Bangalore-based HR professional, Preeyan, tells us about the perfect job and the ‘jumpers’, in the weekly column, exclusively in Different Truths.
To me, a perfect job is doing what you are good at, having consistent growth in position and monetary benefits and gives you enough personal time. This is to all my 9 to 5 office goer friends and colleagues and dream seekers seeking their dream job. What ever mentioned is completely my point of view and a few things that I agree to, it has no intention to hurt anyone or demean any position held by any of my readers.
“Do you like what you are doing?” A question that you keep coming up with every now and again. The answer to the question will be basis a number of nightmares that you get thinking about what you are doing if you are able to sleep at night at peace that means you are not really disturbed. If you are unable to sleep at night thinking of all the things that you have to do and trying to figure out how you do it, you are in a good position, you are learning to cope with what you are doing and you are able to think of making it better. If you see the difference is very little. Nightmares of fear of getting up to face another day are bad, and sleepless nights thinking of ways to make things better for you is good. If you are sleeping well at night then you are probably not challenging yourself.
By the way, ‘like’ is a very subjective word and is always associated with your present state of mind. When I was 13, I was forced to go take up skating classes. The initial one week was torturous, they make you walk like a horse tied to an oil mill. Going round and round and it’s the same over and over again. But it is when the wheels start to move that there is a sense of thrill. What was initially a forced push and reluctant obligation turned out to be a passion and obsession? Any work can be made to start like that, and it’s only when you realise the momentum under your feet that excitement sets in.
Ask anyone you think who love their job or profession this question and you will realise that you are probably better off than most of them. But it’s not for you to get complacent but for you to build that momentum that this question is important. Many times we end up jumping jobs and running helter-skelter to earn that little bit more, some are doing it with a focus on a larger independent subject, but some are just blindly following what others are doing. To all these ‘jumpers’, a name that I call them, do not live in the fast forward mode all the time, you will soon reach burnout level and realise that nothing other than the salary package has been changing. It’s time for all you ‘jumpers’ to look to settle down somewhere, make something your own, be it by starting something or by merging to be a part of a place that needs people like you to attain their goals for the future.
“How do you know, you are growing in professional strength?” Those who have realised this have gone on to be prominent names in the world. Those who have not yet figured this out are still some name in the long list of names that are not visible to anyone but them. Position keeps changing, as your salary increases, you are also given fancy designations. What a manager does today is not even a pinch of what a manager would have done a few decades ago. That respect for the position and the respect for the authority that the position holds seems to have lost its value. Professional strength is when you are influencing organisational decisions, being an instrument of change and looking at things from a position of strength all the time, even when you are down. This we call it ownership, owning up to something does not mean that you literally have to be the owner of it. It’s about looking at everything you do as your own and not as someone else’s problem. When you are in this position you will realise, we need to look forward to this in our lives and focus on this.
When we look at compensation we need to realise that it is very market oriented. If you feel you are being paid lesser than what you deserve the best way to deal with it is by speaking to your superior and raise it in your reviews and appraisals. It is not wise to deal with this by jumping jobs. Every time you change your job you will realise that you will end up doing what you were doing a few years ago in the previous organisation i.e. mainly trying to impress your boss.
You should realise that all this can be accomplished in any position or profession, at the end of the day it 
all boils down to your attitude and mental state of mind. This is where the time for your self is required, ensure that you make time to do what you love doing personally, can be a hobby, can be a sport or anything, just do it. It is the laziness that is in your head that holds you back from doing any such thing. Like I cook for relaxation, when I chop vegetables or prepare for cooking the main course it relieves me of all the tension and stress of the day. All I am trying to say is that you need to remove that thought in your head which says “I am tired”, “I am drained”, “I had a bad day”, “I feel miserable”, they are just thoughts, if you really look into it, you will realise that you have not put in even a small effort to change the way you feel.
My dear readers, all I am saying is that change your attitude, bring in some sense of ownership in what you do and then spend some time for yourself, and then you will realise the answer to this question.
Having fun is good for you, it helps you rejuvenate.
Have a lovely weekend.
Cheers!
©Preeyan Abraham
Photos from the Internet
#CareerAndJob #JobJumper #ChangingJob #Designation #JobChange #DifferentTruths
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