Starting a New Job Is Like Dating
Looking for your perfect job is comparable to searching for that special someone. Your job is something that you are going to (most likely) stick with for the rest of your life, as is the person you choose to marry. When starting out your job, it is important to feel as if you can’t live without your employer and co-workers. In order for you to spend the rest of your life doing this job, you must (somewhat) enjoy it. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when starting out your job to see if it is the right fit for you:
#1: Can I contribute? Just like relationships, it is important that you add something to the workplace. Instead of just working and collecting a paycheck, you must add life and excitement to the office. This will allow you to actually enjoy what you are doing instead of simply working to keep up with your bills. If you find yourself not contributing anything on a personal level to the business, it is most likely not the job for you.
#2: Do I like the people I am working with? In order to be successful at your job, you must at least somewhat like the people you are surrounding yourself with on a daily basis. If you can form personal relationships with your co-workers, it will make it more enjoyable for you to go to work everyday. This is exactly like dating: if you don’t actually like spending a significant amount of time with the person, chances are you aren’t right for each other.
#3: Am I challenged enough? You must ask yourself if the job that you have chosen will challenge you and allow you to grow and better yourself. Everyone clearly wants to be good at the job that they have, however it is still important to learn new skills. When dating, it is important that the person you are with challenges you to be a better person. If you find that the job that you have is not challenging you in any way or allowing you to grow, it is not the job for you.
#4: Am I up for the challenge? While you want to be challenged, it is important that you are not too challenged. If you find that the job that you have started is far too difficult for you, to the point where you don’t even know what you are doing, it is definitely not the job for you. Just like when dating someone, you want to be challenged and better yourself while still staying true to who you really are. Although you want to learn new skills and allow yourself to grow, you must still be successful at what you are doing.
#5: Am I a cultural fit? You want to make sure that you feel that you fit in in the workplace. This workplace will begin to feel like your second home, as you will be spending a significant amount of your life there, with the same people everyday. Culturally, you want to make sure that you “feel at home” at this workplace and feel that you are “the missing piece” in the puzzle. This is extremely comparable to dating in that when being with someone, you want to make sure that you two fit together on an emotional level and actually have things in common.
After spending a significant amount of time at this new job (or with this new boyfriend or girlfriend) you will be able to tell if it is the right fit for you. If you answered “Yes” to all of the questions above, then you have officially found the job (or person) that completes you!
