You’re putting yourself out there
At first it’s exciting, getting back out into the world of opportunities. Your hopes are as high as your potentially unrealistic expectations. Your resume perfectly curated to catch the eye of your imaginary dream career. Pages and pages of jobs just waiting to find a match.
And so, the application process begins.
You start off relatively selective, only applying to jobs that check all your boxes. Maybe remote/hybrid or in a niche field, but initially unwilling to compromise on any detail. Pay, schedule, location, benefits, etc. are all factors that we individually rank differently.
Enter Negotiation Phase
You could find something that’s paying more than you could have imagined, but the hours are brutal. Or you find the perfect schedule and pay to fit your life, and it’s 50 miles away.
The crushing realization that maybe you don’t meet the qualifications for your dream job. Or you know your dreams aren’t paying the bills yet, so what are you willing to do to make ends meet?
Desperation Sets In
At this point, one more denial letter could send you into a full blown spiral. You’ve weeded through all the cleverly disguised postings for pyramid schemes. Your savings is dwindling, and you’re considering going back to the soul-sucking rat race you left to venture your stupid dreams.
There may be a moment you slip and apply for the lowest of low, where you swore you would never go. And get denied by them, too. Your confidence is wavering. You start to wonder if you have any value to offer at all, or if you’re just allotted to struggle for your entire life, or what if you missed your shot while you were busy doing other things?
Your Lighthouse Moment
When you least expect it, you have a missed call on your phone. Your heart races, you hesitate to even open the voicemail. You think to yourself, “Someone actually wants me?”
Okay, so maybe it’s not your ideal job; it’s part time, not really in your field of expertise, and the pay is okay, but hey it’s remote and it’s a job. Your interview goes well, and for the only beacon of light in a sea of “unselected candidates,” this may be your only option.
Just to be sure, you open up your indeed app to find a message waiting. Another option, perhaps? Upon further investigation, this position couldn’t be more opposite of the job you just interviewed for. It checks all the boxes the first one didn’t. Full-time, great pay and benefits, and it’s related to your field.
Sophie’s Choice
Now you have a decision to make: take the standing job offer knowing you may leave shortly or potentially lose that opportunity completely waiting to see what happens with the other.
The bottom line is you got bills to pay, right? But what if that full time position could launch your creative career? Maybe the part time job is leading you into your next plot twist? How do you know what the right decision is?
As cliche as it may sound, it always comes down to listening to your heart. However, what our hearts want aren’t always realistic. So, we compromise with ourselves to try to achieve the best life-work balance, and yes I believe it goes in that order. We work to live, we don’t live to work.