Creative Career Changed in Manchester Needed! A Just Jay Story.

How do you change your career? I am 32 and have fallen flat on my face when it comes to my career.

Sometimes you hit a wall in your working life and you get stuck in a rut. Mine started when I was working for the National Trust. I loved my job, it was creative, fun and I was working for a fantastic cause. The thing was, I did not love my life. I had moved away from home to Stoke on Trent and I could not adjust to where I was living.

I had two terrible landlords, had armed police raid my house after someone within my shared house robbed two banks at gun point and was featured on Crime watch. One of my housemates drank a bottle of wine a night before raiding my cupboards for food and more drink, another housemate didn’t pay rent, drank cheap cider in his room and turned out was using the same bottles as toilets.

It was a shame I could not fall in love with Stoke on Trent because Staffordshire is such a beautiful part of the country. It has an amazing history with pottery being sent all around the world but it was not for me.

One bright light at the end of the tunnel was my partner Lucy. She lived in Manchester, not too far away from Stoke on Trent but Manchester was a totally different world. One of the greatest cities in the country, Manchester had it all. It made sense that I started looking at moving to the North.

I first applied for jobs that I really wanted. Museums, theatres and tourist attractions. I came close but was unsuccessful.  One random job I applied for was within luxury student accommodation, two interviews later and a good salary offer, I had a new job within Manchester city centre. From day one, I knew, it was not right for me.

The role is not bad, I sell, promote and manage. All things I am good at but the problem is, I do not enjoy the job ever. I do not enjoy it when things go well, I do not enjoy it when things go bad. I think it goes down to three main points.

1. I do not feel challenged.
2. I do not feel creative
3. I feel like I am standing still.

Being challenged is a huge part of my career. I want a goal and I want to smash it. Then once that is smashed, I want to beat that. At the National Trust during my time at my property, visitor numbers increased by nearly 25%, conversions rate for both retail and memberships was increased drastically and I opened a second retail outlet to increase performance. All of this while managing my budgets fantastically.

I love this job because I had to be resourceful, work with the community and give a place a sense of belonging in its location. It was amazing.

Being creative was like being resourceful. Playing with budgets to increase revenue, create events and market was a challenge in its self. Sometimes I would work on my days off or late at night to ensure I could get results. The thing is, I did not feel like a workaholic, I was fulfilled.

As for standing still, the organisation I am in, I do not want to progress, I perform well, I hit my targets, I beat my targets and I believe I can progress, I do not feel I want to. I worry I will be in this job in ten years’ time just watching time go by, I do not want to be that person.

So how do you change your career? Retrain? Leave my job and hope for the best? Start up my own business?

I am sure I will work it out. I have started putting my applications out there and hope one day the right job will come around.

What is the right job? That is easy. I want to do something I enjoy; I want it to be difficult and I want to work in a great team. I miss working in a team of likeminded people.

I am sure I could do something awesome in PR, Marketing, events or for a charity where I would feel fulfilled. I spend a third of my day working, why can’t I be fulfilled. For the first time in my life I do not feel that satisfaction. That needs to change.

No longer will I stand still, no longer will I be just another cog in a boring machine. It is time I take control of my life.

Because I cannot share my feelings in my workplace, I will share them with you and my friends. As you have noticed, I have not given much information on my workplaces, yes that is deliberate.

If you think you can help, contact me on justjaytalks@gmail.com.

If you are in a similar situation, then comment, share your experiences.

Don’t get trapped, I will not allow it for myself.

I will keep you updated on this situation, it is time for a change.