Pivot Advice

 

At a time when the world is re-emerging from a COVID forced hibernation, today’s workforce finds themselves looking out upon a landscape they hardly recognize.  Lines between home and office have been blurred, there seems to have been a step-change in the focus of the energy industry, and the technology for remote working has become commonplace and widely implemented. Unsurprisingly, large swathes of the workforce are reconsidering what a career looks like, reconsidering what a healthy work/life balance is, and frankly reconsidering if a traditional brick and mortar office is even necessary to do their jobs. Everyone must decide what works best for them, but for those considering a major career pivot, please allow me to offer some advice based on a “big shift” earlier in my career.

In 2008, there was a bust in the American housing market which led to a little financial hiccup now known as the “Great Recession”. Even the short version is too much to unpack here, but as it pertains to my experience, the construction industry stopped building homes and neighborhoods.  And when you stop building neighborhoods, you no longer need to build supermarkets, or schools, or day-cares, or doctors offices to support those neighborhoods.  As a licensed architect, I suddenly found myself in a field with extremely low demand that was completely saturated with qualified and overqualified workers.  There were 80 to 100 applicants for every job opportunity posted.  I found myself in a position where I had to pivot to an entirely new industry just to survive.

I learned a lot about myself and about careers in general in this process.  Perhaps my advice could be helpful to some of you.

1.      You are not your profession or career -- This realization was painful for me. When I realized that I could no longer identify as “an architect”, I was devastated.  After earning a 5-year Bachelor of Architecture degree, working for 4 years to get my license, and practicing for countless more years, my identity was so tied up in what I did for a living, that I literally did not know who I was anymore.  It took years for me to work through this.  If you are going to make a major pivot, begin working through this now.  Talk with your friends, spouses, and colleagues, maybe even a counselor. Whatever you do, wrap your head around the emotional and psychological impact, good or bad, that such a pivot will have in your life.

2.      Look at your skill sets generically -- If you have spent time managing multidisciplinary teams, does it matter what industry?  In my case, I moved from Commercial Architecture to the Offshore Oil & Gas industry. On the surface, these industries seem worlds apart.  However, my ability to coordinate large teams of designers and engineers and direct them towards a common goal got me in the door for the interview.  The ability to translate from engineering jargon to construction jargon to boardroom jargon sealed the deal.  These are skills that transcend industries.  Likewise, understanding building codes and zoning and permitting might seem specific to architecture or construction. But if viewed from a greater distance, this is regulatory engagement which is crucial to almost every industry.  If you just zoom out from your industry-specific (micro) perspective and view them with a broader perspective, you have skills that you can leverage.

3.      NEVER underestimate the power of soft skills -- I transitioned between two vastly different fields. When I was offered my first position in Oil & Gas, I was literally told “you have all of the soft skills for this position that we could ask for, we’ll teach you the rest.”  Soft skills are notoriously difficult to teach.  Some even say they cannot be taught; you either have them or you don’t. Regardless, the ability to communicate clearly across multiple disciplines and various stakeholders is enormously valuable. Critical thinking, problem solving, consensus building, tactfulness, empathy, and diplomacy are skills that are sought in nearly every industry in the world.  Be confident in your soft skills and do not be afraid to stand on those when making a big pivot.  You will be amazed at the gaps they can close.

4.      Invest in yourself -- Currently, I am attempting to navigate a smaller pivot into project management. After some investigation and consulting people that I respect in that field, I invested in some Project Management course work and in testing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.  If you know the specific direction that you want to go, getting educated in that field or industry gives you a leg up on that transition.  Gaining certifications and/or licensing in those fields will open all kinds of doors.  Yes, this takes a lot of time, effort, and money.  However, this is also a good litmus test for you.  If you are not willing to make the sacrifice required for these trainings or certifications, perhaps it is not a career pivot that you need to pursue.

