Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

It’s been over 12 years since I entered the work force and one thing that I’ve learned along the way is that you have to take risks to be successful. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but it’s critical to your success. I’m going to share two risks that I took during my career with you and hopefully they will provide some valuable insights as you begin your journey.

I had a successful job and career in Seattle. I was making good money and I enjoyed the work. However, I was spending over three hours a day commuting. I wanted to work closer to home, but the opportunities where I lived were limited. I’d always had a passion for coffee and decided that I would step away from everything that I knew to pursue my dream of running my own coffee shop. My goal was to work my way up from barista to manager. Unfortunately this didn’t work out and I found myself laid off a few weeks before Christmas. This is something you will more than likely have to experience at some point in your career. My advice, don’t let it define who you are as the next opportunity could be right around the corner.

This was new ground for me. I have years of experience assisting others find employment. Now I had to put those skills to work for myself. My goal was to be unemployed for as short a period of time as possible. I quickly registered for unemployment benefits and went to work finding my next job. I began by tapping my extensive LinkedIn network, joining the local job club, and scouring the web for opportunities. Even though my contacts didn’t have anything local for me, they did provide great advice regarding my tactics and resume which were very helpful. Ultimately it was the job club that brought me to my current employer. In one of our meetings I heard that T-Mobile was hiring and I immediately applied with them.

T-Mobile was also a risk. I knew that I would have to swallow my pride and start at the bottom. Starting out on your career journey will be challenging; having to reboot your career can be even more difficult. I decided to take a chance and restarted my career at the bottom as a call center rep with T-Mobile. I quickly learned the other departments in the location I was at and mapped out my long-term career goals. I knew I wanted to work with the government/corporate accounts team. To get there I had to put in at least six months with regular customer care. I came to work each day and did what I needed to do to get that promotion. It took nine months, but I did it!

The first week of training I was pulled off of that team to assist with the social media group. This is another important life lesson; things don’t always go as planned. How you handle adversity will define your career. Could I have made a fuss? Sure, that was definitely an option. Instead I accepted this new challenge and made the best of it. The work I did with the social media team was rewarding and allowed me to make great contacts across the company. Never stop networking! Once you get your foot in the door, make every effort to meet new people within the organization. Being part of my new group allowed me to volunteer with a diversity committee which has been a wonderful thing. If you have the chance to volunteer for a project or special group; do it!

My work with the diversity committee and my relationship with the local recruiter ultimately lead to my current role with T-Mobile. After two years of hard work I finally have a job that I truly love! I’m supporting our field sales recruiters in California and it’s awesome! Starting over my career was one of the hardest things that I ever did, but it was worth it. I have a much better commute and the work I do is very gratifying.

Hopefully you’ll gain some value from my story. Good luck as you begin your career and don’t be afraid to take risks!