We Asked Junkee Staff About The Ins And Outs Of Changing Jobs
Changing jobs is an inevitable leap of faith that pretty much everyone has to face at some point, and it can be equal parts exciting and overwhelming.
Changing jobs is a leap of faith that pretty much everyone has to face at some point, and it can be equal parts exciting and overwhelming.
Whether it’s a new job down the same path or a stark career change, there’s a lot to be learned from making the switch, and sometimes a lot you wish you knew in retrospect. Like how to trust your skills, face your fresh start, keep on top of your finances and generally cope with the transition.
Everyone’s career path is different, but changing jobs comes with a lot of the same hurdles, so we asked some Junkee staff who have made the jump to spill their best advice on the matter.
Roya Lines – Account Manager, Junkee
What was your biggest career change?
I worked as a teaching assistant in a secondary school, working with the children that were super hyper or were deemed to be slightly behind in their studies. It was the hardest job I have had to date.
At the end of my first year, I decided having gone straight from school to college, college to uni, and then back to school, I didn’t have enough experience outside of the learning environment to be the type of teacher I wanted to be. So I moved to London and got my first media sales job.
Did you find coming into your new job intimidating or overwhelming at all?
Moving into media sales required a whole new set of skills that I didn’t immediately have, it took me six months to properly get a grip on how exactly the business worked, my role within it and what was expected of me. It was intimidating, but it was also so much more rewarding once I started to see success off the back of my perseverance and hard work.
Morten Furre – Video Editor, Junkee
What was your biggest career change?
I used to work as a postie while I was back home in Norway. Now I work as a Video Editor, so it’s fairly different.
Are there any skills you’ve taken from your old job and unexpectedly put to use?
I think I learned just basic job ethics and the slow burn of doing something repetitive and mundane. I actually also learned to make the most out of the job and find ways to make the days more exciting.
Did switching jobs come with any financial stresses?
I totally had some financial stresses when I switched. When I worked as a postie, I had a solid pay and it was full-time, then coming to Australia and studying as well as working freelance, I had to become more disciplined in my spending.
I learned that I needed to budget for rent and bills before anything else, so I couldn’t splurge on just anything.
Jules LeFevre – Music Writer, Junkee
I worked as a paralegal in a small law firm for four years, and then, in mid-2016, I became the Music Staff Writer at Junkee.
I’d always been a music writer — I freelanced for Rolling Stone and Junkee while I was working as a paralegal — but the decision to make it my full-time gig was pretty much a giant leap of faith.
Are there any skills you’ve taken from your old job and unexpectedly put to use?
Working in law gave me a greater respect for the legal process. It actually gave me some faith in the process, as before I worked in law I was pretty cynical about it all. Perhaps most importantly, it taught me to never, ever, ever get arrested.
Did you find coming into your new job intimidating or overwhelming at all?
Oh lordy lord, yes. This was set to be my first full-time gig, and I was terrified. Still am, some days.
James Branson – Video Journalist, Junkee
What was your biggest career change?
I went from being a songwriter and music producer to the managing editor of a magazine and publishing business.
Are there any skills you’ve taken from your old job and unexpectedly put to use?
Yes, my old job involved trying to get a collective of creative but unruly people (musicians) working toward a creative goal.
The new job, which, on paper, was pretty different, also involved trying to get a bunch of creative and unruly people working toward a creative goal. So while the industry and product were quite different, the kind of “creative management” skills involved were quite similar.
Did switching jobs come with any financial stresses?
There were significant financial stresses, mainly because I went straight from being essentially a freelancer working in music to running a publishing business that employed up to 10 people. Shouldering the responsibility was stressful, and if I had any advice to that younger self, it would be to not shoulder so much of it myself and hire someone to help with that.
Especially when you’re “the boss”, you end up feeling responsible for everything, but that’s not a very wise thing to do because you end up stretching yourself too thin.
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(Lead image: Roya Lines)
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