My single most read blog post ever is – How Do You Really Get An Entry Level Job? It’s about a woman who reached out to me and asked me for advice – so I gave her 5 tips on how I would go about getting a job if I had her skill sets and resume. One major difference between getting an ‘entry level’ job and getting a job you ‘love’ is that when you’re just trying to get your first job – my advice is to take anything! I mean anything! I’ll take out the trash, I’ll answer phones, I’ll wash your car – just let me get in the door – my talent will take over from there and eventually I’ll move up the chain. Most folks don’t think of taking out the garbage when they think of getting a job they ‘LOVE’.
So, how do you get a job that you ‘Love’ – I mean one of those jobs that doesn’t seem like work because you ‘Love’ it so much? One of those jobs where you would be willing to take less money to be able to do it. That’s the key. You see I get asked frequently what my ‘dream’ job would be – I have had the same answer for at least 20 years – Head Coach, Los Angles Lakers. That’s my ‘dream’ job – for a couple of reasons – I love basketball, love the Lakers and that I would be getting huge BANK! I don’t know if I would ‘Love’ the job – but I sure would give it a lot of hugs and kisses. Now, if someone said, “Tim, we are going to offer you the head coaching position for the Lakers, but it only pays $75,000.” I would decline – because I wouldn’t ‘Love’ that job for $75,000. I would ‘Love’ that job for about $1M per season – which would be a bargain for my skill set – Mr. Buss!
That word ‘Love’ is real tricky. Many people say the ‘Love’ their job – but you ask them to take a 10% pay cut and they don’t ‘Love’ it anymore. Here’s how you get a job you Really Love:
1. Know what it is you ‘Love’ – Too many folks want a job they love – but they don’t even know what it is they love to do. “Well, Tim, I love to sit on the couch and watch movies.” That’s a very easy job to get! Congratulations – have fun with that – plus you might want to find someone willing to support you in your new chosen profession. I don’t say that in jest – that really isn’t that hard! I know quite of few ladies who have chosen to do Yoga each day and have lunch with the ladies – they ‘Love’ their jobs! They’ve found ways to get supported in doing their jobs. Guys – don’t be haters – I know guys who have found ‘sponsors’ that let them stay home and fish and golf – face it – they must be really good at something – or they’re better at finding suckers than you!
2. Understand that something you ‘Love’ at 20, might be different at 30, and 40, and... – I wanted to be a teacher from age 12 to about age 23 – even today I love interacting with children – I’ve done youth sports coaching for the past 20 years. I got my undergrad degree in Elementary Education. I was 100% positive -teaching was a job I would ‘Love’. I found out that it wasn’t. I fell out of ‘Love’ with teaching. I see so many folks who ‘Love’ something, do it for a while, then realize they don’t really love it anymore – but they have this idea that you can’t stop loving something and move on to the next thing. It’s alright to stop loving a job you once loved. Want a job you ‘love’? Sometimes that means leaving a job you once loved.
3. Realize, falling in ‘Love’ is sometimes the greatest part of finding a job you ‘Love’ – Too many people get set on finding a job they are instantly in love with. Most times, loving a job doesn’t work like that. Many times you fall in love with a job you initially didn’t like very much. I’m fairly certain the first time I met my wife she wasn’t instantly in love with me! But I wore her down. Jobs can be like that! They seem kind of average, then over time you begin to realize you really are in love with it. Don’t get caught up in the notion you need to instantly be ‘in love’ with a job to eventually ‘love’ your job.
Do you love your job?