Is a “Good Enough Job” Good Enough?

I was a business major in college and as a business major you are constantly the promoted the idea of becoming president becoming CEO working your way up the change and they talk to you all the time about getting stuck in middle management you've probably heard that before too whether a business major or not oh those people got stuck in middle management and then I got out in the world and I went and had some jobs and I met these people who had mid-level jobs right they were middle management they weren't senior they were not entry level they had been in these jobs for like 10 plus years and I realized oh I don't need to pity these people these are people who figured it out these are people who went you know what I know what I'm doing I can show up to work every day and enjoy my job and it pays my bills and pays for my family's vacation and I can still go to my kids soccer game because I've earned some seniority and some trust and you know this ain't that bad and I realized this stuck in middle management can also be content and thriving in life and I bring this up because recently I saw people talking again about should you find a good enough job and I went oh this is stuck in middle management let's discuss it so let's talk about should you be looking for a good enough job what it is and if it's right for you okay so if we haven't met my name is Cassandra I'm a career strategist and speaker I help people find jobs they love and then stay in jobs they love so let's talk about a good enough job I just said I help people find jobs they love is good enough a job you love it can be because here's the overarching message and I say this all the time I mean I have a course called land a job you love but to me a job you love should fit into the life you want not the other way around we don't find a career and then try and build our lives around it and like I'll make do with what I can get in other parts of my life you need to be looking at what do I want for my life and what sorts of roles fit in now so that could mean a good enough job so what is a good enough job it's a job that you don't hate going to that pays you enough to have like a good life right you're not stressed about paying your bills at the end of the month and you can take a family vacation it's enough that you feel you feel okay with where things are you're not thinking about money maybe it's a job that allows you some freedom and flexibility to to see your kids soccer game or go to their ballet recital or meet your friends for dinner on a Thursday night and not be thinking about work the whole time probably a job you don't have to take home with you you're not on slack at eight o'clock for you know while in front of the TV or at six in the morning checking when you wake up things like that oh and it doesn't have a toxic boss now for some of you as I list that you're like wow that sounds like a dream job to me like that that doesn't seem like good enough that's not settling in any anyway that's still asking for a lot but here's the thing we actually often want all those things I just listed and we want a job to fulfill Us in every way possible we want it to like be our life's calling be our life's Mission or fulfill all our needs or we put a lot of our identity on that job not to mention we often want all those things and we want a salary that will make us rich or a cool title or a status symbol workplace right like oh I work at Google or I work at meta or Tesla you know not oh I work at Mazda or Toyota no shame I own a Mazda and I love my Mazda or we want a job that is all about what we're passionate about we feel like we're in our zone of Genius every day and honestly when it's any of those things on top of that first list that's when we're asking a lot because here's the thing the reality is there is no such thing as a dream job dream job herbs do not exist I believe I made a whole other video about this I know I put a statement in a newsletter if you're not on my newsletter get on it go get a freebie below and you'll be subscribed years ago I committed that I will not promote dream jobs because dream jobs lead to nothing but sound realizations that expectations are not met every job has its ups and downs it just does and so we want to find a job that's a sweet spot of it gives you what you need but it it's not stressing you out all day long because most of the time when you go for that job that's like this is the dream this is what I've always wanted it's it's just gonna Fail You It's Gonna Let You down every job has pluses and minuses and so dream jobs don't exist but a job where you feel fulfilled in some capacity and you still get to have a life that job is possible so again the good enough job hits that sweet spot of fitting skills that you enjoy doing and giving you the life you want so for example a good enough job is one you can love because it pays your bills and you get weekends off or a good enough job gives you the time off to go see your kids soccer games right you can love it because you are doing Stills you love and you have a boss that values you but with these things again it might not be the status symbol job those sometimes come with a lot more stress so there's some compromise in terms of like what the world may see again getting stuck in middle management is what the world sees but for you you're going my life's thriving so it's a little bit of a like I care about what it does for me instead of what the world thinks of it and this honestly goes to another point of you cannot just get a job based off skills and passion this is why talk to any good career coach we'll talk about how you need to find a job that hits your skills your passion or your interests I think passion is a loaded word your skills your interests and your values because often times when we only look at skills and interests we end up in jobs that do not fit our life so for example on paper based off of my skills and my personality and my interests