Pages

3/12/09
Still Looking For Mr. Right Job

I'm getting a little frustrated about the whole job thing. Not that there aren't any jobs out there, but that I can't find one that I'm interested enough in to even apply. There's a regional magazine here called Skirt, and as I was walking past the newsstand the other day, a sentence on the front page jumped out and caught my eye. It said "...losing a job but finding a calling". And I just stopped in my tracks and stared at it for a while, because I so so so want to find a calling.

But ya'll, this is easier said than done.

I am not one of those incredibly lucky people who knew from the time that they were six that they wanted to be a doctor or lawyer or Indian chief. I didn't know at six, I didn't know at 16, and I didn't know at 26. Now 30 is rapidly sneaking up on me, and I feel that it's high time I find this calling and settle into a career darnit.

Alas, nothing seems to grab me. Despite the books, the tests, the informational interviews, nothing has really spoken to me. For two months I've been reading and researching and pleading with God for some kind of sign, but so far it's been all quiet on the western front. I've come across a couple of things that I've thought, "Well, I guess I could do that if I had to", but who wants to get up and spend their days doing something merely tolerable? I did that before, and it ended up sucking my soul dry.

I guess I'm mostly bummed because the company I was stalking turned out to not be as exciting as I had hoped. I ended up talking to people in four different departments about what they do, and what they like and don't like about their jobs, and at no point did the Heavens open and angels sing and everything click that this was where I was supposed to be. Oh I wanted it to be, that's for sure. I wanted this to be the dream job so the hunt would be over and I'd finally have found my calling, but it just wasn't there. There was no sense of rightness. Now I'm wondering if that really exists, or am I wasting time looking for the Mr. Right of jobs when I should just be settling for Mr. Whatever comes along.

The good news is that we're still financially stable enough to allow me to hold out a little longer while the Fates align and my dream job shows up, but the bad news is that I'm ready, willing, and able to work now...if I just knew where to go.

Ya'll tell me- what do you think I should do?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm all about following your dreams, finding yourself and finding a job that you will actually want to get up to go to every morning. I watched my dad become so stressed by his job that it made him sick. I said I'd never have a job like that. I majored in archaeology, what can I say, I took it to the extreme. But honestly girl, in light of the current economy and rising unemployment rate, I'd say take what you can get for now. Then at least as you continue the soul searching you'll be bringing in some income. Don't stop living the dream, but make sure to keep one foot in reality.

Anonymous said...

The fact is that you may not know what your calling is -- you might not have a calling yet! You can't rush that kind of a "realization." I'd say just take a job that is tolerable right now, keep soul searching and exploring, and one day I think you'll have that "aha moment" where you'll realize your calling.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the "calling" is what you do on the side for others instead of what you do for income. Have you become involved with helping others (i.e. working at the soup kitchen, volunteering at your church in areas of need, donating time to Second Harvest, etc)? It's amazing the people you network with and the refining of your calling when you give to others honestly and without 'self' motives. Volunteer outside your comfort zone for a few months then see how you feel. It can't hurt and will be a blessing to others to boot.

tootie said...

I can relate because I didn't know at a young age what I wanted to do (and I'm still not entirely sure).

I say that you hold out for something you love. And don't be afraid to try something new. Maybe you'll end up loving a job that you never considered before.

Either way, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Quirky said...

Thanks guys. You are incredibly wise...you shock me with your general brilliance. (How the heck did you end up here?)

Anonymous said...

I say you should start a family. You're financially stable right now so why not. If you find a job and then have a kid you will want to be with the kids alot. Take 5-7 years to be with the kids and then they will go to school and then you can go back to work. Hopefully you will find what you really want to do in that time. You should get a job that you actually want to wake up in the morning and do. Not one of those jobs that you want to keep hitting the snooze button and dread going to work.

Quirky said...

Nice try mother.