[EF] Wildest Dream – for real?

It’s the second week of English Friday already! Beware as this might bore you to death.

Wildest dream to me is not only talking about some unachievable ambition or a super crazy imagination that is unattainable. Rather it also speaks of a cherished aspiration, one’s greatest goal or a desired position in life. In that sense, mine would be to become a turnaround specialist. This profession came about as a result of periods of economic and financial distress that pose special challenges to companies around the world. Unstable business climate often forces companies to downsize to revive its economic health, sometimes even going as far as chopping a layer of their senior talents. Turnaround specialists help with this. They enter a company with a fresh eye, knowledge and skills to guide companies back to profitability and safety.

I can see some of you yawning already. Didn’t I tell you that this is going to be painful? 

So I marched on following my grail. Applied to a bunch of jobs including a position with a well-known global consulting company which I really wanted. Failed in the last interview, I decided to take up a position in the financial industry in Dublin, Ireland. Why?? Because I am random. No, I took it because I was curious about that part of the world. At that time, many American companies outsourced their financial operations in Dublin, hence the opportunity.

A call home three months later brought me back to Indonesian soil. Not knowing what to do yet, I sent my resume to a global bank, the first one on a list that a friend provided. Years after, I found myself honing a career as a banker until a new life calling summoned me to a different path. Turnaround specialist remained a fantasy.

Having a fresh start, I guess allows me to have a second try at becoming a company doctor. Will I pursue it again? I am not sure yet. Whatever I will end up doing, I want to come back home one day and share it with the young generation – for a smarter Indonesia.

In the mid-term, I long to be the best mother I can be (I am still praying for those bundles of joy to come) and a better citizen of the world.

Photo courtesy of Robert T.