The Brief

Tell the story of a person who has been through career transition. It could be from school to the workforce, position to position, or from career to career.

Capture their victories, failures and emotions, and distill their lessons to assist others who might seek to learn from their experience. Your story should be fresh, original, insightful, and engaging.

Here are just a few themes to explore:

1. Finding your place in the world
2. Taking the path less travelled
3. Grappling with conflicting values
4. Balancing work and life
5. Overcoming fear
6. Dealing with rejection
7. Balancing obligations to our family with our obligation to ourselves
8. Dealing with the emotions of career transition

Share your perspective on their story.

The Prize

The winning entry as judged by WorkLifeGroup will win US$500. We're aiming to identify writers all from over the globe to write for us on an ongoing basis; to join WorkLifeGroup as contributing writers (paying gigs, naturally!).

Some examples

We love the work of Po Bronson, author of the masterpiece 'What Should I Do With My Life'. We love his style, the depth of his insight and the human-feel of his writing.  

If you're still not sure, here's a short introduction to a story we've read and like:

Jon never did manage the jump from junior soccer to the big leagues, but he did learn how to survive the streets of London. Transplanted from the streets of Melbourne, Australia, to the gritty reality of a London housing estate at age 15, Jon pursued his dream to play for Manchester United.

Walking through the estate one day, Jon met, or rather was intercepted by Dennis; a local skinhead punk and son of a man resembling 'Harry the Hatchet' in Guy Ritchie's movie masterpiece 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. 'What do you think you're doing in my estate'? said Dennis. 'Anything you want', answered Jon.

Always the opportunist, Jon found his calling lay not on the fields of Wembley Stadium, but rather in the business world, where kicking goals came naturally to him, using the street smarts he gained in the estate that day.

Requirements

Address the following in your story:

• Tips and advice to assist others in career-transition
• The emotional impact of changing careers
• A photo of your subject is optional, but is preferred
• You can write about yourself, or someone else
• Entries must be non-fiction and in English
• Entries can be up to 1,600 words
• You can enter as many times as you like
• Entries must be original and unpublished

See top of page to register.