Alison Doyle: Discover Your Perfect Career

The job or career that's perfect for you may not be the job that's perfect for someone else. Everyone has expectations of what a job should be like. We all want different things out of life and work.

Discover Your Perfect Career (Excerpt from Chapter 1, Alison Doyle's Job Search Guidebook)

Consider Allen, who spent a good part of his working life driving a bus on a college campus. It wasn't because he didn't have other qualifications. He took the job deliberately because it gave him time to think and to write poetry. What he wanted most out of life was to be a poet. He didn't expect to make a living writing poetry; unfortunately, those people are few and far between. However, this job gave him plenty of time to write the poetry he wanted to-in his head while driving, and on paper when he wasn't working.

Another example comes to mind. Jean, overqualified by most standards, is happy to work at a part-time job in a local doctor's office. Why doesn't she want more out of her job? She's an aspiring actress, and that low-key day job gives her time to audition and time to rehearse. It also pays the bills, which would be tough to do on the uncertain income she makes acting.

Then there's Sam. He was one of the best employees who every worked for me. He couldn't read or write. Sam brought his wife with him to fill out his job application. He was dedicated, and he never missed a day of work. He was innovative and came up with lots of ideas that saved the company money. Sam dressed like a college professor topped off with a jaunty Irish Tweed cap, but he was our office cleaning person. Hiring Sam was one of the best hiring decisions I ever made, even though on paper he didn't have many qualifications.

Sam's story reminds me of the wise words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, "If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

It's important to consider those words and to consider your personal perfect career-not what you think your perfect career should be or what the career expectations of your family, friends, and society are. After all, it is your career, and that's what is most important.

Buy Alison's Books

Job Search Guidebook
My Job Search Guidebook provides you with all the information you need to make the right connections, take the right steps, and make yourself stand out from the job search crowd in this fast paced, every changing job market.

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Internet Your Way to a New Job
Internet Your Way to a New Job includes all the latest job search sites, tools, trends, including how to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to job search, job search apps for your phone and iPad, video interviews, career networking, and the best sites for job seekers and career changers.