By Shane Rodgers
I’ve made plenty of career decisions over the years that had people telling me I was crazy.
Yet somehow each one took my career and life on a better path.
Sometimes you make your own luck by taking the less obvious path. Or maybe there are no crazy decisions. You just go along the road that you take and never look back.
Here are some of my crazy decisions, and what I learnt from them.
1. I turned down a highly sought-after journalism cadetship straight from school
At 17, after years of doing everything possible to be a ‘perfect” cadetship applicant for a big city newspaper (ran a school newspaper, more than 40 published newspaper articles, learnt typing and shorthand) I was successful in getting a place.
To give it context, there were about 10 places offered that year from around 600 applications and most of the competition already had journalism degrees.
I was elated at first. And then I said no. The Editor who offered me the job couldn’t believe it. I’m sure he thought I was crazy.
Why?
I was 17. I knew the job was full-on. It was too far from home so I needed to move into the big smoke alone and the salary would barely pay share house rent. I needed to work really long hours and study at the same time. I was already exhausted from over-doing it in Year 12. It didn’t feel right.
How it turned out
I worked in a bank for a few months and then decided to study law and worked at the Justice Department for a few months. Then I started to volunteer at my local regional newspaper on Sundays. That paper offered me a cadetship a year after I left school and I did journalism for the next 20 years (moving to the newspaper that offered me the original cadetship three years later).
What I learnt
A regional paper is an ideal place to learn journalism, because you have to do everything, there is nowhere to hide and you cover everything from day one. It was the right place for me to learn the ropes. I could live at my parents’ home to study and save money and, by the time I took a job in the city, I was trained and ready. I was sent to the Canberra Press Gallery at age 22. That only happened because I had lots of senior experience by then.
2. I left journalism when I was a heartbeat away from my dream job
As Deputy Editor of a big newspaper, I was literally a heartbeat away from being Editor, something I had been working towards for 15 years. Then I left journalism.
Why?
Even to get to the Deputy Editor job I had to do some big management jobs, work long hours, weekend and nights, and always had my head in newspapers, radio and television news. By then I had three young children. If I had gone on to be Editor I would have needed to make the same or greater commitment for at least five years. I couldn’t do it to my kids. And I was craving more time with them.
How it turned out
The first year out of journalism (doing a communications job for the Federal Government) I was lost and confused. But the year allowed me to repackage myself as a senior communications professional. Then I was able to package marketing into the mix and I got a job as the Marketing and Communications Director of a large university. I loved that job but two years later I was asked to be Editor-in-Chief of a major community newspaper group (about 20 titles). I loved this job and met like-minded people who became great friends and the job did not require lots of night work. I was much happier there than I ever would have been editing a big metro paper.
What I learnt
You never regret putting your kids first. And the least obvious path often leads to a better place, including places you didn’t know existed.
3. Applying for big roles that I wasn’t fully qualified for
Most people have imposter syndrome when they apply for more senior roles even ones based on their obvious qualifications and experience. A couple of times I have gone after roles that I had no obvious qualifications for.
One was a very senior university administration role. I started as a “roughy” candidate but after a very long interview process, I made the final two! I missed out but apparently the decision took the panel several hours. I was thrilled to have gone that far.
A few years later I applied for a leadership job at a major industry association – and got it.
How it turned out
Great! I loved it and it opened up an amazing range of career possibilities that I hadn’t imagined a few years earlier as a journalist.
What I learnt
You are seldom 100 percent qualified for any role and, if you are, the role probably doesn’t represent growth. Also, if you can get through the first door, anything is possible after that.
4. Leaving a great job to do a “portfolio career”
A few years ago, I left a really fulfilling role in a great national industry organisation to pursue a mixed bag portfolio career – a mix of part-time, a family consulting business and a media platform.
How it turned out
I feel like I have a lot more control of my life but the four-day weeks I aspired to are often six-day weeks. But I have no regrets. The longer you work, the shorter the runway and there comes a time when you have to back yourself.
What I learnt
Career contacts are crucial when you work for yourself. In your own business you need to have a buffer because the cash flow takes a while. Set high standards and work only with clients you like and who have similar values.
Would I do anything different in retrospect?
Yes. But life doesn’t work that way. All four crazy decisions were right at the time and worked out well. And regrets about the past are pretty much a waste of time.
Shane Rodgers is the author of Worknado – Reimagining the way you work to live and Managing Editor of Newsreel.
