Finding the Right Job or the Right Job Just Now?

About 70% of the opportunities I am coming across as potential positions are leveraging the work I’ve done for many years. While this in itself is encouraging, it also raises a number of questions I am struggling with. Should one of these possible positions materialize, would I be taking a job that is basically treading water in the career path?  Would I be settling by taking a job that is right for just now and then continue a sideline job search while gainfully employed, yet slightly underutilized?

 

Many firms are seeking to employ exact fits for positions in today’s market, and crafting one’s self into that exact fit takes a good bit of finesse and care.  So with that approach, chances are that I am creating my candidacy to be geared to a right-job-just-now fit. Consequently, finding the right job for my skill sets to poise myself for forward career progression may not be the most realistic approach in today’s job market. Many of my fellow job seekers who were laid off from the same firm are basically saying it is OK to just take a job for a paycheck’s sake. I really struggle with that concept, but I see it may be the most practical solution given the reliance that my little boys have on me as their sole provider.

 

The market indicators that I am seeing and hearing are telling me now that it may be just fine to settle into a no-stretch type of role. Of course, there is the change in my life status that hadn’t been a factor five years ago when thinking about career advancement. It may be a better balancing act to adjust my attitude toward work and just earn that revenue stream. Focusing on the next big career adventure can perhaps wait until the job market conditions are more robust. Additionally, being able to do a job with my hands tied behind my back could allow me to devote lots of creative energies to my boys, more so than I am already doing. On the other hand, having had a long series of forward-moving positions that assembled into an interesting career progression compounds the dilemma.

 

After noodling through these thoughts and listening to inputs from the marketplace and wise counselors, I’ve come up with a strategy for the short term. I’ll continue to focus both on the Right Jobs (30%) and the Right Jobs Just Now (70%) and see which pans out in the next two months. And at the end of two months, I’ll do a reality check of where I am in the job search to determine if I should solely focus on the paycheck variety of jobs. Plus there is always the solid chance that I may end up with a job that lets me earn my living practically blindfolded, prove myself as an outstanding worker and then have that progressive career movement in a new work environment. Sometimes that Mr. Right Now does end up being Mr. Right forever.

 

How do you address deciding between progressing in your career vs. just landing a paycheck position for now?

 

Check out these articles to determine your work values and possible next steps in your own career:

     * "Work Values Checklist"
     * "When to Target a Lower Position"
     * "How to Get Ahead While Balancing Work and Family"

 

Share this post: Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, Facebook, Twitter, etc.