I am a licensed, non-practicing attorney working in a corporate setting. I knew that I wanted to go to law school from the time I was 14 years old. That was when I discovered my high school Mock Trial team. I was hooked. I started out as a spectator and very quickly got more involved. I found I had a knack for picking out important details when reading a case. I also had a talent for thinking on my feet and tweaking my case based on what happened in the courtroom. I didn't know how realistic this forum was, but one of the advisors was a judge and I found myself with a mentor. Walking into a courtroom after law school, I knew I had found where I was supposed to be. I'm not big on public speaking in general, but it came naturally in the courtroom.
Sadly, it appears a litigation career was not in the cards for me. My dream was to be a county Assistant Prosecutor(AP) (despite the low pay), I never wanted to be on the other side. I also didn't really want to be in private practice doing civil litigation either. I worked in enough law offices that did that to know it wasn't my passion. When I went through law school, no one seemed to have any inkling that the legal job market was about to tank. Big time. Where I live, most people take AP jobs to get litigation experience quickly and then move on the the much better pay available in private practice. The legal job market tanked right when I was hoping to take advantage of that turnover. The folks who had those low paying government jobs decided they liked having secure jobs and the turnover stopped.
This left me in a pickle. Do I try to find another job in private practice somewhere and hope I find my spark again? Or do I try something totally different? I went on about 75 interviews in a year and a half and didn't find it. I did work during that time, but it was on a contract basis. I found a number of things I couldn't see doing for any length of time...my brain became numb.
I fell into my corporate job sideways. I was signed up with a legal temp agency and an unusual opportunity came my way. It was great, I got to use my law degree every day and my analytical thinking got a workout as well. I ended up being hired from temp to permanent and loved coming to work everyday.
Fast forward 7 years. My job has evolved to the point where I no longer do most of the things I loved about my job when I started it. I've found myself adrift, again trying to find my spark. My responsibilities are fairly niche, made up of things that are important but the value tends to be missed until something goes wrong. This also puts me at risk every time there is a reorganization in my company, which, in this economy, is pretty much annually.
This year I decided to put myself out there. I've been shuffled around many times and felt that I had nothing to lose, so I took an idea that had been percolating for a while and threw it out on the table. I don't have it all together when it comes to work and family life, but I have found some coping mechanisms the hard way. I put together a program to make it easier for the moms that come after me, and my company has received it really well! The program has taken on a life of its own and I have tons of ideas for what comes next for it. It's got the potential to grow like crazy and be a real asset for a family friendly company. I really wish this were my full time job! I love my company, I've found my spark, and it is helping my colleagues to help each other - we really are each others best resources.
It's so exhilirating and kind of depressing at the same time. Putting myself and my personal experiences out there to facilitate conversations with my colleagues has been surprisingly rewarding. And once I get them talking, they are full of better ideas than I could ever come up with. Everyone seems to be energized and motivated when they leave, better able to cope with whatever their situation is. I've gotten great feedback from many participants in my sessions. I love feeling that I was a part of that, and that I can continue to be of service to them by having more sessions and more topics...
And then I come back to my real job, so empty by comparison. I'm not an HR professional and if there were such a job at my company, odds are that I would not even get an interview for it because I would be considered massively underqualified.
Thanks for reading. I feel better just having gotten this out. I'm going to continue to develop the program, as it feeds my spark and makes my day when I can get a group together and make a difference for them. And if it doesn't help my performance rating, then so be it. I can live with that.
So I feel like I've found my next calling, but this time I have to figure out how to grow it and make it part of the everyday in my career!
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