Survey Says...

I'm amazed at how a job search can change in just a few years. The last time I was looking for  job, very few businesses had an "online application" process, and it was a pretty big deal when you applied. Now, everyone has their own online application, some good, some not-so-good. A neat wrinkle for these is the "personality survey" that requires you to rate whether you agree or disagree with a particular statement. ("I think falling asleep and snoring in the  middle of a meeting is a bad thing"-Agree.."I think that tying someone's shoelaces together that has fallen asleep and is snoring in a meeting is morally acceptable"-Agree..) While these surveys can seem silly, they can also be profound..but more on that later. When I was working on a couple of these surveys for a couple companies (You know who you are!) I noticed that a time limit was enforced, which would have been alright, except for the "essay questions" at the end of the survey. These questions weren't the simple kind, either. "Please explain all of your strengths and weaknesses in detail as they would pertain to this job" read one. (And hurry! You only have 6 min to complete the other 10 questions!) And, when the time limit expired, the website would conveniently dump you out to a page informing you that you needed to login and input ALL your personal information again. After a few tries, I felt like I was on the "Survey" edition of that show Wipeout, and could almost hear the announcers: "Ooh..he's making good time through the multiple choice, Bob..But  now he's up against the essay section and it looks like he misspelled 'exponentiation', that's gonna cost him..Ooh! he got resume'd!"
 Now for the profound.. As I was reading the agree/disagree questions, I had an odd epiphany.  I knew that these questions were so that the company could tell if they could use someone of my personality, but after reading my responses, I suddenly saw myself as someone else would! This caused me to be able to say "Wow! I could do this job, even though I wouldn't have immediately thought of doing this!" Now, it seems that a whole spectrum of jobs I never even looked at is suddenly open to me! wow! Imagine the possibilities! (It doesn't make searching on Monster any easier, but I can live with that)     

The "Perfect" Job

As you may have noticed on my header, it says I am looking for the "perfect" job. "Duh, Matt" you might say, 'That's what we're all trying to do", and indeed that is true. We search tirelessly for the job with the "perfect" location or the "perfect" salary or the "perfect" coworkers...sound familiar? But that's not the "perfect" job that I mean. You see, perfection is not a job that is found, the perfect job is created. Now I'm not recommending that everyone who reads this go out and become self-employed (although some might, and good for them!) I'm saying that the "perfect" job might just be where you are right now, and if it isn't, you can make it perfect! I can hear you saying "What!!?" "THIS is my perfect job!!!? Matt you don't know my boss!!" True, but as the old saying goes "Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you deal with it." The way to the perfect job depends on you. How? One word: Attitude. We've all heard the saying "Garbage in-garbage out", right? Well, think of that in terms of attitude. If your attitude is less than perfect, alright I'll just come out and say it, if your attitude sucks, then it stands to reason that your job is going to suck, too. Now not all jobs are going to be pleasant, (and I know this as well, or better than anyone!) but that doesn't give you the permission to be "Oscar the Grouch". Why? Because every job has it's nasty sides (Just ask Mike Rowe-how many seasons has that show been on?), and even the "perfect" job is not always going to be fun and easy! "But Matt", you'll say; "I get all the crummy assignments!" Let me ask this: Are you ready for an assignment change? Try having a good attitude, it will make your supervisors notice, and if they don't-the assignment won't seem so terrible.  To have a good attitude, focus on positive things, usually the things that you actually like about your job. It may take some digging, but find those, and then concentrate on them. Now a word of caution: DON'T FOCUS ON THE MONEY. Working for just the money it provides is akin to selling a Lexus for just a few pennies. YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THAT! Don't settle for the dull, boring humdrum life, when the life you always wanted is right in front of you! The choice is yours: Bad Attitude=status quo/subsistence living or Good Attitude=exciting, rewarding and challenging.

First Time For Everything..?

As I was laboriously making my way through the  mountain of "customizations", I was struck by the question "Who takes all these background pictures?" They certainly do a good job!