Back in December, I wrote a post on doing a personal self-evaluation when changing careers, and in another December post, I even made a few observations about my evolving thoughts on my customer service experience. Even though I worked in the library field, it was heavy on customer service because I worked in public libraries, and I dealt with a variety of people each day. Because I’m more of an introvert, there was always a part of me that dreaded working the desk and dealing with people, but there was always joy when I had a good interaction with someone. Good interactions happened more often than bad, but what seems to be changing now is me.
Used to, I would say that good interactions outweighed bad interactions, and I just rolled with the bad and blew them off. Then something changed. I found it more and more difficult to just roll past the bad interactions. That’s when I left the public library system behind except for a brief part-time stint as I transitioned into college libraries. I just couldn’t take the frequent interactions with the public anymore. I did try one more public service job, but I didn’t have nearly as many interactions with the public so I survived that one.
As I look at different types of job opportunities, I literally find myself backing away from any job that requires even one bit of public interaction whether by phone or in person. I’ve reached an age where I’m just not willing to accept a job that involves a task that I have come to loathe. Don’t get me wrong. I love doing something that pleases someone, makes them happy, or meets a need. I just don’t want to interact with people on a regular basis to do it. Yes, it makes it more difficult to find a new job, but it is far better for me to acknowledge this before I take on a job. It wouldn’t be fair to an employer for me to accept a job that contains a major element that I don’t want to do.
Acknowledging this has been important on several fronts. It narrows down jobs to which I should apply, and it means that I don’t inconvenience a potential employer by applying for a job that makes me want to run screaming for the foothills of the Appalachians.
So what have I learned from this? Just because I used to do a particular thing at work doesn’t mean that it’s what I want to do now. I don’t want to be miserable, and I don’t want to make potential employers miserable. If you are changing careers, stop to ask yourself. Do I want to continue using the same skills, or am I ready for a change? Not only will you be more content, but your future employer will thank you as well. A company would rather have a newbie who wants to be there doing the tasks assigned than to find they have someone who is ill-suited to a job leading to another hiring process. Get started on that self-evaluation so you can find more promising opportunities and waste less time applying to jobs that don’t actually fit your desired skill set.
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Inspirational Verses for the Day:
Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, CSB)
All Things Subject to Change 