Yesterday, my daughter, Jo, shared a story with me. It’s a story about moving a sofa—an ordinary event that wouldn’t normally inspire. But this story highlights the generosity of others and the true value of community and connection. And in the same way, these values are vital to career change.
The sofa and the kindness of strangers:
Having just moved to a new city and new flat in France, Jo needed a sofa and found a second-hand one online for only 30 Euros. The seller assured her that the sofa wasn’t too heavy, and it would be possible for two people to carry it the mile and a half distance from her home to my daughter’s new abode.
So, delighted with her find and the very reasonable price, Jo recruited her flatmate to assist her. They quickly realised that the challenge was far larger than anticipated! The sofa turned out to be impossibly heavy, forcing them to stop for a rest after just 100 metres! As they picked it up again, determined to carry on, a passerby asked if they’d like some help. Jo replied with ‘no, please don’t worry, you’re not even going in our direction.’ But, having asked how far they were taking it, he said he was free for an hour and insisted on helping.
The three of them continued on but it was still quite a struggle, and another passerby observing this offered to help. Again, he was going in the opposite direction but insisted he’d be happy to join in and get the sofa to its new home.
At their next rest stop a van pulled up and Jo dared to ask the driver if he might be able to help them with the last half a mile. He was doing pharmaceutical deliveries and said he had one more to make and would then return and pick them up! This he did – the sofa was put into the back of the van, Jo and her flatmate and the 2 passersby all jumping in too. When the van doors shut, they were plunged into pitch black, and Jo wondered what on earth she’d done! However, five minutes later they were busy thanking the driver, offloading the sofa and carrying it up the stairs to its new home.
Already this story speaks to how kind and generous people can be, but it doesn’t end there.
Jo and her flatmate wanted to thank the two men who’d helped them and invited them to join them for a few beers. As they chatted, the two men talked about where they’d been going and what they were going to do for the rest of the day. One of them explained that he was currently homeless. The other immediately offered to put him up for the night, saying that he too had been homeless at one stage and would take him to an organisation that could help.
This story has got me thinking about the importance of giving and receiving help. When changing career, we typically try to tackle everything alone, often getting stuck as a result. Harnessing the power of community and your network can be fundamental to advancing or changing your career.
Why accepting help shows strength not weakness:
Seeking help or collaborating with others is often viewed as a vulnerability, but it’s actually a strength. Actively seeking mentorship, advice or feedback demonstrates that you’re being proactive. It allows you to share with others what your career goals are and what help they can give you to achieve those goals.
Career change is a big transition and having the support of others will lighten the load. You can’t ask other people to make the shift for you, but you can ask them to introduce you to others, to come with you to a networking event, to bounce ideas around with you or listen to your latest business idea.
We often have misgivings about asking for help, but people love to feel wanted and useful. Choose a group of friends, family and acquaintances and let them know that you’re intending to change career and ask them to support you over the coming months.
How the power of networking opens doors you never could have expected:
Networking provides access to resources, knowledge, and support. Connections with others can create career opportunities that you may have previously considered impossible.
Reach out to people who might be able to help you and then ask who else they know who might be useful to talk to. This will open up your world and give you insights into careers you may never have considered, offer fresh perspectives, ideas and possibilities.
Exactly this happened to one of my former clients. Before the end of his probation period, he was asked to leave a job in which he’d been desperately unhappy. As he was working out what to do next, he began to ask friends, and friends of friends about their work. This led him to helping out a stamp dealer and the helping out led to a job and the job has led to a business partnership. Prior to this, he’d had no knowledge of stamp collecting or stamp dealing and could never have anticipated that this would form his next career move.
Paying it forward – helping others can strengthen your network:
Just as it’s important to seek and accept support, helping someone else reaps its rewards. Offer assistance by sharing job openings, giving advice, or connecting someone with a colleague. This will build goodwill and strengthen the community around you.
The power of collective effort:
Just like that heavy sofa, our careers don’t have to be a burden we carry alone. Accepting help, building connections, and contributing to a community make the journey lighter and more rewarding. Reaching a career goal or overcoming a challenge often requires collaboration and support. Just as Jo reached her destination through a community of helpers, anyone can achieve more by building and leaning on a professional community.
Think about your own network and where you can seek or offer help. Being open to support and willing to give back will reap its rewards!
Read this resource on Developing your network
