Making the most of what you have

I'm only 23 - turning 24 in August - and yet, I often find myself day-dreaming of a time when I can free myself from the corporate shackles that bind me to office hierarchies and cubicles and meeting requests and run off and start my own business.  This can't be a good sign, I tell myself.  I've only been out of school two years, and I'm already burnt out?!  However, whenever I begin to gripe about the daily grind to my mom or dad, I am often firmly put back into reality - a reality that is really not bad at all. 

It's not that my parents are trying to be dream-crushers.  In fact, I imagine that if I do decide to start my own small business in the future they will not only be fully supportive, but potential investors (if I play my cards right).  What they try to bring back into perspective for me is that everything is a learning oppotunity and every experience is valuable, so rather than spending my days thinking about my escape, perhaps I should be spending my time thinking about A) how good I have it and B) (and more importantly) what I can do in my current position to make my career/work-life better.

Every new grad knows that it's hard to find a job in this market.  It's hard in any market, and especially for people with non-specialised, liberal arts degrees.  My English major in college made it difficult to identify areas where I would fit in in the corporate structure - I had a lot of nebulous communication, writing and research skills, but I should and could I apply them?

I was lucky to find an administrative position at my current company that I accepted immediately after three months of searching.  Josh also started in an admin role at his current firm after a year of looking for a job post-graduation.  As a new flux of college graduates embark on their job searches this month, I have one thing to say: Be flexible, be opportunistic, and do the best damn job you can, no matter what job it is.

It's hard when you start out.  You feel highly educated and intelligent and ready to show a company just how successful you can be.  Yet, the job offers coming your way are probably both few and far between, and also for bottom-of-the-barrel roles (Administrative Assistant, Receptionist, Account Coordinator, etc.).  While these may not sound immediately appealing to you, don't shrug them off without considering a few different questions:

Does this company intrigue me?  Do these people seem fun and interesting to work with?  Are there opportunities to grow and be promoted in the near future?

If "Yes" to the above, you may want to consider them.  In the two years I've been with my company - starting out in the admin role - I've been promoted twice.  Josh has been with his company just over a year and was promoted after 9 months.  Yes - for a while we both had to suffer through remedial tasks like copying endless documents and making runs to Subway for our bosses.  But you know what?  I made my best effort to be the best darn Admin ever hired - and it paid off.  And, it was FUN. 

Dreams are great - don't stop dreaming about your future plans.  But don't lose sight in the here-and-now and forget to put your all into it as well.  Make the most of what you have - it will pay off in the long run, and you'll be happier with your present.  A friend told me the other day "You can't make any career mistakes until you're 35".  Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but I'm going to choose to believe it.

Comments

[Julie]

I felt like I was just reading my own diary! I've been in the same situation for the past 2 years...with my degree in Theatre (Directing) I landed a receptionist job with a medium sized family company, and after 6 months of that hell, I have since been promoted twice, with reassurance that I will be moving up again once the right position comes along or can be created for me. I also started my own theatre company in my free time, so you can see it is possible to create your own business and help it grow part-time while earning a steady income from a full-time job. Then once your business has developed enough to earn you a stable income, you can respectfully resign from the steady job...hopefully leaving the door open, in case your business doesn't turn out the way you want it. I've found that if you do a great job while you're there, smaller family-oriented businesses are very likely to welcome you back at most any time you want to return because they value good employees and know they are hard to find.