T.G.I.F.—"Thank goodness it's Friday!" How many times have you heard it? How many times have you said it? How often do you hear T.G.I.M.—"Thank goodness it's Monday?" For most people, going to work is a chore, but we look forward to the weekend when we can do what we want. What does this say about our attitudes toward our jobs? What if you could look forward to going to work each day with the same zest and anticipation you feel for the weekend? Yes, we know some people do. But we think they are the exception. Steven Spielberg is excited about his work, but
he is a famous movie producer. How can someone feel passionate about managing a
cellular phone company, doing corporate training, or consulting with major
manufacturing firms?
Your hardest work is done prior to the interview. If you have prepared thoroughly, you can walk into your interview relatively calm and completely confident.
Take almost any job, and if you look far enough, you will find someone who really likes and feels fulfilled doing that job. The problem isn't in the work, it lies in the fit—either good or bad—between the job and the person doing it. Talk to people about how they chose their careers and the most common answers are likely to be:
• I knew my dad wanted me to follow in his footsteps and take over the family business someday.
• I knew my mother always wanted me to be a doctor.
• I always heard that teaching was a good field for women.
• I knew there were lots of jobs in computers.
• I knew I could always get a job if I went into nursing.
These individuals tried to fit into jobs that met other people's expectations or where they thought employment opportunities were good. They tried to fit into jobs rather than find a job that was fit for them!
Bernard Haldane Associates stresses the importance of job fit. Trying to fit into jobs with numerous perceived opportunities or ones recommended by well-meaning friends or family is a sure path to job dissatisfaction and frustration. You need to enjoy your work. Most people spend the major part of their waking hours at work. If you don't enjoy your work, eventually you'll just put in time and go through the motions. Eventually you'll put the blame for your job dissatisfaction on the particular job—rather than the type of work you are doing—or blame the people you work with for your discontent. So you find another job and assume that your problems are solved, only to find that with time the new job provides no greater fulfillment than the previous one. Many people never break out of the circle of misemployment. This cycle of misemployment
should not and need not happen to you. The Haldane approach to career building
is to coach each individual to identify his or her strengths and then help those
individuals to identify and find jobs that are fulfilling to them. Genuine
motivation comes from within you—not from your mother's aspirations for you or
your employer's admonitions to do better work. If you have work that is
fulfilling, work that you enjoy, work that allows you to use your strengths, you
will be motivated. You can wake up on Monday morning looking forward to the
weekdays ahead.
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