Rekindling The Career Dream

A few weeks ago I wrote a guest blog for Charade called ‘How to Stay Motivated When You Aren’t In Your Dream Job’. One of the main motivational tactics that I wrote about, and often use myself, was striving to impress the company or person you work for. But what happens when the faith you had in your employer is broken because of decisions that are made which you don’t agree with and which affect you and your well-earned wages?

I have worked in cafes and shops since I was at school and have had a lot of experience with issues such as this, which often arise in small businesses, and it is easy to become de-motivated when you feel that your hard work is going unnoticed or you’re being treated unfairly. However, I have found that, particularly now that I am working in a café but really wish to be developing my skills, working to help others and building a career in the publishing industry, there is also a positive side to these sorts of annoyances.

When I become de-motivated at the café I find myself becoming more determined to find a job that I am truly satisfied with, or one which might open doors to the job of my dreams. After already going through six months of job hunting, receiving a lot of rejection letters and only getting a few interviews, I know that the road to getting into any sort of ‘proper job’ will not be an easy one. I also know that I will need to be flexible, happy to work for free or as an intern (I have had quite a lot of good experiences of this and, although I have my opinions on graduates working their socks off for peanuts in large companies, know that it is almost the only way of getting your foot in the door and gaining valuable experience in the sector you’d most like to work in) and manage to make money at the same time.

I would love to get experience working within a charity and then become employed in the third sector but also have a huge passion for literature and publishing. I will have to update my CV and include all of the fantastic things that I have been lucky enough to be involved with (most notably Bristol Short Story Prize) and then start to approach all of the charities, businesses, media companies and publishers which might possibly employ me or accept me as an intern.

When I didn’t have a job I always heard people say that it would be easier to find another job when I had one under my belt. I don’t know whether that is the case but it is true that, now that I have a job and money worries are less pressing, I have more time to think about my dreams for the future and focus on making them become realities.

It looks as though I will have to do some intent planning to put my motivations into action but I will follow my own advice and continue to keep my free time un-planned and spontaneous so that life keeps on surprising me.

Wish me luck!