We did a dream job straw poll around the office and, in no particular order, footballer, astronaut, MD of Cadbury, documentary filmmaker, wine taster and rock God were the type of positions sought.
However, all of us currently work in recruitment and we love it. Was it the job we dreamt about as kids? No. In the same way that no kid grows up wanting to be an accountant, HR Manager or middle management drone in a carpet company.
Here at Asset Resourcing, we’re not alone amongst recruiters when we talk to candidates about looking for their dream job. More and more, young people through careers advisers, college and university are planning for the career they want and learning and training to do it. The idea is that they find the job they want but with that comes a comfortable standard of living, mental stimulation, emotional equity and a sense of drive.
However, all of us currently work in recruitment and we love it. Was it the job we dreamt about as kids? No. In the same way that no kid grows up wanting to be an accountant, HR Manager or middle management drone in a carpet company.
Here at Asset Resourcing, we’re not alone amongst recruiters when we talk to candidates about looking for their dream job. More and more, young people through careers advisers, college and university are planning for the career they want and learning and training to do it. The idea is that they find the job they want but with that comes a comfortable standard of living, mental stimulation, emotional equity and a sense of drive.
In the Wall Street Journal this month, we read about an American woman who had long targeted a career in the seemingly glamorous world of advertising. She did all the right things, from heading the advertising club at her university to getting an internship at a big Manhattan ad agency. It was to be a foot in the door.
It was. After university was over, her first job was as an Assistant Media Planner for an agency in Durham, North Carolina. She liked the people and she was thrilled to be at an agency with big brand clients and a hip, creative vibe. This was her dream job.
Or was it? Working with big brands on their creative briefs was what she loved, but she didn’t anticipate how hard it would be managing complex budgets for big accounts and fielding 10-20 calls a day from eager sales reps looking to sell ad space. She was naïve. She saw through the actual role and focused on where she was working.
The hard part came when she had to face up to the fact that she’d made a mistake. She then had to embark on the process of overcoming disappointment, looking for the moment where she went wrong and then taking the positive steps of learning from what had happened and making the most of the skill set she developed.
It was. After university was over, her first job was as an Assistant Media Planner for an agency in Durham, North Carolina. She liked the people and she was thrilled to be at an agency with big brand clients and a hip, creative vibe. This was her dream job.
Or was it? Working with big brands on their creative briefs was what she loved, but she didn’t anticipate how hard it would be managing complex budgets for big accounts and fielding 10-20 calls a day from eager sales reps looking to sell ad space. She was naïve. She saw through the actual role and focused on where she was working.
The hard part came when she had to face up to the fact that she’d made a mistake. She then had to embark on the process of overcoming disappointment, looking for the moment where she went wrong and then taking the positive steps of learning from what had happened and making the most of the skill set she developed.
The happy ending to this particular story was that she took a proper look at what she liked doing and built the skills and contacts she needed to land a new job in social media, one she enjoys from top to bottom.
This failure (and many others like it) was wholly unexpected but it can – and often does – have a positive effect.
It gives you the opportunity to ask yourself ‘where can I go from here and what can I do’. It gives you the opportunity to re-evaluate your priorities and it gives you the opportunity to think in a new way.
In a 2011 study in the Journal of Social Psychology, it says that people who take stock and think deeply and clearly about what they might have done differently tend to be both more creative and realistic about reaching specific goals in the future.
Asset Resourcing is a recruitment company but we are also a resource of information and advice. Our role doesn’t stop when you get placed and we get paid. We are here to answer your questions, help you through your issues and give you the advice you need to grow and be successful.
Search through our Candidate Clinic for support and advice, call us on 01582 469 922 or email [email protected]. It’s what we’re here for.
This failure (and many others like it) was wholly unexpected but it can – and often does – have a positive effect.
It gives you the opportunity to ask yourself ‘where can I go from here and what can I do’. It gives you the opportunity to re-evaluate your priorities and it gives you the opportunity to think in a new way.
In a 2011 study in the Journal of Social Psychology, it says that people who take stock and think deeply and clearly about what they might have done differently tend to be both more creative and realistic about reaching specific goals in the future.
Asset Resourcing is a recruitment company but we are also a resource of information and advice. Our role doesn’t stop when you get placed and we get paid. We are here to answer your questions, help you through your issues and give you the advice you need to grow and be successful.
Search through our Candidate Clinic for support and advice, call us on 01582 469 922 or email [email protected]. It’s what we’re here for.