Taking a Job You Dont Really Want and Continuing to Apply
At some stage you'll find yourself in a position where you need a job. An opportunity presents itself, but deep down it's not one you really care for.
You might not know what you want, but you know it's not… this.
So, do you take it?
The answer is rarely straightforward, but Sydney-based career coach Jane Lowder suggests: take the job.
She says if there's no other work available to you at the time and you're not entering a toxic work environment or compromising your health, you'll be better off.
Of course, there's a little more to it than that. Let's look at some of the genuine benefits of a job you don't love and may never even like.
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The transferable skills
Doors won't open if no-one is knocking.
Adelaide breakfast radio host and comedian Amos Gill worked at a call centre before moving on to sell cable TV subscriptions door-to-door (literally knocking on doors). Now, it's hard to miss his face on trams, billboards and bus stops in the great city of Adelaide.
"I hated [that work], but it taught me a lot," he says.
Amos explains that the door-to-door years taught him a lot of the skills he attributes to his success: likeability, understanding people and sales — prerequisites of a great commercial radio host.
Nick Deligiannis is the Australia and New Zealand managing director of a global recruitment agency. He says that, generally speaking, most jobs provide you with an opportunity to develop "soft skills" (including people skills and attitudes), which many employers view as just as important as technical skills.
Communication, adaptability, innovation and critical thinking are the kinds of soft skills that are highly valued and can be developed in most roles.
It's a learning experience
Every job provides opportunities to learn. Mr Deligiannis explains that constant learning is now a requirement of ongoing career success.
"The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here and rapidly gaining ground. Many jobs are being automated, and a report published by Deloitte claims the half-life of learned skills is now about five years," he says.
Mr Deligiannis says developing skills in any job keeps you relevant and employable.
A good way to do this is to ask for "stretch" opportunities: tasks or projects that are slightly beyond your current skill or knowledge level, and will help you develop new competencies. Working on a project is a great way to do this. It'll also help hone those all-important collaboration and problem-solving soft skills.
You're not stuck
Ms Lowder acknowledges the pressures faced by young jobseekers to make the "right" decision from the get-go out of fear they'll do their long-term career a disservice if they make the "wrong" call.
"It can take upwards of six months for graduates to find a role in their chosen field, so taking a job available to you in the interim is common," she says.
One of the best parts about a job you don't want is the fact that when something you do want comes along, you can simply hand in your two weeks' notice.
If you don't intend to stick around, Ms Lowder has two key recommendations:
- 1.Don't let your employer or prospective employer know you don't intend to stay — under any circumstances. Loading your employer up with uncertainty around your tenure isn't great for you or them.
- 2.If you're not in a job already, target your search to contract positions, so you're not disadvantaged in any way.
It can look good on the résumé
Mr Deligiannis says that every role adds valuable experience to your CV.
Using examples of your achievements in previous roles allows you to demonstrate your skills and value to potential new employers, and can help you stand out from other candidates who may lack that experience.
But avoid overstaying if the job isn't your thing.
Remaining in a role for a long period of time can flag you as an "expert" in that field. Although not impossible, it does make it harder to switch careers.
As an example, Ms Lowder uses the experience of a client who wanted to pursue a career in web content, but came from an admin background.
"Once you have a certain number of years as a PA or EA on your résumé, you can be seen as a bit of a specialist in [admin], and it can be hard to create a case to a new employer in a totally new field," she says.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, Ms Lowder has some advice: volunteer. Volunteering your time and skills relevant to the job you want can be a great foray into a new industry. There's even a website for it.
"govolunteer.com.au [is] where large not-for-profit organisations like the Cancer Council and so forth host wishes for people with professional skills to volunteer their time on a project basis," Ms Lowder says.
"I advised my client to do these kinds of roles so that the most recent thing on their résumé was web content writing."
The benefits
If it's not what you want, you may as well get something out of it, right? Appreciating the fringe benefits of the job you don't want can be a great way to get through it.
One of my own favourite jobs was at a popular cafe chain in the UK.
My reasons for wanting this job were simple: they made great food, they offered said food to staff, and I was broke.
Maybe you want to work on your health and fitness? Try work at a gym and get yourself a free gym membership. Like music? Find a job at a bar or venue that hosts live shows you can go see when they're on.
You're one step closer to where you want to be
Either you'll like what you do and find out it's what you actually want, or you'll know it's something you don't want. Either way, you're a step closer.
"Any kind of forward movement, even if it's in a role we don't like, opens doors of opportunity," Ms Lowder says.
The people
A shitty shared experience can be a breeding ground for interesting people. If that's not enough incentive, Ms Lowder offers the following:
"You don't know if you'll land in a team with the most amazing manager you could ever have as a mentor. You don't know what internal opportunities in the different departments might open for you. Or perhaps a client or stakeholder you might meet through the course of your role head hunts you for a dream role in their organisation."
You can look for the right job and people
Work out what you do want and keep looking. As Ms Lowder says: "Join your professional association and start getting known. Attend their events, mix and mingle. Even better, put your hands up to volunteer on a committee."
"It puts you front and centre of the membership, so you get great visibility as a committee member. People get to know you, you get to show off a lot of your skills, and people get a sense of who you are and what you're capable of, which makes you top of mind when they hear of a job opening."
So, there you have it.
Either move forward by settling for whatever you can get now, reframe your perspective, make bank and learn to live for the weekend while you find your way.
Or stay put and wait for an opening at that sick new millennial start-up with the open-plan office space and company dog that's just as much part of the team as anyone.
Posted , updated
Source: https://www.abc.net.au/life/should-you-take-a-job-you-dont-really-want/9914774
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