I have a friend who startled me recently, saying “I hate my job. I wish they would just fire me.”
How many of us are in just such a place, where we are waiting for others to control our fate? Are you unhappy, unproductive or unfulfilled?
“Be careful what you wish for” begins the ancient Chinese proverb, “you may get it.”
So, what’s wrong with that, you wonder? All I want is challenging, meaningful work in an empowering environment surrounded by respectful peers reporting to magnanimous management creating innovative designs and processes for a grateful world and making a difference (with above average compensation and benefits, of course.)
Your future lies ahead and you find yourself unemployed or underemployed, unchallenged or unappreciated. What to do, what to do?
No one undertakes a job change with enthusiasm. Although we live in a changing world, accepting our need to change from familiar habits and patterns can be extraordinarily difficult. What has brought you to this crossroads? A layoff, termination, reduction in force, merger or acquisition, or have you simply realized that you are not growing and happy? Your motivation for change will make a difference in your job interview, so let’s begin this blog series with that. We have been talking in recent blogs about the company’s objectives in the interview, determining your motivation. Why are you interested in making the move?
I think it best to begin here because you should clearly know your destination before beginning your search. “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there.”
Often, I find myself speaking with people with no clue about their destination.
“Find me a job,” they say.
“What are you looking for?” I respond.
“I don’t know. What’s out there?”
If I had a dollar for every person who wanted to know “What’s out there?” I could fund the war on terrorism. What I find terrifying is that so many people believe their destiny is “out there” not within themselves. This is a critical distinction because if you truly wish to “engineer your career” the process begins with this vital, life altering decision process.
Determine what’s missing in your career. Is it challenge, opportunity, meaning? Why did you choose engineering as your field? What are your goals? Is the path you’re on taking you toward them? Have you even considered your goals recently?
If you have been let go or laid off, what next? Where is the gift in this adversity? Often we create the conditions of our circumstance by our inaction, waiting for others to determine our fate.
It’s your life. Why not “fire yourself?” At least, determine that you are the master of your fate. Are you fulfilling your destiny?
Next time, goal setting and planning the steps down the road ahead.
E-mail me with your thoughts at Jack.o’brien@na.manpower.com
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