As part of #BoyottUnemployment season, The Job Auction is taking a look at the personal issues surrounding the unfortunate predicament of unemployment. By scrutinising these issues we hope to contribute to the amelioration of unemployment altogether. This week we will be looking at rigidity and how the inverse of that: flexibility is the solution to many people’s employment woes.
The truth is that everyone has an idea of themselves in their head. From birth, they have built up their likes and dislikes and as well the things they do well and conversely they things they don’t do as well at. The more and more ideas we think into existence about ourselves the more we limit the scope of what we can do not only professionally but overall in all aspects of our life as well.
This often happens when you take a specific subject at university or a particular vocational training course and so we narrow our focus to a fine tip and therefore the jobs we feel qualified for are very limited. The problems that arise here are that you start to associate negative thoughts with certain sectors or tasks.
Being creative for example and working with pictures means that you have a strong visual focus but what does a picture constitute. It may not occur to someone who is a whizz on Photoshop or behind a camera to work within the fashion industry or the theatre as they have a strong sense of location, light and mise-en-scene.
Obviously, you know your abilities well enough, no one can tell you what to dream or how to envisage yourself but doing something new doesn’t mean you can’t come back to your dream job later. You are simply taking the scenic route there. Who knows, you may discover that you really want to do something else.
If you think of life as an adventure, you are more likely to loosen up when it comes to potential job prospects. You will only discover new things about yourself and grow as a person if you put yourself in situations that challenge you. In this case, that means applying for jobs you may not see as ‘your cup of tea’.
Being inflexible will hinder your job prospects when you get a job as well. Your idea of what a job constitutes is likely to be very different when compared to what your boss thinks it constitutes. Being flexible with tasks will help you grow as a person and grow into the role itself. The opportunities will bloom if you make yourself indispensable.
These are good habits to get into in your personal life as well as when it comes to making money and finding employment. People are drawn to a jack-of-all-trades.
