The Beauty of Following your Heart
A little over six weeks ago I walked away from what had been my dream job, with the dream employer (aka LinkedIn). LinkedIn really was like a second home for me since my return to Ireland three and a half years ago, largely due to the fact that I had built so many invaluable professional relationships and cherished friendships with my amazing colleagues, and had developed a deep admiration and respect for the LinkedIn Leadership team.
Being blessed enough to work with bright, ambitious, interesting- and most importantly- genuine colleagues, can indeed be one of the most important factors that influences one's happiness in the workplace, and it is having a supportive team that matters most in keeping you sane during the more turbulent times.
"So why leave??" you may ask. I did indeed play with this question for a long period of time, as I started to feel the universe pulling and pushing me in new and different directions. It's really not very practical to be pulled towards new opportunities and ideas when you're in a highly-demanding sales role, so being the rule-abiding 'good girl' that I was educated to be, I decided to do the practical thing- therefore ignoring the whisperings of my heart and focusing even more keenly on being the best I could be in my then current role.
It's funny though how persistent and intelligent our hearts can be when we try o quieten them against their will. Somehow people and events kept finding me that were inspiring me to move in a whole new direction, and explore different ways of seeing the world.
What is a girl to do when she's worked purposefully and enthusiastically for years to build her skills, experience and reputation in an area that fascinates her? On a side note- if you haven't worked closely with me - and therefore haven't heard me repeat it a million times - put some time aside to watch the videos from Talent Connect 2014. If you are not yet excited and inspired by the world of Talent Acquisition, I promise you- you will be if you watch these speakers give you an insight into the disruption and transformation that has been happening in the TA world over the last few years.
The best advice I was given came from a very dear friend and ex-colleague who had gone through a similar dilemma herself. She told me not to stress about it, that I would know when the time was right to move on to my 'next play' as we would call it in LinkedIn. This very simple advice, which I had not managed to give myself, was in fact exactly what I needed to hear, and I heeded it, repeating it to myself every so often over the coming weeks and months.
The event itself happened exactly as she had described. There was no trigger, no pros and cons list, in fact - no logical reasoning at all. My heart just told me that the time had arrived.
It was during my notice period that I truly had the opportunity to observe and appreciate the openness with which it is acceptable to discuss 'Life after LinkedIn' throughout one's LinkedIn life-cycle. It felt almost surreal to be receiving congratulatory wishes from colleagues and managers, for all the right reasons - i.e. they cared more about my long-term happiness and what was right for me as a person than they did about the inconvenience caused in the short-term. I imagine that alone having such a positive attitude towards employees who are moving on must have a clear impact on an organisation's talent brand. We pay a lot of attention to the first impressions we give our new hires, but final impressions can be equally important when it comes to a company's reputation as an employer.
In addition to congratulating me, nearly every single person asked me- 'So, what's your plan??' . It was an interesting insight into just how important it seems to to be for us to always have a solid plan, as I learned by the reactions I was often met with when I responded - "No plan!"... no really - there was plan whatsoever! On a few occasions I found myself almost inventing a loose plan to make the conversation less awkward, and to help the other person feel less concerned for my future and present welfare. As I explained to those who wouldn't consider me to be a complete airy-fairy bohemian (although this IS my long-term dream), my plan was to follow my heart. My heart was not telling me to travel, which is often what one does first when they take time off, in fact my heart was telling my quite clearly that I should stay in Ireland.
So, apart from spending one week on a Colourstrings Music Kindergarten course in Surrey, this is exactly what I've done. As a result I have been met with people, places, stories and opportunities that are opening doors to a whole new and exciting chapter of life experiences, and reconnecting with who I am (cliché as it may sound, I will say it unapologetically here!), and who I aspire to be in this world.
It has only been six weeks, so it is a time-frame that someone with more ties than me might feasibly negotiate as a sabbatical with a long-term employer. Or... maybe we should all get Summer Holidays like we did in school! That's exactly what it's felt like in fact.
My advice from what I've learned along the way can be summarised into two succinct points:
Always listen to and follow your heart.
It's okay not to have a plan
The right plan will always find you if you make space for it to manifest in your life and are open to receiving it.