Find the Meaning in Your Career
By Cori Rosen
Do you love what you do? Do you care about your work-life balance now and will you care about your work-life balance in five years? These were just a few of the self-evaluating questions raised by Ann Shoket, the former editor-in-chief of Seventeen magazine and author of the upcoming The Big Life (plus the Badass Babes newsletter) at the “New Year, New You: A Chat with Ann Shoket” event hosted by NYWICI’s Young Professionals Committee.
Ann shared her outlook on finding one’s passions, achieving a stellar work-life balance, the intricacies of the dating game and becoming the badass babes that we really are. Throughout the conversation, Ann touched on everything from her years of experience in the magazine industry to finding a partner whose eyes will light up when you talk about the things that matter most to you.
Here are a few highlights from the discussion:
Make what you do feel like actual living
- The best bosses want you to have a life. In fact, you’re a better employee when you have a life outside of the office, so carve out time to do things that matter to you.
- Your career shouldn’t feel like something entirely separate from your life.
Finding your passion shouldn’t be your goal — but rather finding things that give you meaning
- Passion is a lot about trial and error. Start out by finding the things that are meaningful to you. Ann discovered her affinity for writing for a young female audience after she wrote an article about a woman who escaped from a cult.
- You need to have a side hustle at every stage in your career, where you don’t get to call the shots.
- Even with all the time demands on you, you still you need to make time for things that matter to you.
- What did you imagine your life would be like when you were 16? There’s often power in that answer, so hold onto that when starting your career.
Continuously mold and rebrand yourself — just like Ann did by transitioning from being a magazine editor to becoming an author
- When you move forward in your career, it’s not about reinventing or pivoting; we’re all getting a broader perspective on what our career trajectory should be.
- Your portfolio career is what counts. It’s not just your current job that matters, but everything you bring into the fold, including your side-hustle.
