Last week, I went into a staffing agency, hoping they'd be able to direct me towards some job openings I hadn't found yet. While I was there, they began to envision me in an opening in their own office. After a conversation that day, I had an interview with the branch owner on Thursday, a phone interview with corporate yesterday, and am scheduled to go in tomorrow for another conversation with the branch owner.
This process has been so reinforcing for me. After so many "no thanks" for dozens of job applications, it was nice to know I still had a presence in person. That I came across as competent, professional, and hardworking as I think I am. The job won't be an easy one - there will be multitasking, dealing with frustrated people, and sometimes long hours. It isn't exactly what I'd love to be doing, but then again, I don't have a clearly defined idea of what I'd like to be doing. There is even an added component of working with someone married to an officer out-ranking my husband, which could be tricky to navigate...
So what happens when you get a good lead but you aren't sure if you should take it? Life is too short to be unhappy with your work. And if the passion isn't there, the work is going to feel twice as hard. I just left a job because I was so unhappy that it was impacting the rest of my life. But, can we swing it on just my husbands salary?
What do you think? Do I take a job for the sake of having a job, or do we pinch pennies and keep searching? Have you been in this sort of situation before? What did you do?
yay!!! proud of you girl!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteOh my goodness, Miss Catherine! I am in the SAME situation. I am now an Army spouse as well, and am 6 weeks out from leaving my job for us to move. I just posted on applying to jobs last week. I had so forgotten the anxiety of it all. Lately, we have agreed that even the best job isn't work it if the commute is 2+hrs on the road and tons of stress. For now, we are fortunate enough that his salary can "get us through", but it will definitely be tight with my quitting and him returning from deployment. At the same time, we want to max out our potential income as much as we can early on, you know? Praying for you, girl!
ReplyDeleteClaire! Oh my gosh! :) You should email me and we can talk more about where y'all are PCSing to. I feel ya on the commute, and retail stinks because of the evening and weekend hours - the only times they seem to be home! At least you'll finally have him back home. We need to catch up - badly! Saying a prayer for you as well, missy!
DeleteI think you should find something that you will LOVE!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Now, the key is - finding exactly WHAT makes me happy.
DeleteHey there, I am a new reader of your blog, from Campbell as well, and found this through someone else. Anyways, what comes to the job, my recommendation is to find a job that you absolutely love and enjoy - if you can afford doing that. I would only take the "first job available" if I absolutely had to get a job.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I really appreciate the insight - it's so tempting to take the job just to HAVE one, but I think I'll feel so much better knowing I did what I needed to in order to be happy.
DeleteI can definitely relate and am actually going to pour my heart on in a future post soon. As mentioned in the past on my blog, I haven't been happy with teaching this year...namely because of my school situation. When soul searching over the last several months, one of my best friends put it perfectly, she said: "You can keep doing what you're doing and know that you'll be unhappy, OR you can make a change and could wind up feeling very happy." I think taking risks is worthwhile, especially before kids and greater responsibilities. I think it's also okay to accept that you might need to have an in between job before finding "the one."
ReplyDeleteOh the joys of being an adult, right? Can't wait to see your story and what you're thinking about your job.
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