Finding a new job can be a horrible, demeaning, difficult experience. Sifting through the good jobs and the bad jobs, the scams and the legitimate ads – it can all get to be too much. And then there are seemingly millions of people telling you to do this, or do that, or don’t bother with this…. It’s complicated! It’s one big slog through the mud and it’s not at all fun. Don’t let this stop you.
I know we can’t all have our dream job right away. If it were that easy, we’d be a much simpler society. I just wanted to tell those of you out there, the ones scanning Craigslist or the job ads in the paper, that it can and will get better. There’s something to be said for perseverance, some sort of motivational “you can do it, just keep trying” factor that, if one could harness it, would power a whole city. In no way am I telling you to compromise all the time or to lower your standards – that’s just setting yourself up for failure there. However, if you’ve got some pressing economic engagements (let’s say, you know, bills?), chances are you can’t have a garage sale big enough to cover them all. (Don’t let this stop you from trying, though!)
There are a bunch of people in my life who are seeking employment, or seeking better employment. There’s a difference among them, though – some are doing it just for the sake of doing it (a spouse or parent or someone is telling them to do it). There are a few others, however, who are doing it because they genuinely want to improve something. This is the difference between momentum to change and being a sheep – changing something about your life because you actually want it to change, or changing something about your life because someone else says you should change it.
As for me, my tenure in thrift retail is (most likely) at an end for ever. I liberated myself from the shackles of customer service, at least for the next few months. There have been a ton of people in my life who would like to take credit for telling me where and when I should apply to the place that hired me. There have been a ton MORE people who always seem to thoroughly enjoy putting me through numerous “Told-you-so”s and “I-was-right”s. This is probably even more exhausting than searching for a job in the first place. Don’t ever let this stop you.
Taking this big leap is a really scary thing – I grew up in the city where I currently live, and the job I just quit is the only job I’ve had in this zip code since I was 17 years old. It’s not so scary to stop me in my tracks, though. I’m advancing, I have momentum, and I know that this change gets me one step closer to where I want to be. To borrow from Steve at Nerd Fitness, I’m leveling up my life.
You can do it; don’t let whatever you think is standing in your way stop you.
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