I always find it interesting during 90-second announcements how nearly identical are the descriptions of “ideal jobs” when compared to the one a member has most recently left.
Since we are all financial folks, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. As history based individuals, it is hard to have any view of the world that isn’t colored by our past experience. Add to this the fact that we KNOW what we have been doing, but are not aware of ALL the possibilities out in the world. On the flipside, some members claim to be “all things to all people,” when clearly their background only lends itself to very narrow applications.
A job search needs to be viewed as a new beginning. At least the possibility needs to be there. Sure, apples don’t fall far from trees, and in any market it is certainly hard to change industries. Still, the attitude against change frequently starts with our own perceptions or misperceptions of what we can do and what we want to do.
At a very basic level, I suppose most of us would be willing to work for food. Perhaps that position is a little extreme, but where I am trying to take you is to CONSIDER all possibilities.
Since for the most part, we tend not to change jobs frequently BY CHOICE, much of the knowledge about how the world works and our role in it isn’t always clear.
The truth is that the exact details of any job description are usually pretty far off the mark from the REALITY of what we will have to do every day.
If you are considering a situation or being considered for something, a far better starting point that I might suggest is to instead focus on the people you are meeting at the company rather than the exact job description. I would, of course, try to be sure that I could accomplish the goals that have been generally discussed. But, the question I would ask myself over and over again is: Do I really want to work with these people?
If they are going to make you crazy, or if you think they are crazy, don’t kid yourself. There are people who Will Rogers never met. As a senior professional with years of seasoning, don’t ignore the blips on your radar screen that are screaming “danger,” “danger.”
These days, one tends to spend AT LEAST 1/3 of your life at work, and that is probably over half your waking hours.
Make sure it is with folks whose company you enjoy. No matter what drudgery the work represents, you can’t go far wrong if you like the people.
Regards, Matt
