From a Medical sales rep to the Owner of my own store (Part 2)

The first university I attended was recreation management. After all, I always loved sports, dancing was my flow and I was also very interested in camp organization. So this seemed like the most obvious option - I'll do it, and the future as a coach and recreation organizer may come. It came and I loved it! (And a part of me always wants to be close to that and teach classes, even just a couple a week.) But I knew about myself that I didn't want to do this full-time in the long run...But then what?

So I applied to the second university, where I started studying as a dietician even before obtaining my first degree. I loved it very much and at that time I imagined myself in a scientific position after graduation. During the many exercises, I started to feel that this might not be the number one of my dreams, but I pushed this thought away, since being a dietician is a very respected and popular profession these days. Well, when I graduated, a medical sales representative job floated in front of me. I applied (in retrospect, I can see that it was precisely because I didn't want to be a dietitian) and I was hired, a completely different career began than the one I had been preparing for in the past four years.
I worked here for a good two years, until my son was born.

It is true that I had regular experiences of success, I was able to see the world and even received a company car, but there was not a day that I did not question whether I was in the right place. Although this was a company whose product I really value,but in the end my job was to convince doctors to convince patients. Sounds ugly right? That's why I had my doubts.

Then came 4 years of maternity leave (my daughter was born in the meantime). Meanwhile, I thought a lot about what I would like to do when I go back to work. And the idea popped up again: Now I'm going to be a dietitian! "Come on Klaudia, you have a very nice profession, you will find something in it that will make it the most suitable profession!" I said to myself. I started a sole proprietorship, created a Facebook page for it, marked it on Google maps. And that's about where it stopped. I simply didn't have the motivation to start working on it.
On the other hand, I saw all the dedication and joy the other dietitians have for the profession in the shared Facebook group of dietitians, and I thought: Indeed, this beautiful helping profession cannot be done half-heartedly, either at 100% or not at all.

So that's the end of the attempt for this round.

But the time has come for me to go back to work, so what's left? I was looking for a medical sales representative position. I found it and I really thought that Okay, this will be good for me now. The colleagues are very nice, I get trust and freedom for my work. I liked that, I did it. But not because of myself. After just a few months, I got to where I was at the previous company...I go and try to convince doctors why they should choose our product instead of the competitor's. I am very sociable and people-oriented, I like to talk and build new relationships, but a very small percentage of those conversations were real conversations where both parties are interested in the other.

So here I was! Reading the above, can you see how many times I beat myself up in the career field? I tried to find a rational reason why I am good where I am. And anyone who tries to find a reason will find one. I worked here for a year, but I would still be there today if moving to the Netherlands didn't come up. It would have taken me a lot more time to make a complete career change, but I know it would have happened. Luckily for me, I gained time with this change, but looking back, I think that if I hadn't moved, I shouldn't have been stuck in something that didn't move me forward.

If you are reading and have similar thoughts, you should even write them down so that you can see more clearly and always be totally honest with yourself. It doesn't cost you anything, so you can see what you can get out of the situation. The process from recognition to switching can sometimes be rough, but don't wait as long as I did! And also don't wait for a 180-degree turn in other areas of your life, just start to dig deep.