It's time to stop settling.
I’m in Peru, sitting alone, while my friends leave for a long weekend to see the Nazca Lines. My blood is boiling and I don’t know how to tell the head of the organization that this isn't what I signed up for when I came down here to volunteer.
Why did I agree to fill 2000+ envelopes instead of joining my friends for the long weekend?
Let me rewind for a second.
I quit my job at Polaroid in Minneapolis to volunteer in Peru at a microfinance bank for a year in 2008. I had always dreamed of moving to a Spanish speaking country and this was my chance.
I had also just been turned down for a Fellowship at Kiva and was feeling all kinds of Imposter Syndrome, unworthiness, desperation and impatience.
I got a glimmer of hope when I heard back from a current volunteer who gave me the contact information for every place she’d worked. She sent me three options and one of them agreed that they’d love to have me.
When I arrived I thought I’d be doing the same things that the Kiva Fellows had been doing: interviewing loan recipients and learning their stories, traveling the countryside, taking photos, and posting online for the world to see. #goals
Because I had only been focused on one thing: go to Peru, I didn't double check to make sure that it checked the other boxes that were important to me.
Instead, I made such a quick (desperate!) decision, I ended up settling for this role that was totally different from what I’d expected.
I was put in charge of a new program to offer affordable life insurance to 6,000+ people in rural Peru.
I loved the training aspect of this role; what I didn’t love was the administrative piece and the lack of expectations/plan from the organization.
I had come down to Peru expecting to spend time with microloan recipients and instead I was working way longer hours than any of the other volunteers.
I could feel my anger rising up but I had no idea how to express it. I didn’t know how to confront the head of the organization. I mean, she had given me this volunteer job, which was exactly what I’d wanted when I went down there.
And here I was being so ungrateful.
Maybe you feel this way about your current position?
You thought that you wanted to feel really good about your next job.
You thought that this role was really exciting from a values standpoint where you could grow in your leadership.
There was a lot of growth potential.
You chose impact over salary and now you were in a situation where it’s not nearly enough to pay for childcare.
You think to yourself, why did I settle again? I thought I was making the right decision when I took this role.
The truth is when we let impatience, desperation, Imposter Syndrome and values misalignment decide our path, we end up feeling like we’re settling.
The hardest part about this is being clear in what you want and then taking a stand for it even when — especially when — you start to feel desperate and want to settle.
What are the things you need to take a stand for in your next role? I’d love to know.
—Nic
PS. Eventually, I knew what I had to do: I quit. And I carried the guilt for months. I didn’t like letting people down. It kept me stuck for years. And yet, I made the most of it then because I taught myself to surf and did a yoga teacher training in Lake Titicaca that I never would have done if I hadn’t taken this role and then quit. #hindsight2020
PPS. I'm having another Open House next week. This is for you if you …
Feel stuck in your job search and aren't sure what to do next
Are looking for a strategy to make the job search feel easier
Need a quick win and/or a pep talk
Want some LIVE feedback on your resume or LinkedIn profile
Want to feel less lonely in your job search
Love hanging out with yours truly 😉
Want to just listen and learn from others ← totally welcome + encouraged!!
Friend, I'd love to see you there.
