Are you in the right job?

A wide number of people see that the jobs they are doing do not accord with their personalities. I myself meet a lot of people who are:

• Courageous,
• Extroverted,
• Sociable,
• Fan of traveling,
• Polyglot and learn languages,
• Like ti communicate and share ideas,
• In a strong need to interact with people every day;

But they end up doing an office job, which makes them sit in front of a computer the whole day long and talk to almost nobody.

This goes back to the elementary school years, in which personality traits start getting more palpable than they do during childhood. Then, one has to choose the right field to work in. Unfortunately, not every parent is knowledgeable enough to focus on more than the grades. They just treat all their children the same way and want them all to reach the schools and universities they (parents) dream of. This most of the time makes those children chose the wrong path and get ready for the wrong job.

The proverb ‘do something you love and you will not have to work a day in your life’ is true to some extent. I say to some extent, because we can love what we do, using some techniques elaborated in LOVE YOUR JOB on this website. If you find yourself, after a long period of studies, in a job which you cannot like, you cannot just leave it and go to another domain; especially after the financial crisis.

Let me tell you that “wrong job” might mean the same job, position, but just in the wrong company.

There is a number of signs that one is not in the right job. Let us list some:

• Your job description is not clear, while the position develops,
• Once you start your workday, you are thinking of the p.m.
• On your first day, you realize that all you thought of about that job is wrong,
• You do not have the skills to work,
• The environment is sociable, but you are not,
• Your work is not important to the company,
• Your contribution and efforts are not valued,
• You and/or your job are ignored by superiors,
• There is not enough promotion as you hope or deserve,
• There is no room for negotiation or freedom of speech,
• There are much oppression and racism,
• Nobody cares about what you need,
• Your career development is not important to the employer,
• Your requests for training get refused, or ignored,
• Your direct superiors and peers do not like the company or the job,
• The business sector is suffering,
• You never get paid on time,
• Ameliorating the work conditions is not of the company’s priorities,
• You have become sad, since you joined the company,
• The company  is in trouble with most of its suppliers and customers,
• Boredom, frustration, and fear are the feelings shared by every peer.

If you find most of the above signs painting your current work experience, I advise you to think twice of developing your skills to love your job or to leave it. You might be the happiest person in your job right now, but as time goes by, you may be in trouble.

Some people are introverted and do not like to interact with people, but they choose to study commerce and sales. As far as I am concerned, and I might be wrong, they are just wasting their time and energy… and life.

To work as a salesperson, for example, you need to possess the main personality traits of a salesperson; that is to say, you have to be:

• Courageous,
• Sociable,
• Extroverted,
• Ambitious,
• Energetic,
• Goal oriented,
• Adaptable to changing situations,
• Charismatic (look),
• Optimist,
• Positive,
• Curious,
• Modest,
• Confident,
• Culturally knowledgeable,
• Always updated,
• Details oriented…

The wrongly prepared salesperson might be a graduate in sales, but when he looks for a job, the interviewer will refuse to put the company’s image at risk by hiring a shy person for the sales. The salesperson will go through hard times to find a job, and when he does so, he will find it harder to get his first purchase order. Let alone continue in the same job until retirement. He will not like his job, because he is simply in the wrong one.

Of course studies and multiple pieces of training help, but is the person ready for more training? Is he that patient until he learns everything needed in performing his job well? Is it logical to totally vanish shyness and to make the whole world population become salespeople?

One needs to respect his personality before choosing his job, otherwise; he will end up in the wrong one.