A year ago on Palm Sunday, I was preparing for a death. It was a death of a job and a future I'd pictured a thousand times. I was in a moment of celebration—a transition, a new role—but instead, I opted to lay it down, give it up, and walk away. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was hard because I didn't know what was next. I couldn't picture the future if I left. And that terrified me. Before this point, praise was my reassurance. I told myself, "You're on the right path, Marie." But I could only go so long fueled by external acknowledgment. I needed to want it at a heart level. I gave up reputation and security and identity. And I was left with myself. Alone but free.
Category Archives: Career
When the Work Is Solving Problems
The phrase “problem solving” often carries with it a lofty connotation. Maybe you think of solving the world’s problems, or coming up with a solution in the form of a new invention or innovation. Something grand and ground-breaking.
But often, solving problems means that there’s something threatening the rhythm, something that’s challenging your ability to run your business, household, or project in the regular way you’ve been accustomed to running it.
Solving these kinds of problems feels tedious and mundane. It feels like the time you’re spending trying to restore the former equilibrium — ‘normal’, we could call it — is time you’re not spending doing the tasks and projects that are actually important.
But often, solving these problems is the important work.
Think about caring for a house. If the roof starts leaking in one spot, it won’t immediately compromise the ability of the house to fulfill its purpose of providing shelter. But if you neglect to fix the leak, over time, the problem will grow. It will affect more parts of the house (and more people who live in the house.) It will take away from the overall value of the house.
Fixing the leak may be expensive. It will take away from the other tasks and responsibilities you have, pursuits which are important to your life and purpose. But someone in the household needs to deal with the leak.
Solving problems doesn’t necessarily require special skills. It does require the character to step up and say “I’ll take care of this.” And then it requires the persistence to follow through and keep on it until the problem is solved.
Often you won’t be able to solve the problem yourself. You’ll need to reach out and ask for help, or secure extra resources. But that’s part of solving the problem. Someone needs to coordinate the project of solving the problem. Will it be you?
We’re Doing Just Fine
Millennials and Their Jobs
It’s the season of the year for graduations. My fellow classmates and I from the class of 2012 have been out of college exactly four years. Which means that w’ve had the same amount of time post-college as we had in college. And after having so many expectations about what it would be like to be in the working world, we can now look around and see what reality looks like.
[Disclaimer: This post is based on anecdotal data I have on my peers, interpreted by my own perception of their LinkedIn profiles, Facebook pages and what they’ve told me about their experiences.]
Here’s my take on the job situation for new and recent graduates: We’re doing just fine.
We started college in 2008, which means that for our whole college career, we were told the job market had tanked, it would be tough to get jobs, and we should plan for the worst. Sure, the career counselors were upbeat. But they were also very present. Professors gave advice on internships and informational interviews. As a liberal arts major in particular, I got the sense that the situation was grim.
Because we started college in this climate, however, it was all we knew. We didn’t feel we’d had a specific future taken away from us. We felt that nothing was going to be handed to us, and it was up to us to figure out a way to do meaningful work and support ourselves.
And guess what? We’re doing just that.
I am so impressed when I look around at my friends and peers. Not just in my graduating class of 2012, but in the classes surrounding mine. Sure, many of us started out working multiple part-time jobs, or perhaps are still doing this. (One significant help in this area, for those who have this privilege, is the option to stay on our parents health insurance for a few more years.) But we are moving into professional careers.
Some of us have gone to grad school, though perhaps fewer than would have in earlier decades. Grad school is less of a default or backup choice, and those who go know they are making a sacrifice to do so. This cost forces us to be thoughtful about the opportunities we pursue and the choices we make.
I also see many of my peers staying with companies for multiple years, not jumping from job to job. Once we have our foot in the door at a place, we get a chance to show that company our value. And often that leads to success, in the form of increased responsibilities, raises and promotions. Yet even with success under our belt, we feel there’s no guarantee we’d be able to land an equivalent job at another company. When you have a good thing going, and the rest of the market is a giant question mark, there’s incentive to keep climbing the ladder you’re already on.
The nice thing is, good things come when you’re at a place over time (sticking closely with the same industry over time can lead to similar outcomes.) You come to have experience in a variety of circumstances, enabling you to make sophisticated observations and decisions. Your name comes to mind when higher-ups have a project that needs additional people on it, or when recruiters see your years of experience building up on your LinkedIn profile. You’re available to lead when a superior is out on vacation or tied up with other responsibilities. And my peers and I, we get that. We’re learning how to be successful and establish ourselves in the working world, the working world of this moment and time.
