It's A Date!!

Job hunting is like dating.  I’d heard this before, but it really just hit me recently.  It seems that in a market where SO many people are looking for jobs, we try to sell ourselves and hope employers will pick us.  When an employer picks us, we say “YES.”  But employment shouldn’t just be about selling ourselves and hoping we get bought.

 
Employment should be like dating.  You are checking out the employer, and they are checking out you.  Just because an employer offers you a job doesn’t mean you should take the job.  It takes more care and intention than that.  The job hunting process is a shortened version of the courting stage of a relationship.  You see a job description, it peaks your interest, you send information their way, they notice you and see potential too.  Then, at the interview, you both are testing out the situation…seeing if this seems like a good fit or not.  If one OR THE OTHER in the relationship doesn’t want to pursue this thing to a longer term deal, then you don’t.  I turned a job down recently.  I did feel like I was letting them down a bit, but there were too many “red flags”.  If you’ve experienced “red flags” in a relationship, you know that you should heed their warning.  So, alas, I’m still unemployed.  At this point I’m thinking it’s better to be “single” (jobless) than forcing myself into a relationship with the wrong “person” (employer).

*I should note, that I currently do have a seasonal job.  When I write, I'm writing about more long-term options.  More to come on seasonal job adventures...

Stepping out of the security boat!

I read an article in Relevant Magazine.  It was titled, "What to know at 25-ish" and it was written by Shauna Niequist.  Here’s a piece of that article:

#1 You have time to find a job you love.
Now is the time to figure out what kind of work you love to do.  What are you good at?  What makes you feel alive? What do you dream about?  You can go back to school now, switch directions entirely.  You can work for almost nothing, or live in another country or volunteer long hours for something that moves you...

The article goes on, but you get the idea.  It was refreshing to know that someone was encouraging a risk!

Our decision to jump into the land of unemployment was an opportunity to say, "OK God, you made it clear that job wasn't a right fit.  We are going to step out of the security boat and put our trust in you instead."  This has been an act of faith and God has shown us so much more in this past month than He ever could have if I was still working at my last job.  I’m thankful for the people around us who encourage Christ-centered thinking, but the general population does not.  Leaving a job because God has something better for you is, by all standards of this world, stupid.  By keeping a job that I knew was affecting my spiritual, emotional, mental, and marital health, I was really saying, “God, I will take care of bringing in a steady income, you can take care of everything else.”  That’s sin.  There is NEVER stability on our own.  The Lord gives and takes away.  I’m at peace with the idea that God has something SO wonderful in store for us, but the world and plenty of people around me try to tell me I need to have an income-I need to have a job with a certain salary, certain benefits, and with stability.  This is a lie!  I don’t NEED any of those things.  I need Jesus.  My income won’t provide for us.  Jesus will provide for us.

I recognize the benefits of salaries, vacation time, and insurance.  We have bills to pay; and after working at two jobs with almost no vacation time, I understand the importance of getting a break.  The question is, what is TOP priority?  I have been offered jobs in this past month that I have turned down.  I have seen rolling of the eyes, heads shakes, and I have had people confidently tell me not to look for the perfect job, just look for A job.  The fact of the matter is, I want to wait for the job God has for me.  Because we live in a fallen world, it’s true, there will be no “perfect” job.  But there will be a job God has chosen for me with the right amount of income, with the right kind of benefits, with the right amount of vacation time that will bring Him the most glory!