Displaced workers How would you pursue your career in a new place?
Displaced workers - Retraining or relocation?
There comes a time when some of us face this situation and we debate whether or not we should pursue our career in a new place.
This journey is something I have experienced and it becomes obvious it is not an easy task. At the time I needed to make a certain amount of money and it seemed other cities could offer far more than where I was living and because I had a spirit of adventure I could pack up and go without much difficulty.
Had I stayed where I was, I most likely would have had to undergo some kind of retraining in order to keep up with that particular region’s job market. Getting my degree did not seem practical at that point in my life so I did what I always wanted to do…reinvent myself.
The journey took me from one coast to another and I went to a city that had many Fortune 500 companies with a need for what I was trained to do. The adjustment was significant…and difficult.Careers are a funny thing…some would say “if you take care of your career, it will take care of you”
I rented a truck, packed my things and set out to begin my journey…and I was not too happy either…
Ironically, my farewell with my old company was such that I knew immediately I was making a huge mistake!
The whole 3000 miles were spent wishing I could undo my decision but I was so focused on the money I would make that I kept flip flopping back and forth.
My old boss decided to make a pitch for me to stay…he wanted to increase the money and decrease the workload and insisted he would make me the next in line for a promotion.
I already committed to the new company and had a start date and it seemed my reputation in the industry would suffer if I backed out at the last minute…and every vendor the old and new company shared would get the word out that I was a “churn and burn” employee that left things in disarray.
When I got to the new job I was exhausted…staying in hotels while my new place was getting ready for moving in…I had lined up a place from my previous visits but while I was thousands of miles away they kept postponing the preparations.
I eventually got settled in and came to a frightening realization!
I loved the city, liked the job…but I didn’t know anybody or know how to get from one end of town to the other…I chose a place to live around the corner from where I worked but that was about it….
Life was difficult for 3 years..I made my money and saved a lot of it but I was so far out of my element I never actually enjoyed life. I eventually made friends and learned how to get around but I was always overcome by the feeling that I was a visitor…everything was temporary.
I went back to my former company (who I stayed in contact with) and we came to an agreement that was slightly less attractive than the offer they gave me when I left. " Displaced workers " written by Ken Bownes
