For John McNally, pursuing his dream job only happened after experiencing a career setback. He didn’t let any mountains stop him, though, and his pathway to success led him to a new opportunity in Italy.
“I had reached a dead end in my search and thought that I was without resources,” he says.
“I found my way to a [Career Insider] group in Manhattan,” McNally says. “Working with the group and then with a really wonderful coach, I was able to rethink my approach and put my profile in circulation. I dared to reach for where I really wanted to be and it paid off.”
One of the fundamental steps he took during his transition phase was to determine the details of his dream job. After the plan was finalized, he set out to make it a reality.
“Eventually my profile, and the description of my dream job that I had written and put out as a proposal to several companies, found its way to a search firm who put me in touch with a job in Italy as head of retail training for Gucci,” says McNally. “It was a really amazing confirmation of the message that I heard in the meetings with GetFive to keep myself present [in the] marketplace and to keep widening my search through the contacts that I made, revived, etc. It didn’t happen overnight, but it finally paid off.”
He spent the next four years working his dream job as a director at one of the world’s most prestigious brands. Today, he performs the same role for another Italian luxury brand.
“I’ve remained in Italy — it’s been 10 years — and continue to grow in my work.”
