More To Life Than Shoes

Jojo, leader of More To Life Than Shoes's Oxford group, explains why changing careers to work for a charity has inspired her in all areas of her life.

Twelve months ago I was doing a job I really hated. The highlight of my week was getting to the weekend and having a glass of wine and forgetting all about it. Now I work for Platform 51, a charity that supports girls and women, helping them take control of their lives. My career change has helped me learn that I can do more with my life in other areas.

I had always been interested in gender issues at university, but somehow after I left, I lost my way a little bit. Then one day, my boyfriend told me I couldn’t sit around moaning about my job for the rest of my life, and that I had to get out there and do something else. So I did. I joined an agency and became the Marketing and Communications Officer at Platform 51.

At Platform 51, women and girls use us as a platform for having their say.  We run programmes at women-only centres in some of the most deprived areas of England and Wales. Each woman who comes to us has different problems. By taking part in courses, group activities and counselling, we help them understand what's going on in their lives. This often inspires them to take the first step, whatever it is: finding the courage to say ‘no’, learning to speak English, applying to college, or having more confidence as a parent.

We also speak out on behalf of women. We challenge inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes by influencing decision makers and lobbying for changes in the law.

The women that I have met at our centres have really inspired me. They have been through some terrible times: mental health problems, domestic abuse, drugs or prison, but they have used the services Platform 51 provide to do more with their lives and break the cycle.

As soon as you visit a Platform 51 centre, it's obvious why they're so special. It's like getting a big hug from someone you love. It's support when you need it. That's what makes our visitors say things like, 'Platform 51 has given me a new life.'

I've gained a lot from working for Platform 51. Truly caring about what I do as a  job has made me more enthusiastic in all areas of my life. I now run the More To Life Than Shoes Oxford group. I have entered the Royal Parks half-marathon (I am running for Platform 51, of course). I'm always getting out there and trying new things.

If you're like I was, hating your job but not doing anything about it, have the confidence to make the change. I would recommend doing something you love and care about. You never know what might happen.

If you would like to find out more about Platform 51, then why not follow us on facebook, twitter or visit our website.

Hi, I'm Marianne, a “Free Range Career” expert who helps you escape the 9-5 and do something awesome on your own terms.

Ever wanted out of the 9-7 commute-office-commute-crash race? You know the one where you live for the weekends and your yearly holiday (and in the time between, spend your time at your desk secretly Googling getaways?).

A few years ago that’s exactly how I felt – great job, sexy title, shiny office, brilliant future…. What did I have to complain about?

The problem was, that ‘brilliant future’ involved a life where the bulk of every day was spent in an office worrying about deadlines, dealing with ‘all important projects’ I frankly didn’t care about for a boss who thought that time off was for losers and illness was for wimps (and wasn’t afraid to say so).

But of course, I made good money. I had decent holidays.

The job was more interesting than most things out there.  Things could be worse.

I’d worked so hard to get here how could I give it up?

Plus, who was I to dare to dream of something more when I was lucky to have any job in this economy?

All of these things were going through my head and more, every single time I thought I want out’.

But the crux of it was this: I didn’t believe a life outside of working in a ‘regular job’ was possible for someone like me.

You see, I did things the right way (this is the bit where I sound seriously conventional). I got a good university degree, worked for big companies (Sony, Disney…), moved to consultancy and had a pretty interesting job with ‘director’ in the title. And a nice shoe collection to boot :)

People like me did not (I thought) give everything up to go gallivanting around the world doing god knows what and (shock horror) having FUN even while earning money!

Not unless they got ‘lucky’ or were ‘talented’ and somehow became a bestselling travel writer or photographer.

And giving up city life to travel endlessly seemed impossible unless you were up for being pretty broke forever.

There really was no way out.

Sounding familiar yet?

You want freedom and fabulousness, but all you can see are other jobs or conventional options that don’t quite tick the boxes. That life of freedom, exploration, fabulous travel and adventures is something confined to a ‘career break’ or yearly holidays.

