Quarter life crises — career changes and how to align your values with your career

Before the pandemic, former Triple J Hack presenter Tom Tilley made a big move. He left the show he had been a part of for several years and started a new podcast called The Briefing. Focused on similar issues of how the news and world events affect young Australians; it is safe to say he has been off to a busy start in 2020. Furthermore he did so at a time when podcasts as an industry is booming — a rare opportunity for journalists and content producers to build a new format. We think helping people understand the world around them and how others are processing it is immensely valuable — demonstrated by the popularity of Hack and the quick start The Briefing has got off to. We are hoping to do the same at Ikigai Network — especially as young people go through immense disruption to their job prospects through COVID.

There was one episode of The Briefing that is particularly relevant for us at Ikigai. “How to bounce back after a job loss” highlights that 12% of Aussies in their 20s had lost their jobs through COVID (as of September) and many more are reevaluating their career choices. This resonates with what we have been hearing as we film our career guidance and inspiration content as Georgie highlights that being made redundant changed her career direction substantially (for the better) and Demetria outlines her career change from practicing law to helping a large bank improve their customer complaints governance.

Tom hosted author of You’ve Got This Bec Brown, who pivoted from a singing career after a quarter life crisis to her new PR career. There were some key learnings that we think would be useful for Ikigai subscribers:

You can’t control what happens but you can control how you respond

1. Jobs are a big part of our lives and contribute to our self-image and identity
2. It is important to see both sides of any setbacks, it could be a great opportunity to reevaluate your values and where your passions and curiosities lie

Audit Yourself

1. What made your eyes shine when you were younger — can you get back to this (this is core to our philosophy at Ikigai where we believe that you need to focus on what you love and are good at — as well as what the world needs and will pay you for)
2. What skills do you need to acquire or upgrade to help you pursue these options
3. Put a magnifying glass on your values — do you value income, health, family, looking after others? Map out your values and force yourself to choose priorities

Ongoing Goal Setting

1. Try setting 3–6 month goals and a longer term 4–5 year plan — regularly check these against your values
2. Be kind to yourself day to day — progress is incremental and you might take some time to hit some goals

Getting an Edge (Ikigai Network’s mentors dive deep on these for their industries — from finance to nursing, professional music and freelance journalism)

1. Skills — what is needed now in your industry and how will this change in the near future
2. Brand — how do you portray what you stand for — social media IS important

Ikigai Network features how our mentors got where they are today, what their day to day is like and where they see the future. Learn more at Ikigai Network.