There is NO Safe and Secure Job

Lisa Frumin
Aug 24, 2017 · 3 min read

A couple weeks ago, a client of mine spoke to me about how her mom really wanted her to find a good and secure job. Her mom pushed, suggested, encouraged my client to study computer science in college because computers were a growing industry with a prosperous future. To be fair to my client’s mom, that was true: there was a high demand for computer scientists and they were being paid well into 6-figures.

Technically, it was safe and secure, right?

But my client did not have a passion for computers. She hated the college courses she took in it and eventually switched to finance, which she said she enjoyed, but by the time she was graduating, she no longer wanted a job in finance. Then she was not sure how to proceed and she found herself in her most recent role unhappy, unfulfilled and stuck, not sure what she wanted to do next in her career.

And this all stemmed from her focusing her intention on security and safety in a job rather than joy and passion. Intention is a powerful thing, huh?

Why There is No “Secure” Job

I recently listened to a commencement speech by Jim Carrey where he shares with students that you can either choose love or fear in your life and he describes how his dad chose fear by neglecting what his passion was to study accounting and land a job as an accountant because it’s safe and what’s good for his family.

Jim Carrey then shared that later on his dad got laid off. So much for security, right? AND Carrey’s dad didn’t like his job either! Security is a myth. We have no idea where we are headed or how the labor market will change.

It’s normal, I will say, to try to try to find security in the job market. It’s very scary to not know where your next paycheck is coming from.

But based on my client and Jim Carrey’s stories alone, it does not seem worth it to risk your happiness for financial/job security. While my client did achieve a level of security that she has a job that’s stable and isn’t going anywhere, she did NOT achieve security in the sense of peace of mind, joy or fulfillment in her career (which she is now working on through my coaching program). Jim Carrey’s dad not only lost his job but also missed out on having peace of mind and fulfillment in his work.

I am not telling you to drop everything right away for a job in acting, singing or race car driving. Reality check is in. Got it. But it is important to look at your intentions for your career and where it has led you. Is it what you want? How can you begin to shift it?

My client is not jumping ship suddenly, that’s for sure. But we did talk about how to add her passions back into her life and how her passions can help her navigate her career transition to a career she loves, and that all started with seeing where her intentions were and where she can refine them to get what she wants now.

How Following Passion Can Lead to Increased Security

From this new intention, you can set yourself up with a career plan that gets you what you want, that fulfills you in a way that leads you to become an indispensable employee. Your work does not feel like work. You enjoy every minute of what you’re doing. You get recognized. People will notice and promote you. Makes a lot of sense right?

It’s when you show that passion and put in some great work because you’re working from passion that your job security is inevitable. Managers will want to keep you at all costs and other employers will be calling you because they hear how awesome you are or have seen your work firsthand.

I kid you not. This is why I keep getting job offers way after choosing a career as a coach. I was passionate about what I did, people saw the fruits of my labor and they found me to be indispensable.

Now that’s security worth fighting for, right?

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