But what if there was another way? What if it were possible to have something more than the conventional grind that most people think of as success?

Well from the title of this article you might guess that I did find another way, it is possible, and you don’t have to be a broke backpacker to make it happen.

Want to know how? Well - you'll have to read my next blog!!


Marianne is the founder of Free Range Humans.  website for more info about her work helping people like us escape the padded cubicles of our lives. Click here to view more details

Hi, I'm Olive! I'm a Business Psychologist and Career Coach. I help people rediscover their passions and strengths. I love guiding and encouraging them to find the careers to which they are best suited.


I find that people beat themselves up about their career choices. If you find that you are mad with yourself for the career choices that you’ve made, then making peace with those choices is important for your own psychological wellbeing and in going forward to make changes to your life.

Things that you are currently doing or have done in the past don’t need to go to waste. You’ve made choices and those choices were right for you at that point in time.

Even if you can’t see it now, there are skills that you have uniquely acquired. That’s why I find it’s really important for you to make peace with where you are.

I heard a story from Bernadette Doyle that I would like to share with you. It is about a Swedish woman  who became known as the “angel on the hill” who saved lives in the 2004 Tsunami.

“She noticed the first part of the tsunami - the warning. She observed that the tide went out really quickly and was revealing the seabed. It so happened that years before, she had been working as a journalist and had done a broadcast in Hawaii about the impact of tsunamis.

At that moment, she was one of the few people that recognized and understood what was happening. She was able to warn many people to get off the beach immediately. Who knows how many lives she saved just by that action?

After the two waves subsided, people were in shock, and many badly injured. They assembled for safety on this hill, where this same Swedish woman tended to many injuries. It turned out that she had completed two years of a medical degree a few years earlier.

Though she wasn't a qualified doctor, that two years of training had given her just enough knowledge to save many lives.”

The reason that I’ve shared this story is because it clearly demonstrates why it’s important to make peace with your career decisions to date.

The Swedish lady had made some career choices that hadn’t worked out for her. She had tried journalism. She tried medicine and quit before becoming a doctor. Possibly she may even have tried other things that didn’t work out for her.

We are all unique, and have not acquired our skills sets and further developed our strengths by mistake.  Her skill set from the different career choices she had made saved lives.

So I invite you to make peace with where you are now by starting to acknowledge the skills that you’ve acquired, despite how you feel about your career choices.

In the course of my recent pondering about career choices and where I’m going next, I’ve read quite a few books on the subject.  I thought I would share the details of some of these with other More to Life Than Shoes members, as they may be of interest.

The first of the three books is called “What do I do when I want to do everything?”, by Barbara Sher.  This book is aimed at the type of people that she calls “scanners” – people who have many very different ideas, a wide variety of passions and interests, and have trouble working out how they can do everything that they love to do.  During the course of the book, the author gives examples of different types of “scanner” personality, with case studies about people she has met who have designed their own working lives around all of their interests. 

The second book is “And what do you do?”, by Barrie Hopson and Katie Ledger.   This book describes what is known as a “portfolio career”, which it defines as having two or more jobs for different employers.  It talks about the characteristics of people who thrive working in this way, and the reasons that this type of working life appeals to them.  The book then provides some exercises to help the reader examine their skills and values, and to think about the possible combinations of work activities that would satisfy their needs.

The final book that I’d like to mention is “Screw Work Let’s Play”, by John Williams.  This is a book that says that work can actually be fun, that you can get paid for doing the things that you love!  In common with the previous book, it also has some exercises to help the reader think about their talents, skills and passions, and what they need from their work.  The important element of this book is that it encourages the reader to try out one of their career change ideas on a small scale, and to see whether they enjoy the activity or project they think they would like to be doing.

