Have you ever been too scared to make that career move?

First, let me tell you about my previous job, I had worked in banking since I was eighteen years old and worked my way up into higher roles within the same company. I enjoyed my job, the people I worked with, the benefits, and most importantly I was very good at my profession. 

This probably leads you to wonder why I left this role… Well, the culture changed within the company and the values the organisation once embedded, I felt were no longer present. Workload increased after the pandemic as people opted to visit branches as opposed to contacting the call centres with long delays. The work pressure increased, and I felt I was no longer able to perform my job effectively, I was tense by the time I got home each day. I had devoted nearly nine years to this company, and it was the people I worked with that got me through some dark times in my life and offered me great support. I was happy, comfortable, and I knew I had job security. All I had ever known since entering adulthood was the bank.

After a challenging week in the summer, I felt defeated by the weekend, I decided to see what other opportunities may be out there. Every time I came across a job advert they all looked promising but a voice in my head was saying “I would never find a better company with similar benefits and job security”, also I kept thinking would I be happy? Would I like my new colleagues? Would they like me? What if I give up everything I’ve ever known in pursuit of a new career and it backfires? Despite all these doubts I continued to submit an application to Collingwood Executive Search, they were local, they emphasised their values and they were offering a career in recruitment with no experience! I kept telling myself there’s no harm in applying, I don’t have to go ahead with anything if it doesn’t feel right for me.

Doug the managing director of Collingwood reached out to me to introduce themselves, the company and the values they hold. Rather than Doug asking me lots of questions and overwhelming me with the usual interview process, Doug made this call very casual and wanted me to understand the company and the role before I had an interview. We then arranged for David, who is now my line manager to set up a virtual meeting with me, again this was very relaxed and casual, the conversation flowed naturally, and David asked questions about my understandings here and there. As these first two calls were a success, I was invited to attend a meeting at the office where I could finally put names to faces. What stood out to me the most, was how friendly and open everyone had been, other colleagues endorsed everything Doug had told me about the company and how supportive they are of each other. A day or so later I received a call from Doug asking me how I had found the interview and my thoughts around Collingwood, I was honest and said I was scared to leave my role with the bank, but I was really impressed with Collingwood. Doug offered me the position! I felt sick, partly excitement but mainly fear! I allowed myself to go through all the different emotions and I permitted myself to have doubts, these are all completely normal feelings when you are making a career move!

Let’s Fast forward to a couple of months later, I am now several weeks into my new career with Collingwood and all I can say is I am so glad I took a risk and faced my fears! The grass really is greener on the other side!

What really led me to taking this leap was the communication from Doug, he kept in contact with me frequently before my start date, invited me to have lunch with the team before I started, and ruled out any fears I might have. My manager David recently wrote about welcoming a new team member and the importance of getting it right, this had such as positive impact on me as I like to see clearly what is ahead of me. It really is the small things that make a difference when starting a new job and Collingwood are masters at this!

If you’re having doubts about making a career move, then don’t let fear put you off reaching out! You never know what other opportunities are out there and they may be the right ones for you.

I trust my gut instinct a lot and throughout my whole process of moving to Collingwood I knew it would be a big jump, but they would support me throughout. I hope this article helps somebody else who may be struggling with making that next move.