Sure, technology is going to continue to cut out more of the tedious, monotonous work. But we know that we’re going to have to keep up. Nothing is certain, and our futures are not secure.
You can analyze us millennials all you want. My take is, we’re doing just fine.
An English Major’s Guide to Writing a Stellar Report
Reports are everywhere. With the ease of email and electronic documents, it’s never been easier to send information, charts, and analysis to a team of people. But just because reports are easy to distribute, doesn’t make them easy to write. The good news is, you probably have report-writing skills you didn’t know you had. It starts with the basics of writing a paper.
Photo Credit: Death to Stock Photo
I never thought I’d say this, but I love writing reports. Well, maybe I don’t always love it. But I certainly find it satisfying. There’s something about condensing a lot of data, threads, and connections, and painting a cohesive picture of what is going on.
It was only recently, though, that I realized I had learned to write good reports by learning how to write good thesis-driven papers in high school and college. And just as I improved my paper-writing skills with the feedback of teachers, I’ve improved my report-writing skills with the feedback of my supervisors and those who receive my reports.
You won’t always be lucky enough to have someone give you feedback. But there are some key guidelines that will lead you on the right track. Just as the better writer you become, the better you can edit your own work — so also, the better report-writer you become, the better you can edit your reports.
Don’t Leave Yet (3 Benefits of Staying Where You Are)
No one wants to get stuck. But we also crave a sense of belonging. We all want to be the hero of our own story, a story we can take pride in telling. It turns out, the backdrop of your life doesn’t have to change in order to begin a new chapter.
Photo Credit: picjumbo
Growing up, I wanted to take advantage of a variety of experiences. During college, I spent each summer in a different location, with a different job, working with a different group of people. These experiences were rich, but they were also isolated. They didn’t build on one another.
I made a mindset shift when graduating college. Instead of moving to a new place, I chose to stay in Seattle. Instead of prioritizing experiences, I prioritized relationships.
My goal was to spend my first year out of college living with good friends, navigating our new stage of life in a thoughtful way. I wasn’t worried about finding the right job. I was worried about finding an apartment and friends to live with. But once those pieces were in place, I realized I had the support system to go for opportunities I might have been afraid to pursue otherwise.
It’s easier to get outside of your comfort zone when you have a strong support system. Even if you move far away from friends and family, staying in regular contact with them can do a lot to give you the confidence and drive to keep pushing forward. It’s draining to be outside your comfort zone. And when the rest of your world is comfortable and settled, it can be easier to cope with the stress and anxiety that comes with finding/pursuing a career.
How to Pursue Your Dream Job While Still Paying the Bills
There’s so much pressure these days to find a fulfilling career, one that satisfies you, taps into your passion and gifts. But you may not be qualified for that job right away. How do you put yourself on the path to your dream job, while still making ends meet in the waiting period?
Photo Credit: Death to Stock Photo
Here’s how this question played out in my life.
I was about to graduate from college, itching to prove myself in the ‘real world.’ My intent was to find a full-time job. But when I heard about openings at Sporcle.com, a trivia website I’d turned my family members on to, my brother insisted I apply — if only for the cool factor.
The position I interviewed for was 20 hours per week, minimum wage. It was guaranteed through the end of the summer. Objectively, it wasn’t the job I was looking for. But the people who interviewed me were thoughtful and energetic. And as an English major, I would have the opportunity to write blog posts, curate content, and write web copy. I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t afford to pass up.
I worked there for the summer, with increased hours and responsibilities in the fall. Also in the fall, I became a nanny for an elementary school child. I worked early mornings and late afternoons at the nanny job, and spent my daytime hours at Sporcle. This arrangement allowed me to gain valuable experience at Sporcle, developing myself into a candidate for full-time work in the web industry. And yet I also was making good money in childcare, a satisfying job experience in its own right.
A little over a year after starting at Sporcle, I was offered a full-time position. My dream job. I’d reached a point where I was ready to be working full-time in that industry, and if a position hadn’t opened up at Sporcle, I was preparing to look for full-time employment elsewhere. But what a rich year it was. I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything.
Here’s what it comes down to. Just because your job isn’t full-time doesn’t make it less valuable. If you treat that part-time gig in a professional way, you will gain valuable experience which can make you a qualified candidate for your dream job.
Here are 3 ways to pursue your dream job while still paying the bills: