One of my greatest concerns as a professional is people who
seek out jobs, or accept jobs just because they need a paycheck. I am personally divided in these situations:
#1 – Provide for home by any means necessary. I get it, you have a home, car, bills, like
to live life comfortably – and you feel you should earn a salary commiserate
with your lifestyle.
#2 — In a way, I lose a bit respect for these people because
they are taking up valuable work-space from another person, who truly desires to perform that job; and may even excel within that position.
This reflection falls behind a few conversations that I have
had this past week with various people, my theory that some people take jobs just
to have jobs is correct. Well, I say
shame on them for proving me correct! A
good friend of mine is job searching, and when I asked, “What do you want to do?”
the answer was so mundane and plain unimpressive that I was almost bored
listening to these two sentences:
"For right now, I just want to do a bunch of different stuff. I don’t really know what I want to do in the
long run.”
What do you mean you don’t know what you want to do in the
long run? So are you telling me you are just dancing around in tippy toe shoes, hoping
someone will gift you a job so you can afford to lolly gag and collect
paycheck? But that’s none of my business!
My advice is, find something you love and pursue it.
I have two passions that flow symbiotically
with my professional and personal life, Project Management and Human Resources
Management. I know that I have the KSAO’s
to balance either and will not only succeed but land on top in either of these
fields because of my motivation. I know
that I can perform accounting tasks but have no desire to work in accounting. I
love animals but hate to see them suffer so pet care is out of the question
too. So even if the money was great I
would not accept a job in either of these fields.
Bottom line, know what you love, your knowledge base is, align
your skills with your abilities and figure out what other characteristics you have
that will make you great. Then chase
those opportunities. Don’t take a job
just to get paid (although there is someone out there at work right now crossing
off the days until payday) performing a job that they are just mediocre at; and
there is someone out there who would be fantastic at the other person’s
job.
About the Author: Blair Gaines is gifted Business Analyst working toward her HRM Degree, PMP certification and SCRUM Facilitator Certification. She is a talented speaker and writer, who has a way with words, that paint a picture on a level that can be understood by all. Follow me on Twitter @blairlikely or connect with me via email blairsinfo@gmail.com.
