Ultimate Blog Challenge - Day 7: Ten Years

Welcome back to Day 7 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Today's prompt wants us to look back ten years: Who were we, what were we doing? And then go ahead and look into the future ten years from now, asking who we might be, and what we might be doing.

Ugh, the dreaded job interview question "where do you see yourself 5, 10 years from now?" 

I never knew an honest answer, and that's why I never ask this question when I, the recruiter, interview a candidate. There are better ways to get to know them and their ambitions. 

I tend to think that setting short term goals are necessary and helpful in order to achieve your next step, but mapping out your life on a long term basis? How are we supposed to know what opportunities may come up in the meantime? Will we even be interested and challenged in the field or specific job we envisioned back then? What if we limit ourselves focussing too much on a set goal instead of following our instincts?

Well, 20 years ago, I had no choice but not only to answer this question to myself, but to present it in front of my peers at the coaching workshop I was attending. 

Back then I was at the beginning of my career in HR and had just moved in with my boyfriend. 

Being a girl whose fertility was going to get challenged at a certain point, one thing had to be considered: if I wanted to become a Mom, it sort of had to be within the next ten years. 

So my realistic options were:

1. I am going to be a part-time working Mom, doing something less demanding job-wise
2. Should I find myself either without a partner and / or a baby, I will hopefully have moved up within an organization, probably in a role as HR Director
3. Either way, I may leave the corporate world at one point and build up my own business, offering recruiting and HR consulting

In reality, 10+ years later, after my maternity leave, I quit my high-paced scenario number 2 where I was responsible for HR, Recruiting, Training and Development for SBUX' Swiss and Austrian business that was growing by 30% each and every year...

... In the meantime our baby was three years old; I had landed a fabulous part-time job as a Recruiter and HR generalist with an airline... (you can't see it, but this baby is sitting in the pushback vehicle that is taxiing the aircraft. The perks you'll enjoy...)

...when hubby's business partner passed away unexpectedly, and my husband found himself responsible for the entire IT company. 

When the two young guys had founded the firm back in the mid-1990s, my husband agreed to do so under the condition that his type A personality buddy would take care of all things management: drum up business, negotiate prices, hire and fire employees, you get the picture. As for himself, he made sure the technical projects were being handled skilfully and thoroughly. 

From one day to the next he had to deal with personnel and customers and make sure the show was gonna go on. 

That's kind of where I came in. Left the international airline world with all its perks and free flights and joined a small IT business. Interestingly during that time, and old friend who found himself in scenario 3, needed someone to help a client with some massive recruiting, so for a while, I was juggling two part-time jobs.

While being an administrative clerk for a tech oriented company (and working for my husband) may not be my dream job, I quite enjoy it. And it's not only for the fact that - unlike all of my previous jobs that required me to commute an hour back and forth - it's close by from home, giving me some much appreciated freedom and flexibility. 

Besides a few batsh** crazy individuals, we have mostly nice coworkers and customers. 

Some will send flowers, just because.

Some mornings we'll have to work hard to even get into our office building...

Some days we'll have a special delivery.

Other days we are having a hard time looking out the door from inside...

From time to time we will have unexpected visitors...

And unusual circumstances will ask for unusual measures. During lockdown in spring of 2020, I had Colin settle into our conference room, from where he would attend class via Zoom.

Now, for the big question: what does the future hold?

Wow, ten years from now Colin will be 23 years old!!! He'll have to take care of his own career, and if he won't still be in college, he'll have moved out. 

Crazy.

Just last week we attended an information event of the school he'll most likely attend 1.5 years from now. Among other perks, it offers student exchange programs, which made me excited. Excited because I personally would have loved to do this kind of thing. Not only have I always loved languages and other cultures, but I was desperate to get away from my parents, my strict Dad to be exact.

So we mentioned it to Colin. "Hey, you may even spend a year in the U.S. or Canada, going to school and play hockey, how cool would that be?" 

He was hesitant. "I would miss my people", he said. 

"You'll meet new friends", I encouraged him. 

"It's not just my friends, it's you guys!" 

Awww. 

Well, even though he's officially taller than me, he's only 13 now. He may change his mind about us.

As for me, I will enjoy the time he still thinks his Mom is kinda cool, knowing that these days are numbered. 

What I'll do professionally in 2031 and counting? I have no idea, and I don't feel any pressure to make plans. 

My husband will most certainly say "Jeez, I hope I won't be working at all anymore." 

He has taken one step towards that goal by hiring his late business partner's son who's now 24 years old and splitting his time finishing his Bachelor thesis while working for us part-time. If all goes well, he will take over the business in a few years.

And who knows, one day our son may join him, sort of repeating history? Except nobody is allowed to die.

How about you? Where do you see yourself in ten years? Let me know below.

Happy Sunday!