Career vs. Jobs

“…but isn’t that the same thing”, you may ask. Well, I am here to tell you that it’s not. Your career is what you aspire for in the long-term and your jobs and experiences are what makes your career.

You may have a mentor or a family member that you look up to, from your parent’s generation or older. He or she may have been with one company for years and climbed up the ladder to retire in a good position. They may even tell you that they had a great career and talk about how loyalty and hard work has helped achieve their goals. But that’s not how it works today.

Yes, you can be with a company for decades, there is nothing wrong with that. However, you cannot sacrifice your goals and ambitions over your loyalty to the company that you are working for. Having several jobs over several years might have looked bad on the CV two decade ago, however, today all it says about you is that you have many different experiences and can adapt easily to any environment. The only constant thing in the world is the change and your CV shows that you can handle it.

So first of all be clear with yourself what you are passionate about. And make that passion your number one priority and not your job. As long as you remember to be true to your passion and yourself, you will have no hesitation to do something the next time you hit a glass ceiling. Don’t be afraid to look around for another opportunity where you can grow, the next time you don’t get the project you want, or the promotion you have been rooting for. It will be a big change, in some cases, you may even have to start from scratch, and it will certainly force you to step out of your comfort zone. But it will only help you grow personally, bring new experiences, and most importantly, you get to live your passion. And something tells me that is worth stepping out of your comfort zone.

"If you want to be successful in this world, you have to follow your passion, not a paycheck." - Jen Welter