Months ago, I wrote about how my professional identity seemed to change every day. Each time I met new people, I would introduce myself differently. Was I a displaced soap opera AD, or an aspiring children's media producer? Was I a blog writer or a reality show editor?
I'm not sure if it's an American thing or a New York thing or a working woman thing, but clearly, we are incredibly defined by the work we do. So, while I am a mother (and these days, a more participatory mother than I was for many years), I still feel the need for a professional identity, a credit on which I can hang my hat, so to speak.
The current job market, at least in my field, does not lend itself to hat-hanging credits. Unlike the job I had for two decades, many jobs now are more like two months. While I don't discount the financial and experiential benefits of even something that lasts a short time, I do find myself at somewhat of a loss when describing to non-TV people what I do. And I do find myself at a loss when defining myself even for a TV crowd. If you work in the same capacity at a large company for many years, you pretty much know who you are professionally--either because of your position or because of your industry. When you're on short term jobs, it falls to you to make up the definition of you. And if my few days away have taught me anything, it's that, just when I thought I was done defining myself, I am nowhere even CLOSE to defining myself.
The good news is, I'm pretty excited about that.
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