
that. Maybe someday, maybe someday. After this
33:05
conversation, we felt really at peace with the
33:08
idea of accepting change and moving through change
33:12
when it comes to careers. It's really nice to
33:14
know that there are people there that care and
33:16
want to help. All the nuggets of information
33:19
that Jessica shared with us have been so valuable
33:21
and we hope that they're valuable to you too.
33:42
If you'd like to help this podcast grow, consider
33:47
subscribing to our podcast channels like YouTube
33:49
or Spotify so you never miss an episode. Thanks
33:52
again and I'll see you next time.