Today was my last day at the office after I resigned eight months ago.
Yesterday the colleagues organized and farewell drink, there were gifts, and everyone wished me luck. Today they treated me to a delicious lunch in one of the best restaurants in Leuven. Thank you all for my contribution to the company... Wow! I was starting to doubt whether it was the right decision to leave.
After two burn-outs in six years, I had had enough of this job. It was clear that I could not go on like this, that this job was sucking all the energy out of me. At about the same time, my job moved me to another team where there was more support, so for a while it seemed as if the problem would solve itself. Not so.
Eight months ago I had a second burnout, even worse than the first.
I just stared at my computer screen without the numbers meaning anything anymore. It seemed like my brain had been processed into mincemeat. Even moving my mouse was too much. That's when I decided to hand in my resignation. After all these years, and despite the career passport program, I still didn't know what I wanted. It was clear and obvious what I didn't want: This job, these tasks, these excel sheets... I felt that I hadn't learned anything new in the last 3 years, that there was no more challenge.
At the same time, I found the idea of resigning very intimidating. I then reviewed my toolkit, and that was the last thing I needed to put me over the top. I explained everything to my boss and made sure he couldn't put a pin in it. I wanted no counter-proposal, no on-the-job counseling, no guidance, no nothing. I wanted to leave and preferably as soon as possible. Not wanting to let my boss down, I then offered to stay on the job until someone else was hired. During that time I started taking it easy, no more overtime, no more chasing targets, taking regular days off and so on.
The search had begun again: what do I want? I found that a difficult and very existential question. I didn't want to make a choice or close any doors. It had to be within Finance, but that's still a whole universe. I decided I wanted to do a year of interims and short-term projects. Carrying out my to do; experiment, test.... A colleague put in a good word for me at an important office, where I was immediately allowed to interview. There I discovered that there is a whole market within Finance where you can work as a freelancer, both for interim assignments and projects. It was an eye-opener. This was exactly what I wanted!
In September I was told that someone had finally been hired to take over my job from me. They asked me if I wanted to stay another two months for the handover. That was perfect because it allowed me to prepare for my new adventure. From then on it went fast! I followed all the steps, one after another. First, I made my elevator pitch. Or no, I made as many as five that I tried out in different contexts. Then I wrote down all my doubts and excuses and started looking for ways to deal with them. My resume, cover letters and LinkedIn profile got a make over with elements of the Travvant program incorporated into it. Especially on LinkedIn, I started "branding" myself. I thought long and hard about the words I was going to use, because they had to give the right image but also be authentic.
The responses have been very positive and surprising. At least half of the messages I send out get a positive response within 48 hours! I write and call mostly to HR companies that specialize in Finance. I have gone on several interviews and by applying Travvant's techniques, each time it becomes easier to express what I have to offer and what I can do for a potential employer. I have learned how to capture the interest of the other party and I have a whole plan ready to make even more contacts and go for more interviews. I have also already had some conversations about specific assignments. All my (now former) colleagues know what my plans are, and several have already offered to forward assignments when they come across them.
I never thought networking and "Personal Branding" would be so effective and so much fun! Travvant has helped me finally dare to do what I always wanted to do but kept putting off, and feel good about it. Now I just need to return my fancy company car and take my old Opel to the carwash and I'm all set!
Kristine Delacourt
Freelance Finance & Tax Specialist
http://be.linkedin.com/in/kristinedelacourt