Imagine yourself as a sailor or the captain of a ship out in the open sea. There is no land in sight. It’s just water in all directions as far as the eyes can see. Then suddenly, dark clouds start forming and you see a small island nearby. However, this island is too small for your liking so you decide to give it a miss and keep sailing on. But just as predicted, the waters get choppy and the storm hits. You can’t sail any further. What are your options now? Yes…, sail back to that island, take refuge there and ride out the storm.
Such is the situation with jobseekers in the years 2020 and 2021. The storm is ongoing and you need to take refuge on whatever island you can find. If you are jobless, but still determined to pursue that dream job after months and months even though you’ve been offered another job, then you may find yourself tossed and thrown around by the waves.
For the jobseeker, especially if you are young and you’re thinking you have time on your hands, think again.
Do the smart thing, take that job that comes and postpone looking for that perfect job, that perfect island and wait out the storm at the smaller less attractive island.
Clarity
Strangely, a good portion of young people we’ve met are somewhat idealists in life. They’ve had quite a better life than those who are in their 40’s and 50’s now. It appears that things have been much more modern, fast and convenient for those born since 1990. We’re not trying to judge here but to help give some clarity of thought, yet we do sense that the young jobseeker is quite an idealist and has visions and expectations of idyllic perfection when out to seek his or her dream job. Being practical about job finding frequently takes a back seat.
Some young people also want things immediately and have not been quite willing to commit to a longer process of honing oneself into a professional. The dream job must come his way and it must come now. The company must be very perfect. The colleagues must be perfect friends , etc. This isn’t reality is it? The truth is that in this era, companies are spoilt for choice. There are thousands upon thousands of people to choose from. It is no longer the employee market but it’s the employer’s market.
It was truly in 1994 that the world wide web went global heralding the beginnings of the e-commerce economy. The 90s were an employee market where a job was quite easy to find. But this was a generation ago and the economy is a choosy and moody thing. It goes up and down at the slightest news. It has certainly become tighter concerning any industry where competition is extremely tight in you name it; manufacturing, services or even finance. Certainly, almost everything has graduated to the next level.
A practical mindset
We hope you can understand the true position of a jobseeker. We can’t necessarily change the thinking of business owners or employers. Our role with them is to inspire them to create opportunity. But we can improve and change the jobseeker. By teaching and sharing with you our expertise and experience. To give you clarity of mind so that you will make the right choices at a time like this. To make you aware of the expectations of industry and how you can thrive in it and keep your job. To turn you into a desirable and professional asset. These are the goals of this blog.
Self Check
- If you are still determined to pursue your dream job, even when you’ve been offered another job, then you’re not hungry enough.
- If you’re not willing to relocate, you’re not hungry enough either.
- If you’re not willing to lower your salary expectations to match the offered one, you’re not hungry enough.
- If you’re making all sorts of excuses and confounded by doubts, you’re not hungry enough.
- If you’re asking everyone for advice or approval, you’re not hungry enough.
Passion vs Opportunity
In his famous podcast, Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs said the following. The bad advice that you’ve been given is “Follow your Passion”: Just because you’ve earned your degree in your chosen field, it doesn’t mean you’re going to find your dream job. Dream jobs are usually just that; Dreams. But their imaginary existence just might keep you from exploring careers that offer a legitimate chance to perform meaningful work and develop a genuine passion for the job you already have.
There are hundreds of skilled tradesmen who followed opportunity – not passion – and prospered as a result. When people follow their passion, they miss out on all kinds of opportunities they didn’t even know existed.
So back to our ship in storm story at the beginning:
“ Staying the course only makes sense if you’re headed in a sensible direction. And while passion is way too important to be without, it is way too fickle to follow around” which brings us to the final dirty truth,
“ Never follow your passion but always bring it with you.”
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