How did you choose your profession?
Did you lie awake at night as a child fantasizing about spending 10 hours a day hunched over a computer?
If you're like most people, you probably fell into your profession.
When I was a kid, my secret dream was to be a televangelist. But I gave up on that after my mother informed me that I'd have to start going to church.
Gallup polling data reveals that a mere 20-30 percent of people are actively engaged in their work. That means, a good two-thirds of the people schlepping to work everyday are going through the motions, toiling away in jobs they don't particularly enjoy.
And we wonder why depression is on the rise.
We can blame bad bosses or poor management practices. But I believe one of the root problems is that most people stumble into their professions without enough self-knowledge to figure out what they would actually be great at.
We tend to choose a job based on the pay, what other people tell us we should do, and what happens to be available at the time. In the current economy, many feel lucky just to have a paycheck.
But if you're in a job you're not suited for, it's only a matter of time before you become miserable. And if you're miserable, chances are, you're not delivering superstar performance for your company or colleagues. As my dad says, "If you're unhappy with them, it's only a matter of time before they're unhappy with you."
I would know. I spent first five years of my career in the wrong job until a quick personality test (Myers-Briggs) revealed that I was never going to be happy in a job with no creativity.
One common source of career misery is people who are working in the right subject area but in the wrong role.
For example, many people become teachers because they liked history, biology or English Lit. Yet they get into the job and realize that they don't actually like preparing lessons or patiently helping poor students learn. A love of Chaucer isn't enough; a good teacher is someone who enjoys making personal connections with students.
The same thing applies to any other profession. If you're a quiet introvert who recharges by being alone, you probably don't want to be a customer service representative. You may love books or computer games, but the last thing you need is a job selling them.
When we're unhappy with our work, it's easy to blame our misery on the boss, company or the working conditions. It's scarier to admit that we might simply not be a fit.
Acknowledging that you're not well suited for your profession feels like failure.
But it's not.
It simply means that your job isn't a good match for your inherent skills or personality.
If you're an analytical, or a touchy-feely type, or a laser focused creative, that's probably how you were born. No amount of training or incentive pay is going to turn you into something you're not.
But it's not the boss's job to figure out where you would be better suited; it's yours.
People who hate their jobs wind up not being very good at them. You deserve better that that. And so does your employer.
Lisa Earle McLeod is a keynote speaker, author, columnist and business consultant who specializes in sales and leadership training. Her newest book, "The Triangle of Truth," has been cited as the blueprint for "how smart people can get better at everything." Visit www.TriangleofTruth.com for a short video intro.
Follow Lisa Earle McLeod on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisaearlemc
Charles R. Martin, Ph.D.: The 'Royal Marriage': Why Opposites Are a Key to Growth
Money: Career Chemistry: The Best Jobs for Six Personality Types ...
Personality and the Perfect Job
The Search - Big Money vs. Job Satisfaction - NYTimes.com
Results of polls on job satisfaction are at odds - washingtonpost.com
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Some people get a charge out of working, gives em a chance to earn a buck and strut their stuff. I think, though, that after you've done ANYTHING for a certain number of years, and you could basically do it in your sleep, you start actually doing it in your sleep, wandering through life sort of unconscious.
And, the working world has increasingly become regimented, digitized, timed, half-automated, so it kind of follows that in some examples and circumstances, the people start acting half-automated, too. So, if you're feeling like that, maybe it's a cue from within that it's Time For Change. Start considering your various options, what do you WANT to do, vs. what do you HAVE to do, thanks to obligations financial and otherwise that you've incurred along the way. Are you bored to tears or beyond with your current circumstances? Crave change? Then make it happen. Start using that computer to ask questions, and explore options. Take an inventory of your skills and interests. How old are you? How much change can you really tolerate? Are you pretty comfortable where you're at? Ready to take the plunge into the unknown? Red pill, or the blue pill, or no pills?
When was the last time you did something 'just for fun'? Life only lasts about 80 years, how many more will you spend in the yoke, there? A lot of things in life, we end up doing because of money. Are YOU a slave to a dollar bill?
Life is short and one is doing something they are not well suited for they are going to be miserable and not the most productive.
Sadly too many in our society do just that and it in turn isn't good for our society as whole, or do I don't think is good for business and our economy as well. Too many are afraid to take chances and really go after doing their own thing. I think this idea of taking a job any job just to make money is part of the reason we have so many business, economic and social issues as we do.
Unfortunately, once people get stuck in a job or a field, they don't think they can move on to something else, and our business climate promotes that concept. It seems to me ALL these various factors, work together at creating a society of robots who are simply living to serve their masters and in the end only a few benefit and many others are left depressed.
Wouldn't it be great if more people REALLY had the opportunity to pursue their innate abilities and in so doing create new industries, new jobs, new innovations that help themselves AND society as a whole, rather just droning on in go nowhere jobs are careers they are ill suited toward.
Ah...so many things to think about.
As for me, I didn't choose my profession for the money. Or I should say, I went into it knowing full well I would be underpaid for my entire professional career. I realized I would never be thanked and those I helped would never be grateful, but what I didn't realize was that after dedicating my life to other people's children and spending a career giving all of my time to benefit them and society I'd be vilified for choosing to serve others rather than selfishly pursuing money. No matter how many degrees I attain, how much training, I will still be considered incompetent. No matter how much time I spend off the clock supporting and nurturing other people's children, how much money I spend supplementing supplies that are lacking, no matter how much they improve, I will still be disrespected. The more I give, the more I am vilified.
I'm a teacher. I have a gift for being able to explain complex concepts so they can be easily understood. I enjoy it. I've looked forward to every year. I've spent my own money and my own time to further my education so I can improve my ability to help my students to achieve.
I used to enjoy it. I used to look forward to every fall.
Not any more. I just can't fight the public and media attacks.
BA, MAed, MLIS, NBCT
However I suspect that after many years of doing otherwise, teachers are going to start seeing a jump in status and pay, as we slowly wise up to the fact that you can't create a a great country without great teachers. When the good ones get burnt out and leave, we'll change. It will be agonizingly slow, but we'll eventually do it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/education/18classrooms.html
Naomi is one of over 7,000 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools enrolled in a program in which core subjects are taken using computers in a classroom with no teacher.
27 years later I am burned out, surrounded by nepotism, people are being promoted above me based on favoritism instead of ability and the job market in my area has been flooded with inferior graduates depressing wages and making jobs harder to get.
Somehow I don't think my personality has much to do with it...
I found a job with Uncle Sam that I fully expected to be a temporary position after I got my Bachelors degree and would look elsewhere after I got my feet on the ground. But the more I worked the more I like the job and before long some 40 plus years passed. Were there ups and down, of course, but I was one lucky SOB to find my profession.
I think many restrict themselves in their mindset when they graduate college or even high school. Look, if you are fully set on being a rock star or actor, you are not going to find much pleasure in any job other than what you want. However, you must also be realistic in your assessment of yourself. Do you really have rock star talent or acting talent? American Idol show that many of those just do not have it. You must be willing and able to change direction and find opportunity where it presents itself.
The corporate environment must be a fair and healthy one for anyone to be productive whether its their dream job or not. I think relegating it to the "if you dont like cooking, get out of the kitchen" attitude is only one facet of larger issue.
He is spot on in that our current education policy doesn't accommodate those who wish to take a different path than 4 year post graduate degrees.
As to Mission Statements, I wouldn't put that much truck in them, honestly, most are for public consumption and nothing more than PR spin. Sounds good so investors buy your stock. It is really superficial. Believe deeds and not words.