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Mentorship October 23, 2016
Let me know if this moment sounds familiar: You’re telling your aunt about an activity you love (maybe it’s oil painting or boxing or writing a novel), and she looks at you reproachfully and asks, “But how does that help your career?” Okay, so maybe you’re not planning to be a professional boxer or paint full time, but why should having a passion project be viewed as detracting from your day job?
Too often, I feel women are discouraged from pursuing activities not directly related to their field of study or career path. However, a side project can serve as a productive creative outlet that sparks inspiration in all aspects of your life – including your full time job. While focus and drive certainly play a key role in accomplishing your career goals, I don’t find these to be mutually exclusive.
In fact, an impressive hobby, such as curating a successful blog on a topic of personal interest, can demonstrate to employers that you have substance, good time management and a propensity to maintain your commitments. You will also find networking opportunities much more enjoyable if you don’t define your identify (and thus shape conversations) solely around your job. Discussions about a common passion will create more authentic, memorable connections.
An explorative approach, in which you take on opportunities that instinctively interest you even if they don’t appear to build your resume on paper, can be invaluable to your personal happiness. I am also a firm believer that you can apply lessons learned in any working environment to succeed in others.
For example, while in high school, I was elected vice president of the robotics team, despite not wanting to pursue a career in engineering. Although I was fairly set on studying English, I loved the creative aspects of solving each year’s new “game challenge” and brainstorming the most simple, yet effective, robot design. I was having fun. And I grew to believe it’s important to resist criticism that our activities or passions are somehow frivolous or unworthy of our time.
While on the robotics team, I designed awarding-winning safety campaigns for our team, which included a suite of branded resources including pit posters, handouts for other teams, safety stickers and other materials. In the process, I honed my marketing and communications skills and developed a deeper interest in branding (I went on to work for a branding agency after college).
Don’t get me wrong – I was still in the thick of activity in our metal workshop, not siloed exclusively to the “soft” arts aspects of the team. It just so happened that my involvement on the team gave me access to explore these additional interests.
As a whole, the experience expanded my comfort zone, which encouraged me to develop an appreciation for types of creativity different from my own, particularly engineering. This was fortuitous, especially since I spent much of my college career at Rice University – and post-grad work at the branding agency – collaborating with engineers and technical experts.
Of course, I recognize that the ability to pursue side projects and activities requires a certain amount of privilege. We may not always be able to afford to spend time on personal satisfaction or leisure – sometimes other commitments supersede this luxury. However, this is exactly why I believe that every woman’s capacity to experiment, to pursue her passions and discover new ones should not be wasted.
