Man Repeller's Haley Nahman: On the Fiction of the Dream Job & Dealing With Scary "What-Ifs"

"What are you not willing to not find out about? I think that’s something everyone could examine. Whether we want to or not, we are all going to wonder about some stuff. We don’t all get to know what it feels like to be an Olympic athlete or a movie star. There are just things we don’t get to experience as just one person, in one lifetime. We do get to choose to some extent what we choose as a fantasy and what we try out. For me, I could have been OK in my other situation. I just wasn’t willing to not find out what it was like to live in New York, pursue a creative career and try being with someone else or on my own. When I came to that conclusion, it was so urgent." My guest this episode is Man Repeller's Deputy Editor, Haley Nahman. A 2011 business graduate, Haley started her career as an Office Manager in Silicon Valley, before forging a successful path in Human Resources at a Design Firm. While her life in San Francisco was rather rosy, she couldn’t help but wonder what life would be like in New York City pursuing her dream of being a writer. After hearing that one of her favourite websites Man Repeller was hiring, she sent founder Leandra some writing samples from the blog she wrote outside of work. Much to her astonishment, she was offered a junior writer position. This was one ‘what if’ that she couldn’t leave unanswered, and she boarded a plane to the Big Apple where she has now lived for almost three years and risen to the role of Deputy Editor. If you've read Haley's work on Man Repeller, you'll know it's infused with honesty, making it wholeheartedly relatable. For me, this conversation did precisely what her writing does. She beautifully articulated the human experience - and unease so many feel around their work and identity - in the most soothing and reassuring way. We talked all about her early career in HR and how her former life in San Francisco could easily have been equal to her current New York experience. She explained the driving forces behind her decision to leave a career, relationship and city that was perfectly fine in favour of the unknown. We also discussed how she landed her role at Man Repeller and some of the pitfalls of doing what you love for a living. While Haley is pretty much doing her dream job, she acknowledges that this is not always possible for some people and offered invaluable advice to people lacking fulfilment day-to-day. We also touched upon some of her writing, friendship, and much more… You can tell Haley used to work in HR because she has a talent for understanding people. **You can read Haley's Man Repeller Stories we discussed here:** [10 Things I've Learned Since Moving to New York](https://www.manrepeller.com/2016/08/things-ive-learned-since-moving-to-nyc.html) [Unpopular Opinion: Internships Are Overrated](https://www.manrepeller.com/2017/01/internships-are-overrated.html) [Changing My Life Didn't Change Me As Much As I Thought It Would](https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/08/finding-happiness.html) [Does Everyone Have A Friendship Complex Or Just Me?](https://www.manrepeller.com/2018/02/making-friends-as-an-adult.html) **Follow me:** Twitter: [@katiephilo](https://twitter.com/katiephilo) Instagram: [@katiephilo](https://www.instagram.com/katiephilo/) [www.katiephilo.com](https://katiephilo.com/) **Follow Haley:** Twitter: [@halemur](https://twitter.com/halemur) Instagram: [@halemur](https://www.instagram.com/halemur/) Bug's Instagram: [@bug.tv](https://www.instagram.com/bug.tv/) [Read Haley's stories on Man Repeller](https://www.manrepeller.com/author/haley-nahman) Image credit: [Edith Young](https://www.instagram.com/edithwyoung)