lost my soul-mate job, no others?
September 2, 2009 7:18 PM   Subscribe

Has anyone ever lost their ideal job and felt like their was nothing else they wanted to do? I lost my job and I don't feel like their are any other jobs for me. The job I had was creative and not too difficult. Most other jobs seem uninteresting to me or too difficult.

For example, PR might be on the fringe of what I am qualified for, but a lot of those job descriptions include something like "create promotional campaigns." I feel really limited as a person because I don't think I could ever create any kind of strategy from scratch whatsoever. I don't really feel comfortable with the work I could do with my degree, and I don't see anything else that interests me either in technical school or grad school.

The job that I got kind of rescued me from not being comfortable in my field, because it I was qualified for it, yet it was something I liked and in my comfort zone, but there are not a lot of jobs like that in the city where I am bound for now. I feel like I will never have work that I can be proud of again and without anything that interests me, I feel totally unmotivated.

Have you been denied what you really want to do and been devastated? (and) Has anyone else felt kind of lost in their career and found a way out?
posted by drmr2 to Work & Money (9 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
As someone who works in PR right now, and came from a fluffy arts degree (I wrote my honours thesis about beauty and the beast ffs) and before that was a freelance writer for about four years, trust me: You can do that PR stuff.

It's really easy. For "Strategy" read "Having a reason for doing things".

Stepping out of your comfort zone is not necessarily a bad thing, and staying in it isn't always good (ask Howard Hughes how that worked out for him).

PR, like any other job, is not so much about what you do, but who you do it with. Find an organisation/company that gels with your personality at interview - and don't prejudge before interview. You'll be fine, jump on in, the waters warm. Feel free to memail if you have more specific questions. :)
posted by smoke at 7:42 PM on September 2, 2009


Trust me, I know too well, what with this economy.
posted by Kirklander at 8:09 PM on September 2, 2009


Your post is too general for detailed advice, but yes, I think lots of people (including me) have felt disappointed with work prospects. Something else will come along. The trick is not taking ANY job (unless you're really broke) but rather taking any job that you wouldn't be miserable at, even if it's outside your field. Try serving or retail while you wait for something better to come along....
posted by hamandcheese at 8:15 PM on September 2, 2009


I work in a very specific field and love what I do. I lost my job 2 years ago and thought, "Oh, I have a lot of interests and I can do anything!" But what I finally realized was that all I wanted to do was my previous job. So, even though I hadn't been around for 2 years, I got in contact with anyone and everyone I knew through work and told them I was looking and was willing to do anything to get back to my career, even take steps backwards, because it's the only thing I want to do. Fingers crossed my new contract in my chosen career will be presented to me shortly, after feeling at one time like my career was completely over and I didn't have any idea what else I wanted to, or could, do.

That's how I came out of it, in the midst of this terrible economy. The realization that this career path was my passion made it much easier to focus on getting back in it.

Good luck!
posted by buzzkillington at 8:37 PM on September 2, 2009


It's the age of 10-15 jobs per lifetime. I know you think you can only do the job you had, but you're probably selling yourself short. Use this time to branch out, take a risk, think creatively about what you could be doing.

And don't let losing a job make you lose complete confidence as a contributor to your field. Just because one employer doesn't think you're worthy retaining doesn't mean you aren't. I mean, everyone shits in the morning, and whoever got rid of you was no exception. Don't limit yourself or your options.

And you can create 'strategy' from scratch. That's a B.S. term anyway. In business, people are usually 'right' because they say they're 'right.' I'm not going to make this answer into a sweeping motivational speech, but Michael Jordan didn't make it onto his high school basketball team, etc, etc, etc.

The worst thing you can do for yourself is to get bogged down in the loss. You can't do anything about that now. So whatever. You're not a 'failure.' The idea of a failure is a cultural myth. Forget about whoever said you weren't good enough. Fuck them, stay motivated, and keep moving. I almost guarantee you that - unless you're trying to get, say, a job in engineering or something that requires very technical knowledge, and you're not, no job is too difficult. If you think you can do good PR work, you probably can.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:26 PM on September 2, 2009


I know exactly what you mean. A friend of mine suggested reading What Color is your Parachute. This book is all over the place and you can pick up copies at almost every Goodwill or Salvation Army store for $2 or so. Try to get one of the more recent editions, though. While the exercises and techniques are the same in all of them, the more recent ones talk about the internet and internet job hunting, so that might be more helpful than an edition from, say, 1990.

The book walks you through the process of assessing (and identifying!) your transferable skills and interests and then gives you advice on how to sell these to an employer. Even if you worked at one job for a long time, you probably do have skills that are transferable to a number of different fields, the difficult thing is to think outside the box and separate these skills from your previous job description.

I hope that helps and good luck!
posted by Bearded Dave at 5:39 AM on September 3, 2009 [1 favorite]


Apply for jobs outside of your comfort zone.

My current job seemed to be, according to the job posting. It claimed that a lot of work in a program I'd only worked in casually would be necessary. Well, I applied, gave myself a refresher in that program the night before, passed the skills test with flying colors and got the job--and have hardly used that program since. I have done a lot of other creative, interesting things in this position that I wouldn't have done otherwise, though the job isn't particularly hard.

In my experience, job postings tend to seem to inflate the difficulty of the actual job. That being said, you should challenge yourself. A "comfort zone" is a highly variable thing--and it sounds like you could use a bit of a challenge in your life.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:25 AM on September 3, 2009


Try volunteer positions and internships to learn more about your ideal field. It sounds like what you need, more than actual skills, is confidence in the skills you already have. I bet you'll be surprised both at what you can learn, and how much you already know.

You could also join professional groups and networking events to help with getting a job you like, and with experience from a related volunteer position or internship, you should have a lot to talk about at those events.

And, if you can't afford to put off having a full time, you might consider volunteering or interning for 6 months to a year while you work at another job that's easier, but not so perfect.
posted by lesli212 at 12:12 PM on September 3, 2009


You might just be depressed and/or burnt out right now and thus nothing will appeal to you until you deal with that underlying psychological stress.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:06 PM on September 3, 2009


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