About Michele
To know about me and why I'm starting this blog, you first need to know about something that happened to me almost 10 years ago.
It was the spring of 1998 and I knew that something was wrong at work. Nothing I could put my finger on, really. Just that I was snapping at clients, complaining to my co-workers and generally feeling under-utilized and under-appreciated.
One night, over a glass of wine with my husband, I was complaining yet again about how unhappy I was. Tired of my daily rants, my husband leaned forward and said, “You should take a weekend to figure out what you want to do with your life. Obviously the situation isn’t getting any better just complaining about it, so maybe it’s time you did something to change it instead.”
What? Take a weekend to figure out my career options? This was a pretty radical idea. We had two daughters—Jessica, age 10 and Ali, age 6—both of whom were playing softball. And like every busy couple, we also had the usual weekend chores, housecleaning, errands, etc. to do. How was I supposed to take two days to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up?
The more we talked, though, the more I realized that this was something I needed to do. Ironically, my background was in career planning and I had frequently told my clients that they needed to periodically assess their career direction. If it was something they needed to do, why shouldn’t I be doing it too?
Further, we were heading into summer, which meant astronomical childcare bills for our girls. Did I really want to continue working at a job I hated while I also paid someone else almost $1,000 per month to care for my children? And if I was honest with myself, I knew that if I didn’t do something soon, I might crack and end up getting fired. So I started to seriously consider the idea and to think about what my weekend should include.
Within a few weeks I had a plan. I worked with my husband to get the time and space to do the exercises I’d gathered. I made sure that I had the right supplies and the attitude to really focus. And then I did it. I took two days just for myself to figure things out.
By Sunday night, I had undergone a profound shift in my understanding of myself and what I wanted from work. On Monday morning I walked into my boss’s office and gave her my notice. Two weeks later, I was home with my daughters for the summer and planning for a new career direction.
At first I was a little scared. Quitting my job with nothing to go to seemed more than a little crazy. But within a few months, things began falling into place as though the universe understood and was supporting my direction. A former colleague contacted me to work on a project that made great use of my current talents, but also gave me an opportunity to develop new skills. This experience led to more projects and eventually a business partnership. When that arrangement started to grow stale, another career weekend led me to move in some new directions, which, in turn, brought new opportunities and ideas.
Since that first weekend I spent on my career, I’ve tripled my income. I’ve also been able to work from home, giving me the flexibility to volunteer at my daughters’ schools and be there to deal with the cable guy. For the most part I’ve been able to pursue projects that interest me and that play to my strengths, while avoiding work that doesn’t suit my skills. It's been a great ride and I know that it's been my attention to my ongoing career planning and professional development that has really done it for me. <
So that's my personal story.
On a professional level, following my career epiphany, I obtained my certification as a Career Development Facilitator Instructor through the National Career Development Association. With that training, I've worked with hundreds of people to help them figure out what they want to be when they grow up. I've also trained staff who work with job seekers to help them develop career plans.
For the past year, I've been writing The Bamboo Project Blog where I've explored professional development, career planning, using technology tools, etc., primarily for people in the nonprofit world. I've also maintained a consulting and training practice working with nonprofit and government agencies.
This blog and community is an idea that has been percolating for awhile. It started to really come together when I contacted Rosetta Thurman of Perspectives from the Pipeline about running a career retreat for women in the D.C. area and we heard from a ton of women in nonprofits who were interested. It seems to me that career and professional development support is something a lot of women are looking for, not just those working in nonprofits, so I decided to go ahead and take the plunge to get everything going. We'll see how it all evolves.
