Hello,
I hope you are feeling upbeat today! 🌞
The term ‘Work-Life balance’ is one we are very familiar with. But what about ‘Work-Love balance’?. I think it’s imperative to have an element of love running through the waters of everything we do in the workplace.
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I recently chatted with a family friend about the first step into their career, as their last day of University is coming up fast. I heard myself saying what I truly believe ”Do what you love”.
You don’t have to ‘love’ every part of your job but if you stick to your guns; you really can make a career out of something you are passionate about. Maybe you don’t ‘love’ the money you make – but your happiness at work makes you feel like you ‘don’t have a job’ (#winningatlife!) … Love and happiness present themselves in various forms. Remember to always consider what makes you tick.
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In 2009 I started my first long term role in London, at Look Magazine. I LOVED my Look days so much that the low (for London life!) salary of £26,000 never bothered me, not one iota. Reflecting now I wonder how I made that money work for four years. But at the time it was never a problem – work was happily my priority.
Marketing in a publishing house meant I was extremely fortunate to regularly get lots of freebies, to test and keep. Think hair & beauty products, perfumes, clothes, shoes and various goodies our readers might love. I was often invited to product launches, gifting suites, London Fashion Week shows, film premieres, behind the scenes filming of TV shows, back stage at festivals and VIP events.
Working at Look was a glorious example of how amazing life can be when your ‘Work-love balance’ is on point! I never took it for granted and will cherish my time there for the rest of my life. Look itself maybe no-more but those kind of ‘this is a job with bells on’ roles certainly still exist in publishing, fashion, broadcasting and beyond.
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Further down the track I have ‘loved’ countless other things about places I have worked: Our office and Bungy Jumping location in the world’s oldest rainforest, on the lip of the Great Barrier Reef, while at AJ Hackett Cairns in Australia.
The fact that working in Tourism means you get invited on ‘famils’. Meaning that if you work in a hospitality / tourism brand in places like Queenstown, New Zealand or Cairns, Australia as what I did – you get to go and try out other local business offerings.
… This means you know what they are all about and you can help with cross-selling them to your customers too. Famils open up your work-love balance to countless once in a lifetime experiences (Sky Diving, Scuba Diving, White Water Rafting etc) and enable you to foster relations and effectively support other local companies.
I will forever regard the ”high-pressure, high reward” mentality behind the scenes of Learn to Trade as one of my favourite positions to date. Most recently I loved the amount of people in my team when working across Rest of World, Global & EMEA projects with Finder. Working with a global brand operating in so many countries opened doors to forging great relationships with many lovely, talented people.
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It’s not just about what you ‘love’ in your working life. When thinking about your career, it’s important to think about what matters to you outside of work too:
– Ok, so somehow you fell into a job that isn’t what you would pick if you made a wish on a star but it gives you flexible hours plus a great salary, to make the most of both when you’re not clocked on
– Maybe your team ‘gets it’ when you say you need to start late some days to take care of your dogs
– Perhaps you’ve picked up new hobbies in the last two years and realise you need to be with a company who allows you to keep going with your health & wellness efforts
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If you are not ~feeling it~ in your current role; there is no harm whatsoever in quietly looking to see if there is a better fit opportunity out there for you. I have bowled through 20 roles dating back 20 years, to 2002 as listed on my LinkedIn profile. I have worked various contracts and consultancy projects ad hoc during that time too.
… Sometimes you love something until you grow onwards and upwards out of it. Or perhaps you had a great time, great team, great role then things changed as the business went in a different direction. This does happen. Whatever makes you jump ship it pays to be realistic with yourself; It really is ok to keep on movin’!
Keep looking until you find something you love in terms of work. Or a role that gives you the freedom to get more good feels into your downtime. With a bit of luck we’ll find ourselves in work that gives you a pinch of both.
As a seasoned, passionate Marketer excitedly looking for a new, big gig I can see from my current job-search activity, that now is quite possibly one of the best times in our working lives (ever!) to be looking. There are thousands of opps (listed on LinkedIn, Otta, Indeed & Seek) waiting for a star to accept that offer!
Whether you are fresh out of Uni or 20 years down the path like me – the working world is always an exciting place! Great opportunities, fab people and jobs you quite simply ‘love’ await. Keep looking until you are sure! If you read this knowing you are already in your perfect Work-Love balance role – sincere congrats, what a feeling! I hope you enjoy every day 😊
Thanks for reading – Do what you love!
@LaraLain
