Courage to switch jobs can pay off

NEW HORIZONS: Priscilla Kirk has just started her new job at O'Sullivan Clemens after working at another law firm for 14 years. PHOTO/ANDREW WARNER

Leaving a job or changing careers can be a scary decision for any employee.

For one Rotorua solicitor, it meant leaving a firm she had given 14 years of service to.

Priscilla Kirk moved to Rotorua 15 years ago and was working at Rydges hotel when she was asked to join a local law firm.

"They were the ones who encouraged me to study law and I honestly thought I'd always be there, but after 14 years of being in the same work environment you can't help but start wondering, 'What's next'?

"It wasn't an easy decision to make to resign and it took about a year to actually do it.

"I decided to take some time off to spend with my family and 7-year-old son, weigh up my options and decide what I wanted to do. That time off really helped me to gather my thoughts and put my options into perspective."

Last November Mrs Kirk took the leap and started her new position at O'Sullivan Clemens Lawyers, specialising in family law, relationship property, employment, trusts and estates and conveyancing.

She said the new role was going great and she had eased into the new firm. "It's going really well. It's a positive and supportive environment with new challenges and I'm really looking forward to seeing where the job takes me. Sometimes change is as good as a holiday when it comes to work."

The decision to move to another law firm had been the right one.

"For a while I considered using my law degree in another avenue but after a break from work I decided practising law is what I wanted to continue doing.

"It's a good feeling knowing you are in a job that helps others."

Mrs Kirk said Rotorua was the ideal place to maintain a work/play lifestyle.

"Rotorua is a great place to live and work.

"There are not many places around the world that allow such a good work/play balance."

Alongside her day job Mrs Kirk is also a trustee of the Rotorua Bike Festival Charitable Trust which organises the Rotorua Bike Festival held each February.