Don’t get stuck in a job that you don’t like
Natalia Garstecka is currently exploring the ins and outs of financial advisory, while still looking for her dream job… A globetrotter at heart, she took her KPMG work from rainy England to shiny South Africa. She is currently planning an eight-month long overland trip through Southern and Eastern Africa hoping for a career enlightenment amongst others.
My journey with Onpartu started...
I met Paulina in Oxford in 1999 and we’ve been friends ever since. Only naturally therefore I learnt about Onpartu while the idea was still in conception. I became a mentor in 2015, when the first cohort was recruited. I moved to South Africa in July 2016 but I stay close to the Onpartu developments hoping to get involved again in the future.
Getting involved meant...
My own, meandering and indeed still ongoing journey through my professional career has taught me not to get stuck in a role that is not fulfilling and does not develop me. Getting involved with Onpartu meant that I could share this message with others. Mentoring others has also challenged and developed me personally. You need to get out of your own world and hear the other person, a skill that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to us, humans.
My Onpartu role is...
A mentor in suspension ;) Moving to a different continent posed a few technical challenges… I am currently working with Paulina on developing a virtual mentoring model so professionals like myself can still get involved and make a difference.
In my day job, I am responsible for ...
Advising public sector clients, like universities, NHS Trusts, local authorities or national departments on how to best finance their ambitious infrastructure projects, such as university campuses, student accommodation, hospitals or social housing.
Volunteering with Onpartu provides...
An opportunity to challenge yourself and work on your soft skills. Through the lens of Onpartners it also allowed me to appreciate where I got to in my professional career and not to ever take anything for granted.
My biggest learning so far...
Put simply, don’t get stuck in a job that you don’t like, whether it is the role itself, your boss or anything else that makes you unhappy… Change means getting out of your comfort zone, but at the end of the day it will take you forward. I started in a back office role in an investment bank - well paid and highly regarded by non-bankers. Yet, it made me miserable. I took unnecessarily too long to make a move. My most recent role in financial advisory offered a steep learning curve and a fantastic opportunity to develop. However, professional career is a journey and mine is definitely still ongoing!
My most memorable Onpartu moment...
Attending Mock Interviews! I never interviewed anyone before, so I benefited hugely from Onpartu's interviewing training beforehand. On the day, I was able to put my learnings into practice, so it was a new experience for all of us. I loved it!
Talent is...
Definitely important. But passion is the real deal! If you don’t like what you do you will do an average job at best.
Join Onpartu because...
It will develop and challenge you. And while we are benevolent and do it for others, that lovely tingling selfish feeling of satisfaction when your mentees, in my case Giedre and Manuela, succeed is just awesome!
Our "Onpartu+I" series shares stories of people working behind the scenes.
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