The HR Juggler

When I was 2 I wanted to be called Gillian….Gillian, Gillian, girl in a million…!

When I was 10 I wanted to be a pop star. And yes, I do cringe writing that 😉

When I was in my early teens I wanted to be a primary school teacher, a nurse and a social worker. Careers advice at school pointed me towards being a translator or interpreter, although I was never convinced

When I was in my late teens I had no idea what I wanted to be. I chose University subjects that I thought sounded interesting…and studied German and Theology

When I was 21 I had a very ambitious and career-minded boyfriend who helped me realise that I wanted to be in HR and I started my job hunt in earnest

When I was 23 and in my first HR role I wanted to be like my HR Director boss and was determined to make the most of every opportunity I was given

When I was 24 I fell in love and wanted to be married

When I was in my mid-twenties I wanted to be the best HR person in my organisation, take on projects, manage people, be recognised, get promoted, work as hard as I could and learn everything about every aspect of HR

When I was in my late twenties I wanted to be a Mum and sincerely believed I would give up work to bring up my baby twin daughters. Fast-forward a year and I wanted to be a working Mum for at least one day a week to keep my options open and my brain stimulated

When I was in my early thirties I wanted to be back in a senior HR role that challenged me and enabled me to deliver value to the organisation and fulfill my ambition. The senior role emerged, but before I was fully able to balance my work and home life in the way that I needed to…and before too long I had to take a sideways/backwards move to avoid complete disaster on work and home fronts

When I was 34 I wanted to be back in a senior HR role again…and this time my children were older, I was wiser and I have been able to achieve the balance that eluded me previously

Now that I am 35, what do I want to be? I want to be there for my husband and for my children as they grow, to be the best I can be at work and at home and to continue learning and stretching myself, personally and professionally. And on a good day, when everything goes as it should, I am fortunate enough to be able to say….I want to be exactly where I am now. That’s the luckiest thing of all.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I’d love to know