The Hardest Day of Corporate America

804 Words | 3 Min 22 Sec Read

Dear Younger Me,

You just put in your two weeks…

You started your first corporate job three months ago.

The funny thing is that you didn’t even hate the job…

You enjoyed it.

The people, the culture, the pay. It was all much better than your expectations.

But an opportunity arose that you could not turn down.

A role that will likely change your life.

It is so exciting and the potential is endless…

It still doesn’t make leaving any easier.

The goodbyes still hurt.

The conversations still hard.

The delicate balance between excitement for the future while mourning the passing of a good thing is real and complex.

Have you ever felt that feeling before?

During the process of leaving my first job, I learned three lessons I want to share with you:

1. The timing is never perfect

2. Hard conversations are the hardest before they happen

3. Action creates direction

The Timing is Never Perfect

It was the middle of “busy season” when this opportunity first came up.

A LinkedIn post that caught my attention led to a Saturday afternoon dedicated to filling out the application requisites: a video, essays, pieces of writing, etc.

Heck, it was the only times outside the 45-60 hour weeks I had to do it.

I didn’t think much of it. I really didn’t think I would get it.

Somehow I advanced to an interview, then a final round, then that email from two letters ago came into my inbox, and before I knew it I was offered a job I had only thought of as a dream just one month earlier.

It was an opportunity I could not pass up, but it came about during a period of time I probably should not have been “looking” for a job.

I just started my role.

I was starting to form friendships with my coworkers.

The hours were long.

I couldn’t just leave…

The timing was not good.

It was awful.

But this experience taught me that rarely is the timing ever good.

And for great opportunities, timing is normally terrible.

You will have great opportunities come your way, younger me…

The only barrier between you and seizing it is overcoming terrible timing.

Hard Conversations are Hardest Before They Happen

“I had to disappoint people today.”

I wrote this in my journal the night after letting my team leader I was leaving.

It sucked.

Not because I was scolded or questioned…

The opposite actually.

I had to leave a leader who invested into me. Who took a chance on me. Who saw a lot of potential in me. I had to let my leader down.

In my heart of hearts I know this new role will be worth it.

It didn’t make disappointing my leader any easier.

Beyond that, however, was the reflection I had after that meeting:

The worst I felt was 10 minutes BEFORE the meeting happened.

I had no idea what to expect. Was I going to get yelled at? Questioned? Told I couldn’t leave? How much will my leader be let down?

All thoughts that circled through my head before the meeting even began…

Yet, the actual conversation flew by.

The pit in my stomach seemed to disappear for those 30 minutes.

You will have hard conversations, younger me, but know this:

The hardest part are the feelings before the conversation even happens.

Find a way to just get to the conversation and before you know it will be over.

Action Creates Direction

Can I share something with you?

Amidst all the excitement, potential, and joy I feel about this new role, I still sometimes felt like I was unworthy.

That I was an imposter.

But I have found a way to cope with those feelings that I want to share with you.

I probably wasn’t worthy of this opportunity…

If I hadn’t started writing these letters a year and a half ago.

I probably would be an imposter…

If I hadn’t taken action learning and growing from different influencers in the self-improvement space.

When I first started these letters I didn’t have a ton of long-term direction.

I really just wanted a space to write and connect with others.

Little did I know that through this action, direction eventually revealed itself through this new job.

I wouldn’t have gotten it if it hadn’t been for these letters.

I wouldn’t have gotten it if I never started, because I didn’t see the direction they would go in.

The lesson I learned is the beauty of action.

Ideas rarely come with a perfect path of what the future will hold, but younger me, if you understand nothing else understand this:

The beauty of action is that action uncovers your path.

So go out and take action.

Best,

Older You