find a job that i like

I’ve not been wanting to take on this goal. I’ve been avoiding it.
I think the reason is that, when I am out of the office the last thing I want to think about is jobs. I just want to relax and forget about work.

I think what would help is being more involved outside of work. I go home to relax, but I still feel anxious, like I am not accomplishing anything. I just think about the minutes ticking by and how I will be at work again before I’ve had a chance to make progress on my goals.
So I think for now I’ll have to skip the relaxation part of my off-time. I may hate it now, but for my goal of having work that I actually like, it will be worth the tradeoff.

So I think part of the reason this has been hard is because I have a dichotomy of thinking about my current job. On the one hand, I hate it. On the other, I realize that I am lucky to have it (especially with the economy being where it is now.) I’ve felt a little guilty at my attitude toward my job, when I know there are many who would not mind having it at all. So I’ve been going back and forth between disgust and gratitude.

Well, the two CAN coexist. I realize that I AM lucky to have my job. I AM grateful for it, very much. And I resolve to do much better at it and with it and to do away with the bratty, lazy attitude. While I don’t think things have been very fair, that does not mean I can do things half-assedly. That has been my position there: I am treated with a lot of disrespect, so why should I care about the place or my job?

Because I care about ME and where I am going from here. I cannot take the next step until I get serious, and that means that I take my current job seriously. Take it seriously so I can take myself seriously.

Being grateful for something does not mean you can’t try for something better. I have no guilt for wanting to get a better job. I don’t think anyone could fault me for that.

So, I will make the most of this job and be grateful for it while I work for something better for myself. That is completely justifiable, reasonable, sensible, and fair.

I spent many years working for small, “cool”,”funky”, and “hip” tech companies, which are supposed to be the best, most creative and rewarding places to work.

I found it to be the exact opposite; extremely stressful, unorganized, poor pay and benefits, and very unfulfilling. All these companies tended to be the same, trying to pitch their next big idea (which was somehow different than the hundreds of competitors who did the same thing). They were almost always headed by some law-school flunky type jackass who did nothing but spout industry jargon and buzzwords, all while promising to make us (i.e. him) rich if we hit it big. Most of these companies went under, or were barely scraping by.

After a few years of this, I decided to go work doing software development for a very very large (fortune 500) non-tech company, and I couldn’t be happier. I find the large corporation provides much, much better pay and amazing benefits, and I really identify with the company goals and truly believe we are doing something good for the planet while we make a profit. I also find the corporate atmosphere to be much less stressful and more relaxing than the “cool funky” startups. I’ve also noticed I seem to be working with a higher caliber of people, which makes the day more pleasant.

This has really changed my life. I no longer dread going to work, but rather look forward to it. My job makes me happy, and this in turn leads to me be much less stressed, and has had quite a positive impact on my relationships, health, and mood (and bank account!).

So my advice is to never give up, there is a dream job out there for you. It may be frustrating to not be able to find it for a while, but look in the places you wouldn’t normally look, and you may be surprised.

Everyone keeps telling me not to job hop, and I always tell them that if I am not happy, then I will not stay.

I just wish that I can find a job that suits me.

I know it’s not going to be easy, or going to come as quickly as I would like… but I’m trying. Eventually, I’ll find the job that I’ll enjoy

wow this is the frist time in my life that I cannnot seem to get my thoughts together. I have a good job that pays well, but, I HATE IT. I need to find something that I like, and stick to it. I need to find a new job fast, and quite my current job.

I’ve had ENOUGH years in crappy jobs. My nerves are completely shot.

Why spend any more of my life like this. I don’t have to. I will grow up and be a responsible adult. And find a real job.

Hard to describe, because the sharks seemed friendly enough, but I think I blew it. Sometimes I wonder if I’m just sabotaging myself, because I’m not giving the stock answers that interview articles tell you to give. Vague stock answers pulled off “convincingly.”

What do I want to do in 5 years? Write. And in 10? Write. But no company wants to hear that. I’m supposed to cater to them. Maybe I’m just an egotistical SOB. And I really need to look at it from the employer’s POV.

Writing isn’t paying the bills. Not right now, anyhow.

Ah! A recruiter took me by surprise and called me, offering positions that I would really be interested in. Stuff that involved writing, research and editing, even though it was for their marketing department. She asked me when I would be free to interview, and when I said next week, she sounded rather abrupt and said, “Well, I’ll call you next week or some time after New Year’s.” Man, and I’m thinking, maybe I blew this chance. I really, really hope she calls me BACK!!!!

Her number was listed as “unavailable” so I couldn’t call her back and say, “Wait, how about this week?!”

I hate job searching.

I was contacted by a recruiter yesterday about a part-time position teaching English to three overseas Japanese adults for a large Japanese corporation. The good points about this position are that it pays very well ($40/hour for two hours a day, two days a week) and it will fit well with my schedule.

The downside is that this company fired the last teacher, who had been doing her job, because her students did not progress fast enough in the 6 months that she taught them. The recruiter said that they were still at “beginner level.”

Any comments from the peanut gallery would be welcome. Would you take the job?