After you get the job…

It is often said that, ‘always remember that what you are currently taking for granted was once something you prayed for desperately’.

Recently, my boss took me to a motivational talk, where he was requested to speak to a group of young people about his experiences as a businessman and lessons learnt. It was a great session, I personally learnt so much. So when he was done, he said to the crowd while pointing at me, ‘…and there is my HR, in case you have any work related inquiries, see her after this.’ Unlike my boss, I’m very shy with crowds, actually, I refer to myself as ‘socially challenged’, I prefer to sit quietly in background, most of the time. So after the session, several people came up to me. Most of them were looking for employment and so I guided them through the process. Then I started to think, would all these people have the same commitment to their jobs as they have now, that they don’t have it?

Often times, when employees land their dream job, after a while, they begin to loose the passion they once had when they were looking for it. They get comfortable, they settle into a routine and then turn into supermarket attendants (I say this respectfully). The reality is, not everyday in your workplace will be exciting; there are fast days and very slow days and then there are good days and  days where everything that was supposed to go wrong goes wrong.

I have noted, in the younger generation, that most of them like the idea of having a job and getting paid at the end of the month, but not so much what it takes to have that job. They would like their peers to know they are employed somewhere, but when it comes to actual delivery, there is a disconnect. Soon after they land the job, certain unprecedented behaviors start to come out and as a recruiter, you are left wondering what really happened. You even begin to question whether the decision you made about them was the correct one.

Work requires commitment, hard work, dedication, sacrifice. Sometimes you’ll need to put in extra hours. In this day and age, it is no longer 8-5 like we know it. There is nothing good in life that comes easy, and when it is too easy, you need to ‘open your third eye’. As an employee, it is important that you not only give the bare minimum. Always yearn to give your very best, to go the extra mile. When you know in your heart that you have done the best you can, there is a certain level of fulfillment that comes with it.

However, when you report to your work place and start to behave like your employer owes you a favor, it is time to pack and go. Ofcourse some work places are not the greatest to work at, but, I am a very strong believer in making the best out of what you have. When you finally decide to leave, let it be on your own terms, knowing fully well that you have your all. Always remember to try and perform your duties with the same passion everyday as you did the very first time you arrived there.