Do you love your job?
I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward."
— David Livingstone
CHOOSING a career and landing a job — these are important events in one's life.
While we all need to choose a job, and have been `training' for it since we leave school, not everyone lands a job, which they would love to do. There are a good number of people who feel trapped in careers that they do not enjoy. It is especially frustrating when a person finds himself working in an area, which is at total variance to what he has been trained for. This makes him feel that he has somehow wasted all those years of learning! What is more, he may find himself ill equipped to deal with his job and compete with others in his workplace, as he has actually been trained for something quite different. After all, when you love your job, you do not just have a career, but a passion, and being paid for it is a bonus!
There is an unforgettable anecdote about the inventor of porcelain. He was so much in love with his work that when he did not have enough money to buy wood for his kiln, he used the wooden furniture in his house to keep the fires going! And after his wife left him, he was so involved in his work, that he discovered porcelain! We do not know if his wife came back to him but success certainly did! When you love your job, you stand a much better chance of excelling in it no matter what the odds are. You can reach greater heights of perfection, and you get to have a good time while doing it all.
You know you love your job when----
You have been through a tough day and realise at the end of it how much you have enjoyed the challenges it offered you.
You are tired at the end of day but craving to come back for more the next day.
You find yourself thinking about your job, and planning and pleasantly anticipating your next task, no matter how tough it may be.
You don't mind going those extra miles to meet deadlines, and confidently target goals that others may think are impossible.
You are not willing to trade your job with any other, even if they are more lucrative.
You are happy doing your job, as it gets your creative juices flowing.
How then, does one choose a job, which he or she will be likely to enjoy? Here are some guidelines to follow before opting for your job.
Does the job require you to employ any of the skills you have acquired at your college/university?
Do your talents/specialised skills overlap with the framework of the job? If you couldn't cook to save your life, then you dare not enter the catering industry!
Is the job a creative one calling for intellect and thought, or is it a routine one involving some repetitive, mechanised actions each day? Your chances of liking the latter sort of job are very slim.
Does the job you are going to take up provide scope for growth in your career, with respect to your position in the organisation? If it is an open deal with the "work better, rise better" motto, it will interest you more as it will challenge your competitive instincts.
On the other hand, if it is going to be a static position down the years, you tend to lose your motivation and hence, your interest in your job.
Be absolutely focused in your approach. Do not chose a job just because that is what everyone else seems to be doing nowadays.
Go for it only if you think you have ability or aptitude for it.
What if you are saddled with a job you do not like? While there are people around us who have dared to change their careers and their fates and gone on to be great successes, not everyone will find it feasible to do that. What does one do then?
To begin with, identify the factor that has caused you dissatisfaction in your job and try to rectify it.
While you may not love your job, the ground reality may be that you just have to go on with it for practical reasons.
In which case, try to develop an interest in your job. It is possible!
Try to design thought and intellect into an otherwise mundane, routine job.
Maybe you could learn new skills and implement them so that you may enjoy your work.
If you are abreast with the latest happenings in your area of work, you will feel confident enough to deal with it authoritatively and that will ultimately help you develop a liking for your job.
After all, we all need to earn our bread and butter. So why don't we ensure that we enjoy doing it?
MALLIKA JAYASHEELA
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