I would make a great talent agent I love meeting new people I like helping people out I love the idea of doing deals and very interested in television and film I like being you know knowing what's going on in that sort of world on paper if you only look at my skills and interests like I like conversing with people I like meeting new people if you only looked at those things I would make a great talent agent however when I talk to Talent agents I learn that they get up and they make calls to their clients on the way to the office and then they have a breakfast meeting and then they have a coffee meeting and then they go to the office and they read some contracts and then they have a lunch meeting and then they have a dinner meeting and then in between they take two more coffees and they might have actually like three dinner meetings and then go to a Premiere and then they get up and do it again the next day and that sounds fun to me for a day but I want to have a life outside of my job I personally don't want a lifestyle career so it doesn't work for me well on paper the first two pieces look great it doesn't work for me some people it does you might be watching this right now and you're like Cassandra I want a lifestyle career I want to be an agent I would say to be a really thriving real estate agent go look at Ryan serhants that's a that's a lifestyle job like there are certain jobs that are lifestyle jobs and for me that's not it and if you're a person looking for a good enough job you're probably not a lifestyle person job neither one is better than the other they're just different values so that's why values have to be taken as part of the equation of finding a job you want now the other thing with a good enough job the other thing you have to look at is you cannot look at a good enough job as just or any job you people don't even think of this as good enough this is why students become engineering majors in college and they shouldn't be is because they go I just want a job that pays me a lot of money or you're saying I want a job that pays well and I get time off but if you hate this skills of that job if you hate what you do for 40 hours a week that's not a good enough job we don't need to hate what we do every day it might not be our favorite thing on the on the face of the Earth or it might not be using every skill and passion we have ever but there should be something about what you're doing for those 40 plus hours a week that you enjoy so don't only look at money and time off right or just money or security this is again this is why so many students end up becoming engineering Majors or computer science Majors because they go oh well I would make a lot of money doing that sort of thing but they hate engineering but they hate coding and it's like it's not worth it the money is not worth it alone so obviously a good enough job is finding that sweet spot for yourself so when should you look for a good enough job well one thing that we do not talk about enough is when you're calling and your career are not the same thing so there are a lot of people who have a calling to like produce music or to serve in their Community Etc and for some reason we've decided that your calling has to be your career and it doesn't sometimes your career like you might be great with numbers and you like singing and you're good at it but you know you're not Taylor Swift like it's just not for you well go be an accountant and you can go play gigs every Friday Saturday and Sunday night and be fulfilled there that's okay that would be a version of a good enough job hitting a calling I don't really talk here a lot about calling versus career if you want more on that topic let let me know in the comments and we'll talk about it but that will be one version of a worry good and job would fit another is when you don't care if your career is your identity you want to check those boxes that I said at the very beginning of the video and do something that's your skill set but it doesn't have to be the definition of who you are you might want to look at a good enough job the other two times that you will find some version of a good enough job is when you are just starting out in a career or when you're making a career transition so myself and other career coaches will tell entry level employees all the time like your first job should not fulfill you you want your first job to be a place that can pay your bills and where you're learning things right but it might not be your life's work and it might not have something that you thrive on every single level but it can pay some bills you can learn a lot to grow into the next step and again your boss is in a toxic monster like that can be it for career transitions often this is called a bridge job you know you want to work in a certain company or break into a certain industry so you take a job in a different department so that you're at least in the door and work your way over to the area you want to be in or you take a slightly not a starting at the bottom but slightly lower position to get your foot in the door to learn more about the area and work your way up those sorts of places would also be considered good enough jobs but really the point of a good enough job is going I'm finding a job that fits into my life and not the other way around so let me know have you taken a good enough job I have taken a good enough job and it ended up being probably one of my favorite jobs ever I would love to know if that's happened for you or if you just hate this concept all together and you think our lives you know our careers should fulfill every part of us let me know let's talk about in the comments and go check out this video next and I'll see you over there bye

Channel: Cass Thompson Career Advice

Views: 704

Keywords: cass thompson career, cass thompson career advice, job search advice, good enough job, simone stolzoff

Id: b6HTpjlWPBo

Length: 12min 34sec (754 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 03 2023