The importance of trying on many hats: Why you do not need to follow just one path to find career success

At the ripe age of 16, we are told to begin the search for a chosen career path. I don’t know about you, but at 16, I had no idea what this choice would imply nor did I have a clear view of what I wanted my chosen profession to be. Of course, there are those lucky few who know from a young age what they wish to pursue, but the reality is that most do not. And what they don’t tell you – that this is absolutely fantastic! As the saying goes, do something you love, and you never work a day in your life. Well, why does that have to mean just one thing? In this day and age, we do not have to be placed in any particular box. Sure we may have parental pressures, expectations or obligations, but the beauty is there are so many opportunities out there for the taking. 

I have gone through many job titles, including cleaner of a hostel. No, it was not the most glamorous job, nor was it a career path I wanted to pursue long term but to be very honest, I loved that job for what it was. And the things I learned from being a cleaner I still carry with me today. Organization, time management and guest relations to name a few – these are all things you very much need to know in most jobs. 

The best thing about life is it means things are always changing. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse but we never just stay put. And the same should go for your career. Again, this does not mean you have to pick one thing, and that’s it. You can always change your mind. Take a very good friend of mine; he was on a path to success in a very large advertising agency. He was great at his job, and it was clear he would move quickly up the ranks. But there was something that was missing; he lacked passion for the job. So he did what not many have the courage to do at the tender age of 30, he went back to University to study to be a lawyer. Some may call him crazy but now working in a large law firm, he has never been happier. It is so important to realize that your age does not hold you back. Change isn’t just for the young, thank goodness.

Now you don’t have to go back to university to find what you love. Luckily there will always be transferable skills within every career move which you might not even realize at the time. With every feather you add to your hat, it offers you one more thing that gives you an edge. So if you are having doubts about the field you are in, why not write down what it is you do want to find in a job and work from that. I have gone from cleaner to dispatch worker for an online fashion retailer, worked in marketing for a speed dating company and done events for a hotel, to name a few. Would I say I loved every element of these jobs, of course not! But my many hats lead me to where I am now and in a career I truly love.

Saying this, if you know what you want to do, that’s great! But it is also ok to not know. Experience as many industries as possible until you find where you fit. And most importantly, make sure you end up doing something that makes you happy. Our career journey is a long one, and your job is the place you will spend the most time, so at the end of the day if you enjoy what you do, then you have ultimately succeeded, no matter how or how long it took for you to get there.

Written By:  Anika Berger, Account Manager at Atteline – also published on Seele Mag.