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So often we separate “work” from the things we love to do: our hobbies. Why should that be? Isn’t it true that many “hobbies” are just “work” we like to do in our spare time?
Do you enjoy sports? Mountain climbing? Surfing? Gardening? Cooking? Reading? Singing? Stamp Collecting? Bird watching? Do you love art? Do you love films? Computer games? Do you love doing the tango? Yoga? Are you interested in animals? Architecture? Travel? Motorcycles and cars?
It is true that some hobbies may not lend themselves to a working life. And we may want to keep them separate. We are multi-faceted beings and often like to do many things.
But with a little bit of creative thinking about our hobbies, we can sometimes “adapt” them to a career. Hobbies have two important aspects we need to keep in mind: one, we may quite likely be an “expert” on the subject, and second, each of our hobbies probably involve skills and talents that we take for granted!
For example, I have a good friend who loves to cook and try new recipes for her family. She thinks it is fun to read recipe books and she loves to invent recipes. She is really quite talented as a chef and presents a lovely meal and a beautiful table. But she is not interested in being a chef or caterer and cooking for lots of people. That is a different experience. She says she doesn't want to be "have to" cook all the time.
Well, maybe there is a solution.
Could she be a “chef” for a single family? Probably. Could she perhaps cook or bake a few things and sell them to a café? Maybe! Could she write her own cookbook? Absolutely.
There are many ways to adapt our hobbies –which frequently reflect our TRUE skills, interests, expertise and knowledge.
Going Back To School?
Recently I was speaking with a young client about her career. We were discussing school and training, and she said “I don’t want to spend 2 years in school training for something. I would hate that! I have had enough of school! ” She is an equestrian and loves riding horses. For years that has been her hobby. Now she wants to ride professionally. The training course she has opted for is a 9 months course, and she saId that was perfect for her. I then asked her if, hypothetically, THIS equestrian course was twice as long, would she still be interested? She said yes. Or three times as long? She said yes!
When we are truly interested in something the learning process is part of the fun! We don’t look at it as drudgery or having to go back to school, we see it as spending our time learning about something that really interests us! We do it by choice.
If you disliked school, maybe it was because you weren’t studying the things that really interested you! If you have the CHOICE of what to study, you will probably have a very different experience at school. I am certain that it is the mechanics of educational systems that put us off learning –and it is important to see that, because if WHAT you are learning makes such a difference.
This goes for all of us, not just young people. As older adults with working experience under our belts we may resist going back to school or taking courses, but of course, there is always something for us to learn, especially abotu subjects that truly interest us. Also the educational system has greatly changed since many of us were a regular part of it. Imagine what courses you might want to take “for fun,” if you were going back to school. This is a strong indication of what you care about.
Consider that sometimes we don’t allow ourselves to engage in WORK that feels every bit as much fun as a hobby! And going back to school to learn more about it could be a pleasure rather than a chore.
Someone (American) very close to me has worked in a logistics/shipping and receiving function for a large publisher for many years. She was a single mom, (though she has now remarried) and took this job for a stable income and insurance coverage for her kids, not because she loved the work. (In the USA as you probably know, health insurance is not automatic and one must have a job that provides it, or pay for it out of pocket). She has always been a gardener, and recently has been growing water lilies and designing hanging plant baskets. Recently she attended a public “market” and sold her water lilies and plant baskets, earning $600 in one day! She was overjoyed, not only over earning money, but also earning it from doing something she loves and does by choice.
Are you Overlooking Talents and Skills That Come Naturally To You?
Another important element of hobbies is that they may very well involve skills you don’t immediately see as “working skills” because you associate them with “fun” and “interests” as opposed to work. Your hobbies are always a reflection of you uniquely, and probably involve skills and talents you take for granted about yourself.
Let’s take another hobby as an example. Let’s say your hobby is yoga. You have been doing yoga for 5 years now. You love it and it is a part of your life. You know it keeps you fit and keeps your mind clear and reduces stress. You are probably in good physical condition, your eyesite is probably very good, you are generally calm and balanced. You are patient. You are disciplined because you have kept up your yoga practice for 5 years. You do well in a group or team.
Can you see some of the skills and talents that come from this hobby?
Including Your Hobbies on Your Resume?
Wendy Terwelp, "is president of Opportunity Knocks(tm), and helps entrepreneurial executives and business owners in transition land gigs they love."Here is her site:
http://rockyourcareer.wordpress.com/2008/06/
She says it's now important to include some hobbies on your resume, because hobbies are often an indication of additional skills and talents. She says that listing hobbies on resumes went “out of fashion” for a time, but the concept now needs to be revisited –and she advises included relevent hobbies on resumes. Here is an excerpt from her article on the subject:
“…. I worked with a nurse (RN) who had experience and wanted out of staff nursing. She wanted to transition into pharmaceutical sales, but she technically had no sales experience. In addition to her many transferable skills (like terminology, physician connections, etc.), we added her “hobby.” She was a competitive marathon runner. And she had placed in the top three for a variety of marathons more than once. She also competed worldwide – and had run a marathon in Prague. Again, GUTS. This hobby demonstrated that she was very competitive, had drive, endurance, and played to win. Good traits in sales.”
Consider your hobbies as they:
1. Could be converted to careers
And/or
2. As the the skills, talents , and knowledge relates to another position you are applying for;.
And/or
3. As a further educational path leading to a career you enjoy
The things you enjoy doing with your personal time just might lead you to personally fulfilling WORK!
This is potential path to a career you LOVE!
With warm regards, Jill
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