Can you take up just any job?
Words by Francis Kahihu (the author is an Organisational Development Practitioner)
Can you really take up just any job? This is one of the questions that many job seekers are required to respond to when accosted by potential employers. I have met several persons looking for a job and asked about the kind of a job they are seeking for they indicate that they are ready to take up just any job. What does it really mean to declare that you can take up just any job?
In most cases, admitting to the fact that you are ready to take up just any job could be interpreted to mean you are willing to start off from whichever entry point. The desperation that comes with sustained job search makes many people opt for any point of entry. However, the fact that someone says they can take up just any job should never be taken to mean they can literally take up just any job. Veiled in the admission that they can take up any job is the desire to take up jobs that are within certain limits and expectations.
By the time you express interest in taking up just any job that comes along, you should have considered the ramifications of such a plan since there are many people who pick out a certain job that eventually leads them far away from their career desires. A person who takes up just any job at the start should be careful to remain focused on what the final goal is so that they do not lose focus once on the ‘temporary’ engagement.
It is however worth noting that many people are finding their dream jobs through the ‘just any job’ approach. The fact that many people are never sure about their future career prospects by the time they leave school leave the persons free to venture into virtually any opportunity that seems to match their capacities and interests. Many people have successfully dumped their childhood dreams in favor of more fulfilling opportunities. In this case, having gone for just any job proved fruitful since desire, passion and productivity meet.
It has been said that many people, especially the learned young, are getting choosy of the kind of jobs they will get into as a result of pressure from parents and peers. Many young people will not want to be heard as having undertaking certain tasks that are regarded low class. The mentality has been since they have been to school, they are not worth taking up certain tasks. They have successfully compartmentalized the job market and are aware of what should be their portion and what should be undertaken by the persons who failed to make it in school.
With such an approach to life, several persons have languished in despair as they are unable to reconcile the dream with the reality. Several have delved into crime and other malpractices since they feel they need to either initiate or maintain a certain level of lifestyle. Their inability to raise the requisite resources to manage such lifestyles lead to heightened frustration.
When they take up just any job as a result of this pressure and frustration, they are unable to give the tasks their best shot leading to dismal performance. This initiates a vicious cycle since they are hardly able to sustain any job and are hence ever in motion, moving from job to job.
I do not feel sorry for someone who is broke and in debt, because they consider many jobs to be beneath their dignity.
ReplyDelete