Yes, You Can Love Your Job
I was honored to have my LinkedIn headline named one of the Top 10 LinkedIn Profile Headlines from job-search experts. Bob McIntosh, a LinkedIn Top Voice for 2019, asked my peers in the job-search space to vote on their top LinkedIn headline from among their peers. My headline made that top ten list, which is a wonderful honor. Even better, it wasn't hard for me to come up with, because I believe it whole-heartedly.
If you haven't seen it, it merely tells the reader what I know is possible and how I can help.
Yes, You Can Love Your Job! I Help You Find The Right One | Career Coach & Former Recruiter | Resume Writer | Interview Expert | LinkedIn Profile Optimizer | HR Certified
The reason I believe it is because I have had a job that I loved—twice! It wasn't because I was necessarily lucky. No, both times, it was because I visualized the right job for me. Then in the first case, I found an employer that offered what I wanted. In the second case, I created a job that I knew I would love.
The First Job I Have Loved
In 2013, I decided that I had outgrown my job. I loved the people I worked with, but I didn't love the work I was doing. The owners of the company wanted me to focus on HR compliance. I had come in four years earlier and had built the HR department. They hired me to focus on compliance, but when I felt I had gotten sound systems in place to address this aspect of HR, I wanted to do more. Unfortunately, I did not have upper management that was supportive of those endeavors.
It was time for me to move on. But where? I made a list of all the characteristics that I wanted in a new job. I put together a list. On this list were my "must-haves," "want to have," and "wish to have." On top of my list was the type of work I wanted to do. Compliance could be a part of the job responsibilities but a much lower percentage of my day-to-day job. I wanted to do more in the area of people development—learning and performance management. I also liked recruiting, but I did not want to do recruiting any longer as my solo work. I wanted to work with a strong team that focused on excellence in what we did. I also wanted upper management that was supportive of HR and was open to new initiatives. Additionally, on my "must-have" list was a 410 (k) retirement plan match, as I was looking ahead to my retirement and building a nest egg for that.
I looked and looked and never seemed to find the right employer. My job search had been going on for six months, and I was getting anxious, but I knew it made no sense to make a move to an employer that did not meet my must-haves. I would find myself back in the job market relatively quickly, and who wants to do that? Then, I found it—an opening for a Director of Talent with an employer in the same town.
The job looked good, and the employer had a good reputation in their industry. I applied, was called in for an interview, and I knew it was the right place for me. From the first interaction with them to the offer, I was treated with respect. The supervisor for this role was new to the company, and she wanted to do big things. She needed this new Director of Talent to fix some issues and reestablish trust between the staff and the HR department. She also wanted to start new programs and had a list of exciting initiatives. I asked a lot of questions because I needed to understand what to expect. The answers given did not imply that everything was perfect; no place is. I was okay with that, and I appreciated the honesty.
I stayed for six years. My husband said that he knew that I was happy there because I came home in a good mood. I never came home complaining about what happened at work that day. I was proud to work there, and I loved this job... until December 2017.
The Second Job I Have Loved
Nothing lasts forever, and so it was with the first job that I truly loved. In December 2017, the company where I worked was acquired, and everything changed. We were now part of a Fortune 500 company, and what we could do as a 300 person employer was much different when we became part of a 275,000 person employer. Being part of a large employer with other priorities was not where I wanted to be. As I was thinking about my next career step, something outside of work greatly impacted my priorities. My husband suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, and winters are hard on him with the lack of sunlight. He proposed in early 2018 that he spend the winter in Florida. My first impulse was to say no. Why should he have fun in the sun and make me stay in Maryland and deal with the ice and snow and a job that no longer made me smile? Then I thought about this from a different perspective. Why couldn't I go with him? What was keeping me in Maryland? Not the job and not family, since we were empty-nesters with no family living locally. Maybe I could go. But if my husband needed more sunlight, should we not just decide to relocate to the southern US?
If we were going to move, then that opened up a lot of possibilities. Did I want to get another HR job or do something else? I made another list of "must-haves," "want to have," and "wish to have," but this list looked a lot different. What was important to me in 2013 was different five years later. I wanted to have more control over my time because my husband was retired. I did not want to be constrained by the limited time off I had. I also wanted more one-on-one interaction with people where I could make an impact. I brainstormed ideas and kept coming back to helping people to navigate their careers and job searches. From my years of recruiting, I saw so many people conduct their job search poorly. I knew I help them. Becoming a career coach and resume writer felt right to me. So, my husband and I made a plan to fix up our house to sell in 2019. I also started my job search business as a side hustle, as I wanted to test it out to see if I really liked it and if it was viable. On September 13, 2019, we sold our house, and on October 1, 2019, I gave my notice to my employer. Being an entrepreneur is not easy, but it has been one of the most rewarding things that I have done. And yes, I love it.
Yes, You Can Love Your Job
Some people believe that a job is just something you have to endure. I do not and will not believe that. While I do not think your work has to be a passion project, I do think that if you know yourself and what you are good at and like to do, you can find opportunities that are a good fit. From my two examples, it wasn't because I got lucky. I had a plan. I knew what I wanted. I proactively looked for the right opportunities and did not settle.
If I can do this, you can as well. I am no smarter than you. I do not have better connections. I just had a vision of what I wanted and grit and determination to make it happen. Will some people have more obstacles in their way. Absolutely! I am not naive about that. I know to have happiness in your career, you mustn't settle for a career where the best you hope for is a job that does not entirely suck—aim higher. Life is too short to settle for that.
Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.