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'I'll never do that again!'
Revise your attitude about work that's 'beneath you'
There comes a time in every worker's life when he or she declares: "That's it! I'm never going to (fill in the blank) for a living again!" This, I have learned, is the surest way of knowing what the future holds. It seems there is no better way of attracting something into your life than by declaring that you'll never do it again.
As a career counselor and not a psychic, I'm more compelled by the reasoning behind the declaration than by the declaration itself. What could have happened in the last work that caused such a judgment against it?
That question brings some unsurprising answers, including "it's the wrong field for me," "the work is abusive," "the hours are unmanageable" and "I'm just not interested in it anymore."
While these are all acceptable answers, the one that brings me up short is "that work is beneath me."
I don't know why that bothers me when the other answers don't. Truth be told, some work is beneath some workers, in the sense that they can do more than the work demands.
Maybe it's the way some people say it, with a sense of entitlement about the work they should have available to them.
I run into that sometimes when someone tells me he or she needs money and I suggest a part-time retail job or paper route. Those are not good conversations, with me pointing out the logic of bringing money in the door and the job-seeker talking about not having gone to college to sell hardware.
My hackles probably go up a bit, too, because of all the goofy jobs I've had to take, just to pay the bills. Even as a business owner, I can tell you that there are more ways to lose your ego than to pump it up. The reason I own a van is so I can get good and sweaty hauling things around, even on the days I have to jump into a business suit to give a keynote address.
And yet it's hard to deny that some work was made to be walked away from. As far as I know, I never will wait tables again, although I did that for almost a decade.
Nor will I deliver newspapers or telephone books . . . I think. Those jobs belonged to a stage in my life that I think I'm done with. If I need to make quick cash now, I'm more likely to do it with my brain than my back.
Oops -- that brings me to secretarial work, another job I hope never to do again. I'm just incredibly bad at taking orders.
Here's the problem. If I keep going this way, my list of never-again jobs is going to be longer than the list of jobs I do want. When this happens to job-seekers, particularly when they're in a bad spot, things really get sticky. They close off options that could keep them floating long enough to work out a better solution.
Over the years, I've developed a short list of questions and steps related to this situation. If you ever are weighing a less-than-savory job, use this list to help you make the decision that's right for you.
1. Review your priorities for the money you would earn with this job. Are the things you would be paying for worth keeping?
2. Review your big-picture career goals. Will this job help you reach them in any way? Could it work against you?
3. What's the worst part of the job? How awful is that? Could you get through it if you had to?
4. Can you imagine a reason you'd be glad you took the job, now or in the future?
5. Can you maintain your regular job search or keep up your contacts while you have this job?
6. Is there anything inherently undignified about this job? Or does it just not fit your image of yourself at this stage?
7. Do you have other options?
Sometimes using a list like this will talk you into a job; other times it will talk you out of it.
In the long run, the main question to answer is "does this job provide both a means and an end?" It should lead to something you want, while also providing something you need.
If that's the case, your next step might be to swallow your pride, take the job and get started on solving the problems that brought you to this point.
- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice. com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.
