Blog

A few weeks ago, I overheard a co-worker discussing my role at  National Able Network with a prospective IT Career Lab student.  The interested student was looking at training providers, as she was recently downsized after working at her previous job for 18 years.  This conversation allowed me to reflect on my own career journey, as prior to working at National Able Network, my tenure with my former organization ended after 12 years.

After the initial shock, I found myself faced with the same questions that many of our clients face: What am I going to do now?  How will I support myself? Unemployment can be a very challenging and stressful situation.  But what I have found and share with our IT Career Lab students is that you must look at your “time off’ as an opportunity to make a choice about what you want to do in the world to make a difference.

Now, in the midst of any struggle, you don’t always realize the positives in your situation.  That is why you must look deep into your soul, make decisions regarding your next steps and create a conscious plan about what steps you need to take towards making things happen.  Whether it is working at another company performing the same function, making a complete career change, or returning to school to further your education—you must take on that reinvention to be successful.  Being open to new opportunities and challenges is all part of the journey.

For me, the plan was to continue to use my management skills in the education and training arena, not knowing I would be moving away from for-profit to a nonprofit.  And I had a lot to learn about writing certification and location proposals, test proctoring and information technology (still learning).  But as I am upon my two year anniversary with National Able Network, our IT Career Lab program continues to evolve, and I hope to continue my evolution as well.