Fitting the Circle into a Square

I’ve talked to a lot of people about work. Their work, my work, dream work… I know it’s very American of me to lead conversations to people’s jobs, but I am genuinely interested.

When people really get to talking about what they do, or rather what they would really like to do, I jump in.

“Why don’t you move more toward what you want by doing XYZ…?”

It doesn’t matter how different the two seem, I always know there’s a bridge. There’s a starting point. Most people look at me like I’m crazy. They don’t have the experience, they tell me. Look at the market, they exclaim! I could never leave what I have now, they say resolutely.

If you can never give up what you have, how do you ever expect to get more?

People don’t see the possibilities when it comes to careers. You’re a retail lead but you really want to get into marketing? There’s a million ways that is possible. Sure, you may have to take a hit in the short term. But imagine all you’ll gain beyond that. It’s the long game that needs you attention.

You may think you have no experience or nothing to offer a position you really want. But you do.

You’ve learned hundreds of skills (at least) in the jobs you’ve had up until this point. You can always translate them to what you actually want to do. In retail, you learned about customer service. Which is learning how to read people. In marketing? Yeah, you’re reading people and providing them what you think they want so they’ll buy.

Those are what I like to call, “sister-skills”.

You can make anything connect. The world is based on similarities and as soon as you recognize that, you’ll be unstoppable.

So, what I want you to do is think about all the things you’ve learned. Then think about all the things required of your dream job. Got it? If you look for the patterns you’ll see that you’re not as far off as you thought. And getting a job is all about being able to bridge the gap between what you know and what you don’t.

If you’re not sure of your dream job, you can listen to my podcast and get some ideas. Or just look around you. Ask people what they do. What do they like. Create your own dialog. You’ll find something soon, I know it.

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If you liked this post, check out my website at www.twentyeightandsearching.com

My podcast is available for streaming on Podbean, iTunes & on www.twentyeightandsearching.com

If you or someone you know loves their career or if you just have questions, email me to be a guest: samantha@twentyeightandsearching.com