Why I'm Blogging For My Career

So my post tonight is a little different because when I stumbled upon the prompt "how do you hope blogging will help your career?" on the Brazen Careerist blog I just felt compelled to share my answer.

I came to blogging out of fear. I started blogging because I was scared about going through a career transition. I was scared that by leaving my job to stay home with my new baby I would completely isolate myself from the working world.

I loathe the idea that my career could be negatively impacted by my having children. I feel a strong emotional (and possibly biological) urge to stay with my child and I don't want to compromise this time with him. However, this time is so short; if I only stay home until my son starts school, then that amount of time equates to about 7% of my life (=5/74.56.) How can I let the 7% portion of my life affect the other 93% so much? Right now, my baby is my whole life, but my whole life isn't my baby.

Career transitions are like a never ending "opposite day," one day you are working, the next day you are not. One day you are childless, the next day you are not. One day you are living in the dorms attending class, the  next day you are not. No matter how much you prepare, over the course of ONE DAY your life makes a drastic change.

For so many of us, work is life: an income, a purpose, a community. You can't let ONE DAY take your life's work away from you. Work is my life, in whatever context "work" comes. I've chosen to use this career transition as a time to learn what I am passionate about, develop myself, and spend time finding my life's work.

So when asked, "how do I think blogging will help my career?" I'm blogging FOR my career: to stay employable while I'm on my career break. I want to learn new things and try new experiences, stay current, and develop valuable skills that I can bring to my next role in life. Blogging will also give me the opportunity to use my strengths to share meaningful information with others who are also going through their own career transitions: not just stay-at-home moms, but those who are graduating from college or heading into retirement.

My blog is not perfect, I'm still figuring things out, but it does have a wealth of information and resources that I've been curating. So... If you're scared too, read this then this. If you're not sure what your strengths are, read this. If you're not sure what your future holds, read this. If your looking for a little comic relief, read this. If you're trying to decide whether to leave your job, read this. If you want to read more about taking a career break, read this. If you think this has been in any way helpful/interesting/etc - follow me on this.

Sincerely,
Jordan


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