If you're a graduate contemplating your
first "real" job, be comforted: your first job almost certainly be
your last. Throughout your working life, you'll have opportunities to try out
several careers. So dive into the working world with your eyes open, and keep
learning your craft.
If you're in mid-career—or later—then pay particular attention to the
following common-sense principles for finding work that you love:
1. Don't "settle": If you settle for a job that you don't
enjoy—or one that doesn't pay enough to support your family—you'll be doing
everybody a disservice. So don't do it.
2. Keep looking: If you've not yet found your dream job, keep your eyes
open, keep reading the classified ads, and keep networking with people who might
be able to help you find the job you want. If you're not currently working in a
job that you love, you must allocate at least a few minutes each day to
the task of searching for new opportunities. That great new job probably won't
fall into your lap; you'll need to find it. So start finding it.
3. If you're unemployed, your fulltime job is finding one: If you're out
of work, you must get up every morning, clock in at 8:00 AM (or earlier) and
start hitting the streets, the phones, or the employment agencies. If your
unemployed, you have a job: finding one. And it's one of the most important jobs
you'll ever have. And if you find yourself watching TV instead of looking for
work, bury your clicker in the back yard until you've found work.
3. Keep learning: Never ever stop acquiring specialized knowledge in your
fields of interest. As quickly as this old world is changing, you'll need it.
5. Don't pretend: If you're not cut out to do a particular job, don't kid
yourself or your boss. And don't try to make yourself into someone you're not.
Instead, move on before being asked.
6. If your dream job doesn't pay enough to feed your family, it's a hobby.
If you're self-employed, your business should earn enough profits to pay you a
living wage. If it doesn't, don't moan and groan; instead, find a day job. But
feel free to keep working at your "passion" (in your spare time) until
your passion pays enough to feed you and your clan.
7. Ask yourself this question: would you hire you: If the answer is yes,
keep pounding the pavement in the secure knowledge that you'll be a great find
for your next boss. If the answer is no, then it's time to consult the boss who
stares back at you each morning from the other side of the mirror.
8. Work with people whom you like and respect: You'll probably spend more
time with your coworkers than you will with many members of your family. Choose
your workplace accordingly.
9. When you find a great job, give it everything you've got. Do you like
your current job? Then vow to be the most upbeat, hardworking employee in the
whole darned company.
10. If your dream job goes away, don't take it personally; find
another one. Our world is changing faster than ever before. Today's bonanza
is tomorrow's buggy whip factory. So keep your skills sharp and keep your
resume' fresh: you never know when you'll need it, but you will need
it.
And finally, write the following quotations upon your heart:
Love What You Do Or Do Something Else
"If you’re not happy every
morning when you get up and leave for work, you’re not going to be
successful."
Donald M. Kendall
"A job is something that you do for money. A career is something you do
because you are inspired to do it."
Edward James Olmos
"If I should die tomorrow, I will have no regrets. I did what I wanted
to do. You can't expect more from life."
Bruce Lee
"What is the recipe for successful achievement? Choose a career you
love. Give it the best there is in you. Seize your opportunities. And be a
member of the team."
Ben Franklin
"Unless what you’re doing is the greatest single passion in your
life, you ought to move on before being asked."
Bob Costas
For more quotations about
passion, click here.
This page was
written and compiled by Criswell Freeman, Psy.D
