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I recently sat down with Ryan Reynolds…not the actor, though I would love to sit down with him…but Ryan, the former Olympian and member of the US National Women’s Rugby Team. Ryan retired from rugby in 2018, and we chatted about how hard the transition was for her. She said, “My whole world stopped spinning. I was struggling.” And that struggle continued as she applied for job after job, getting rejected again and again due to her lack of relevant work experience. She remembers asking herself “How did I just go 10 years without looking at my resume?” As she continued to meet with potential employers, she noted that “people want to see what you've been doing the past 10 years, and all they see is this giant 10-year gap of relative job experience. Not to mention that I was terrible in interviews because when was the last time I did an interview? Never.”
As I listened to Ryan recount this dark time in her life, I was so grateful for her candor and the raw emotion she was sharing. I was also frustrated because her story is common. I’ve heard so many elite athletes describe a similar experience of feeling lost and overwhelmed when it comes to trying to find a new career once the final whistle blows on their athletic career. It’s a daunting task with nowhere near enough resources in place to help athletes prepare for this transition in advance of when it finally arrives.
Ryan went on to eventually land at a startup working in recruiting but learned quickly that the culture shock of being in a nine-to-five job at a desk in a cubicle was more than she could handle. She said, “I tried it for a little bit, but … it just wasn't matching my personality, and my mindset was not ready for that.” She accepted that “it was just so different, so fast that I was like, I can't do this.” On a suggestion from her mom, Ryan went back to school to become an EMT and learned about the pathway to becoming a firefighter. She lit up in our conversation as she said, “The second I stepped foot at the academy, I was like, I'm home. I got people yelling at me. I got a uniform to wear. I have things to accomplish. I got people to work with. I got my new team.” She said she immediately knew “This is what I'm made for. And that's kind of how I ended up being a firefighter.”
What I love about this part of Ryan’s journey is that it’s so universal. We all yearn to be passionate about the work we do, day in and day out. We all want to find our “home” in the people we work with and the purpose behind all those hours. Ryan was fortunate to stumble upon a career that fuels her, and that’s helped her find some peace and closure around her rugby career. She’s fully focused on the work she does and has ambitions and goals on where she wants to go in this new part of her journey. Her excitement resonated with me, as I found a similar sense of “home” when I began my work as a Development Coach, helping athletes make this transition from sport.
My conversation with Ryan underscored the value of taking some time to really get clear on what you’re passionate about in life and then exploring how to incorporate that into your work. I do this regularly with clients I work with in Development Coaching, and the process is so rewarding in beginning to lay the foundation of what a fulfilling career might look like. If you’re looking to make a change in your own career, here’s a resource to explore your Passions as a starting point. I encourage you to go find what fuels you!
-Derika
I recently sat down with Ryan Reynolds…not the actor, though I would love to sit down with him…but Ryan, the former Olympian and member of the US National Women’s Rugby Team. Ryan retired from rugby in 2018, and we chatted about how hard the transition was for her. She said, “My whole world stopped spinning. I was struggling.” And that struggle continued as she applied for job after job, getting rejected again and again due to her lack of relevant work experience. She remembers asking herself “How did I just go 10 years without looking at my resume?” As she continued to meet with potential employers, she noted that “people want to see what you've been doing the past 10 years, and all they see is this giant 10-year gap of relative job experience. Not to mention that I was terrible in interviews because when was the last time I did an interview? Never.”
As I listened to Ryan recount this dark time in her life, I was so grateful for her candor and the raw emotion she was sharing. I was also frustrated because her story is common. I’ve heard so many elite athletes describe a similar experience of feeling lost and overwhelmed when it comes to trying to find a new career once the final whistle blows on their athletic career. It’s a daunting task with nowhere near enough resources in place to help athletes prepare for this transition in advance of when it finally arrives.
Ryan went on to eventually land at a startup working in recruiting but learned quickly that the culture shock of being in a nine-to-five job at a desk in a cubicle was more than she could handle. She said, “I tried it for a little bit, but … it just wasn't matching my personality, and my mindset was not ready for that.” She accepted that “it was just so different, so fast that I was like, I can't do this.” On a suggestion from her mom, Ryan went back to school to become an EMT and learned about the pathway to becoming a firefighter. She lit up in our conversation as she said, “The second I stepped foot at the academy, I was like, I'm home. I got people yelling at me. I got a uniform to wear. I have things to accomplish. I got people to work with. I got my new team.” She said she immediately knew “This is what I'm made for. And that's kind of how I ended up being a firefighter.”
What I love about this part of Ryan’s journey is that it’s so universal. We all yearn to be passionate about the work we do, day in and day out. We all want to find our “home” in the people we work with and the purpose behind all those hours. Ryan was fortunate to stumble upon a career that fuels her, and that’s helped her find some peace and closure around her rugby career. She’s fully focused on the work she does and has ambitions and goals on where she wants to go in this new part of her journey. Her excitement resonated with me, as I found a similar sense of “home” when I began my work as a Development Coach, helping athletes make this transition from sport.
My conversation with Ryan underscored the value of taking some time to really get clear on what you’re passionate about in life and then exploring how to incorporate that into your work. I do this regularly with clients I work with in Development Coaching, and the process is so rewarding in beginning to lay the foundation of what a fulfilling career might look like. If you’re looking to make a change in your own career, here’s a resource to explore your Passions as a starting point. I encourage you to go find what fuels you!
-Derika