5.      Be prepared to take a step back -- Just because you have 10 years of working experience in one field does not necessarily mean that you can step into a 10-year position in another field.  To get yourself in the door, you may need to accept a position slightly below what you would hope. However, leveraging your skillsets from previous industries, utilizing the strength of your soft skills, and capitalizing on the investments that you have made in yourself; you can be confident that you will excel in your new field and move up to that desired level in very little time. As above, this is something of a litmus test.  If you are not willing to take one step back in order to gain two (or three) forward, is this really a pivot that you are willing to make.

6.      Be confident in yourself -- This is another one that is personally painful.  I spent years in my new career field suffering from imposter syndrome.  Even with positive performance reviews and high praise from a number of clients, I questioned if I was good enough. I felt like I dint belong and it took time to get past being “the new kid” In my own head,   If someone says you’re doing a good job, chances are that you are. Most industries don’t have the patience to coddle incompetence or ineptitude. Conversely, if someone brings criticism, dig into it.  Ask for feedback on how they might have done it or how to improve your process/skill/approach.  Build from it.  You’ll gain more respect from your new peers this way than you ever would by getting defensive.

Hopefully, this advice on the concept of a career pivot proves at least insightful, if not helpful.  I do not claim to be an expert, but I have been there. What I have shared here are the hard lessons I learned in real time and later through thoughtful reflection.  Thirteen years ago, I made a substantial career pivot and it was one of the most significantly impactful events in my adult life. Frankly, with the changes in the energy market, I may find myself there again in short order.  Following these steps, I believe that each of us can successfully pivot to whatever career the future holds for us.

#GreatResignation #TheBigShift #PivotAdvice

Looking back to look ahead

Every now and then, it’s good to look back at where your work life started to get perspective on how far you’ve come.  37 years ago, I was flinging newspapers from a twelve speed and mowing lawns.  Since then, I have bagged groceries, worked at a Blockbuster video and sold dog food.  I have framed and painted houses, worked in a skating rink, and at a dry cleaner while earning my BArch.  I have done land planning, design work, code research, construction documents, and construction administration for everything from a screen porch addition on a home to million square foot shopping centers. I have owned a restaurant and even ran my own design practice for a while. And for the last ten years, I have been privileged to be on teams that design, engineer, and fabricate Offshore facilities for major Oil & Gas developments. 

That’s a long way from flinging papers!  But every step on that path was critical to getting where I am today. Whether being chased by dogs, spilling paint, or re-submitting for construction permits a third time, the challenges faced and overcome developed diverse skillsets and provided a unique experience that defines my character and work ethic to this day.

I like to imagine the look on younger Bill’s face if someone had told him then that he’d be a Project Engineer on Multi-billion-dollar projects. I believe that it would be quite a humorous mix of astonishment and disbelief.

When is the last time that you stopped to appreciate just how far you’ve come on your own journey? What would be the look on the face of “younger you” if someone told them what they’d be doing three decades later?

House of Cards

It seems as though life is a house of cards. I struggle to get the pieces lined up. I’m afraid to let go of each card fearing that as soon as I do, it will cave in on itself. Balancing father vs husband, owner vs worker, mechanic, landscaper, handy man, councilor, coach, friend, lover, banker, cook, dishwasher, garbage man and occasionally, even just a passerby; it’s overwhelming. And it seems that I am always running from one to the other trying to shore up the walls of my card house. Constantly in fear that one card will shift just far enough out of place to collapse the whole thing. I shift. I change roles. Always nudging some card back into place and trying not to dislodge its neighbor.

An amazing thing a card house. From the outside, every card looks the same yet from within, each is completely unique. Pressures from without never know what card they effect nor which cards in turn may be effected. Nudge a 2 and a Queen may fall, a King topple or an Ace slide from the table. No one outside can see how it’s been arranged around us; the back of a card is, after all, simply the back of a card. Nor can they see our frantic activity within, the constant propping up of the cards, catching them just before they fall. Quickly, more friend, less accountant; more dad, less coach; more lover, less husband. All of this while living in fear of the random event that will bring it all down around us. The card we can’t nudge back into place, the gust of wind that sweeps it all away.

We go about walking that fine line. Wondering how long we can keep up with it. How long until I don’t have the energy, until I just can’t adjust fast enough to keep it all balanced? How long until it crashes down around me like a house of cards?

