Running to the Office Monday Morning

Job Seekers Need to Find a Career That Excites Them

Sep 28, 2009 Deborah S. Hildebrand

Before accepting any job offer, job seekers need to make sure it really is the one they want, the one that will make them run to the office Monday morning.

This is not about turning a passion into a profession. As wonderful as that would be, not everyone can be paid to plant gardens, groom dogs or make jewelry. Plus many people would likely find that what they enjoyed doing as a hobby can quickly become rote and mechanical once it becomes a full-time job.

Instead the idea is for employees to find a career that incorporates many of the things that they enjoy doing whether that means thinking creatively, crunching numbers, using their hands, or interacting with customers. The idea is to genuinely enjoy how they spend their time at work, so that going to their job isn’t a job all in itself.

Analyzing What’s Important in a Job

The first step in finding the right position is for job seekers to determine why they work. Sure, paying the bills is the main reason, but there are tons of ways in which to do this albeit some of them illegal.

No, job seekers need to really look introspectively and take the time to ask themselves why they specifically do what they do. Are they following in a parent’s footsteps? Did they "accidently" fall into this career? Did they land in it by default because they didn’t know what else to do with their degree? The purpose is to determine what is important to them at this particular moment in their life, what they value most, and then find a corresponding career.

For instance, someone who enjoys helping others might go into health care, social work, education or non-profit. They might work in a hospital, in a mental health institution, for a day care or on behalf of the environment. Another job seeker who enjoys using their creativity may choose a career in the arts, marketing, advertising or maybe that creative nature includes a love of books, so publishing is the field of choice. Or what if they combine the two areas – helping others and creativity? Who knows, this job seeker could wind up designing eco-friendly medical products.

By re-evaluating where their interests lie and finding where they intersect with career options, they can identify a career path. That’s exactly what Scott Gould did.

How Others Found Their True Calling

Early in his work life Scott worked in restaurants busing tables and bartending. He eventually graduated college and chose a career in finance. As a financial executive on September 11, 2001, things changed. Scott re-evaluated his career choice and decided he had been much happier working in restaurants rather than on Wall Street. So he made a leap of faith…backwards.

He took a job as a server and eventually worked his way up to his current position of general manager. To what does he attribute his ability to make the switch? First, he had to “get over the pride factor of taking a step down” and second he “brought the listening skills he learned during his finance days onto the restaurant floor.” The important thing is that Scott is happy with his career choice.

Another job seeker who made several career changes – 50 in total – did so partially by choice and partially out of necessity. When Daniel Seddiqui graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2005, he couldn’t jumpstart his career. So instead he chose to turn his career search into the career itself.

He trekked across the U.S. hitting all 50 states and working at different short-term jobs, both for the experience of working in different fields and industries as well as a way of creating a whole new career: author and lecturer. “You have to try different jobs before you settle on a career," he said. "You'll never know unless you try."

When job seekers are faced with the decision about what they want to do for the rest of their life, it’s important that they identify a career that gets them excited and happy to go to work. That means a job that has them running to the office Monday morning.

The copyright of the article Running to the Office Monday Morning in Career Advice is owned by Deborah S. Hildebrand. Permission to republish Running to the Office Monday Morning in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Career as a Wait Person