So frustrating!
I was laid off recently, for the second time in a 12 months, but the silver lining was that the position wasn’t the best fit for me, so I actually needed to make a change anyway. Perhaps I’m a bit naive, but while I love the spin of a great product, I believe the truth is the best way to sell products which is why Marketing is probably not the best part of an organization for me. So when a friend unfamiliar with my API-related past asked, “if not Marketing, then where do you see yourself?” it was a bit of an a-ha moment.
There is a saying, “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.” I absolutely love this saying, but I also love what Oprah said recently at the O You! in Los Angeles. Paraphrasing: “Sometimes you gotta do the job you don’t wanna do to get to the job you do.” She went on to tell the story of how she had risen into the highly respected position of news anchor, which everyone thought was a fantastic opportunity, but after a short time she found she hated. She said while she hated that role, it ultimately lead her to the job she loved, the Oprah show.
“So what’s your point?” you ask? My point is, about perspective. If you hate your job, don’t complain about it. Don’t mope around wishing for someone to kill your horrible boss or for the perfect job to fall into your lap. Put your grown up pants on and make the effort to find a new job that will get you a step closer to, if not immediately to, landing your dream job.
For me, it’s been a few months and I’m having a hard time getting an offer for the job I really want so I’m taking Oprah’s advice. I’m off to find my “news anchor” role until the “talk show host” role becomes available. Wish me luck.
If you’re not happy about a place you spend the largest part of your day, you’re not the only one suffering. Do you go home every night and complain to you significant other about how horrible your boss is? Do you whine over your wine with your girlfriends, or bitch over your beer with your buds about how stupid the process is and how much you hate where you work? Is every conversation about how much it sucks to go into work every. damn. day? Welcome to hell, you have just become Debbie (or Donny) Downer.
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