Each of these books has a different style and approach, but essentially all of them are examining ways to approach working life differently.  They all say that you don’t have to work 9 to 5 in an office to make money and have a satisfying career.  They also point out that you can design your own career around the things that you are brilliant at, and the things that you love doing.  It just takes a bit of thought and some testing out of ideas.

For anyone like me who is trying to work out how to do things differently, these are all very useful reading materials.  Of course, just reading books doesn’t automatically make a career or lifestyle change happen, but each one of these will definitely give you food for thought to help you on your way.

This is the week when more people hand in their notice at work than any other.  A whopping 37%* of those saying ‘See ya’ will quit in the third week of September to move to pastures new or do something completely different with their life. Gutsy stuff!

If you’re one of them, GO FOR IT! What an exciting time – an opportunity to follow your dream, make a break and find something which makes you jump out of bed in the morning with a beaming smile on your face.

If you’re making that break but not sure what you want to do next, check out Build Your Own Rainbow: a Workbook for Career and Life Management by Barrie Hopson. It’s full of great, practical exercises to get you thinking about what’s important to you, what you’re good at and helps you come up with ideas on what path you’ll enjoy and find fulfilling.

Good luck! And don’t forget to let us know how you get on.

Susie xx

*Year on year statistics gathered by Resource on Demand

In the first of a series of articles from the MoreToLifeThanShoes coaches, Mum’s Mentor Susie Kendall shares her Top Five Tips on getting your confidence back after a career break

Be sure that whatever work you are going back to, it is work that really appeals to you.

If you have passion in your belly, you can’t go wrong. If you’re nervous about the job or you’re not really that into it at all, it will be much harder to muster the confidence you need.

If you’ve been really enjoying your career break, and are returning now because you have to, after maternity leave for example, it is even more important to enjoy what you do. You don’t want to be feeling resentful of how you are spending your day at work compared with what you were doing before.

Be proud of what you achieved during your career break.

Don’t view it as ‘wasted time’ or assume that you’ve fallen behind on the career ladder. Life is not just about work and what we do to earn money is not the whole person. You may have had a baby, or done some volunteer work. Maybe you were made redundant and did some travelling. Whatever you experienced during your career break – it was just that – an experience. Make sure you value and appreciate it.

Any potential employer who asks the question ‘I see a gap in your CV – tell me what you’ve been doing’ will be attracted to someone who can respond confidently and enthusiastically about how they have spent the time, and how they have benefited personally. There is no need to assume that you are being tested or that you need to defend your reasons for being out of the workplace. Make sure you rehearse your response.

Make a list of all the things you did for the first time during your break. Include everything. Embarking on a solo trip to another country, having a baby, caring for someone, taking up a new form of exercise, organising social events, dealing with redundancy, or just simply filling a day with no plans at the outset – that is very hard in itself for a lot of busy people!

Then highlight the things that were scary or difficult and the skills you used to deal with them. Think about how you went about getting over your fear and achieving what you did, however insignificant you think it might be. What skills did you need – courage, empathy, perseverance, resilience, optimism, good organisation, physical endurance, diplomacy? And what was the outcome? How did it feel? This will really highlight how you’ve grown during the break, and the personal benefits to you.

Think of this next move as a stepping stone.

If you really can’t face going back to a role as stressful and ‘high-powered’ as the one you were doing before your break, don’t. No longer do we embark on ‘a job for life’. It is more like ‘a life of jobs’. Depending no how long your break was, and how you are feeling about your return, think seriously about the kind of life-style that you want in the short term.

If you want to ease yourself back into the world of work gently, with regular hours and less responsibility, then make sure you choose a role that will allow you to do that. Once you are back on your feet, wait for the time to feel right to think about the next move.

Remember - it’s all about YOU

Confidence comes from knowing yourself and making good decisions based on that knowledge. Think about what you really want at this stage in your life and forget about what everyone else might think. I always admire people who appear to be happy in their jobs a lot more than those who have an impressive business card but who are clearly miserable.