Careers and jobs, which one are you looking for?

January 22nd 2021

A career is not simply having a job - why aren’t we taught the difference?

At some point, maybe by your second or even third proper job, you have to start asking yourself, is this really the job for me?

And it is a really good question! The problem is, its actually quite hard to tell. By the time you start working in a “proper” job, and I mean a full time, standard hours/shift type job, a few things start to hit home. The education you had isn’t exactly tailored to a specific job, most of the skill sets you’ll need will have to be learned and that most work places have their own culture, something very different to what you’ve encountered previously. So how do you know if it is the right job?

You’ll need to do a little research about your role, other people’s roles in the same company and about yourself. Every work environment needs different things from its employees - the basics are hard work and dedication, a willingness to learn, the ability to receive and act on feedback (especially the uncomfortable kind), being able to prioritise what your team needs, sometimes ahead of what you want.

No one likes the jerk who always leaves early whilst others carry on for the next hour or two - your team survives and achieves through everyone’s participation. If everyone stays a little later, the work will get done faster and everyone finishes closer to time. More importantly, the team becomes stronger because it is building trust.

A good work place takes years to build, the teamwork and trust needed to create an environment that you support and that supports you is a huge investment in your own job satisfaction and career. The rarely spoken truth is that once you’ve built a great team, it doesn’t actually matter what the job is, the sense of belonging and achievement outweighs everything else on your “I want my job to be…” list. High performing teams achieve, period. Who doesn’t want to be part of that kind of success?

If you want the kind of job that gets you up in the morning and that you look forward to, then be part of building that better team. And it does takes time. When I review CVs for people who have changed jobs every 6 months, I wonder if they gave themselves a chance to impact the teams they joined. As an employer, when we recruit people to join our teams it is because they hold so much promise, the hope is that we have enough time to develop and realise that potential.

That promise is hard to realise after a few months or even a year, so give it time, make sure the employer you choose is one that nurtures and grows its teams. If you are looking for your next job, do your homework, interview your next employer and make sure they have what you are looking for - they already know what they are looking for. Is the culture right for you and do they look like the team you want to be a part of, ‘cos there’s more to it than salaries and holidays.

If you are simply looking for any job, there are still jobs out there. If you’re looking for a career, well that’s different, that’s going to take some time, investment and courage on your part. But it is worth it.