Bill Randall 2007

You

I know you. I know you better than you know you. And that’s what scares you. The thought that someone could get inside that head of yours. The thought that I might pan the depths of your emotional tides and come out with a nugget of truth. Truth that you didn’t know lied within. Truth that, on some level you’ve truly longed for, but out of fear skimmed only the surface of your mind, afraid of the tumult of your past, the currents of your present and the uncertain distant shores that the future holds for you. Like a lonely soul wandering the shores, getting only your feet wet, finding only the flotsam and jetsam that the sea has purged onto its shores, marveling at what he has found all the while strolling past the true treasures. Past the jewels and riches that are only yards away, but beneath the surface. You pass by those treasures, those nuggets, those delightful oddities that make us unique. You pass by, none the worse for wear, but certainly no better for it either. Yes, I know you.

I know you. Far, far better than you think; far better than you’ve feared. Better than you’ve ever hoped to know yourself. I know you. While you stand at the jagged edge of you that falls away into the swirling abyss of your emotions, your urges, dreams, desires and your unbridled subconscious mind, you tremble and faint. The very thought of introspection creates in you an emotional vertigo that paralyzes. Fear leaves you frozen, motionless, silent. But I, I jump in. Without second thought or looking back I fling myself from that precipice into the depths that remain hidden to you. I have seen far more than you could ever hope to. I have the scars to prove it. And when I crawl out of the primeval depths that you try to hide deep inside, when I climb back up to that jagged edge again and find you still there, paralyzed with fear, I laugh wildly and once again launch myself into the void. Oh Yeah, I know you. Better than you know you.

I know you. We met a couple of times, but that was long ago and the occasions were rare. I was at your grandfather’s funeral and I know what you felt. The stirring of the “big” questions: What of life and death? Will I leave any kind of legacy? Will people remember me? Yes, I was there. We spoke, if only briefly, but I know you. We ran into each other just before graduation day. Really more just brushing past each other than a true meeting, but I was there. And I knew you then too. Your wedding rehearsal, the day your child was born, when you lost your first job and when you accepted Christ, I was there. I understood even if you didn’t. Do I deserve her? Can I be a role model? What do I do now? Am I ready? What do I really believe? I know you. I heard you ask those questions. They are the same questions that I ask. Even now, you are asking questions. You ask but you are afraid to get dirty. You’re too terrified to seek out the dark corners and dusty storerooms of your mind, of your soul, where answers may lie. But I’m not. I will seek them for you. I know you. I know you better than you think. I know you, because I am you.


Bill Randall © 2007 (12/12/07)

Cricket Music

Crickets
Crickets singing, chirping, playing
the melody sounds
it plays, it trickles, it surrounds me.
I am lost in that sound.
In the distance a dog barks; and barks again.
A plane circles overhead.
A train in the darkness; then it’s rumble is heard, no felt.
That dog again.
The train grows nearer.
The rumble. the horn. the horn.
The plane drones on.
The rumble fades; a distant horn.
The plane circles and is gone.
And the crickets, oh the crickets they continue
Their sweet gentle harmony continues; the constant music of the crickets.

Perchance to Dream. . . .Bill Randall 2010

To sleep, perchance to dream. . . But what then when those dreams be nightmares and one sleeps not for fear of such a nightly visage as would chill the blood and cause brows to glisten. What, when that sacred place of dreams has been trampled and soiled such as one dares not return, dares not dream, dares not look beyond this waking moment? What then? What sleep if not to dream? And if not to dream, if not to pursue such ethereal and vaporous wraiths upon waking, why wake at all? For ‘tis not the dreams, nor the dreamer, that give life to human pursuits. But rather the pursuit of dreams which gives life to humans.

touching base

I am aware that I have not recently donned pen to paper. I extend my most sincere apologies as of late, those most fickle of beings which are muses have not seen fit to bestow the gift of inspiration upon my brow. I shall return to you once they have again graced me with their presence and have allighted in the galleries of my mind. . .