Business and career choices seem to be the only superlatives that determine who you are. You went to this school, you held that position, but all too often this information either checks a box or it doesn't.
Experience is priceless, the recruiter says, but you can't have a job that pays without experience. You get the experience, but it's not the "right" experience.
One size does not always fit all, and in the work environment, that can be a good thing. You will perform certain tasks that you don't want to do in certain places where you don't want to be. Sometimes those jobs are not the answer, yet you have to do them to move on or get by.
The answer is not found in what you do so much as it is found in who you are. Maybe your one of those people who doesn't like to talk about themselves. Maybe you don't know how to put who you are into words, words that can only fit on a one-page resume.
LinkedIn alert: life doesn't happen between one-inch margins.
You are more than what a company's rubric expects you to be. Besides, companies don't know what they're looking for until they have it. Apply for the job that asks for at least four years worth of a skill you may not have or already have two years, one year, no years of.
Jobs are designed to highlight who you are, not what you do. Yes, you can proofread and write copy, but you are also a world builder. Yes, you can code in C++ and make software, but you are also a problem solver.
Instead of having "writer" for your job description, write "I put words in people's mouths for a living." A job doesn't control you, you control the job. Extension and expansion of yourself begins with a change of mind.
When you sell yourself, your selling information. When you be yourself, you don't have to sell anything at all. Hard work proceeds recognition and there is no substitute for hard work, nor is there a greater award than recognition.
Money comes and goes, but it is not what you live for. What you are known for stays and follows you, so be real, not a role. Listen to your heart but consult your mind, then act. Feeling and thinking are the paths of the fork in the road we call doing.
Love what you do, do what you love, and remember: the love is who you are.
Let your work speak for itself when you do not have a voice. Stay busy but reserve time to be idle. Slowing down isn't falling behind, it's seeing everything at once moving forward. Daydream instead of subscribing to others' data streams. Learn how to improve, adapt, and learn again.
Focus on being you and the job will become second nature for you.
