Category: Work & Jobs

“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice. It is conformity.” -Earl Nightingale

Society loves to tell you which jobs are the best and the worst and why. Social media and the internet post articles all the time about this subject. Your own family and friends will inadvertently tell you their own prejudices about certain jobs. Who do you listen to? To compromise or not to compromise, that is the question?

Jobs & Career Prejudice

We all have a tendency to look down on some jobs and romanticize other jobs. The people who work at the job make the difference, not the job or career itself. For example, if you work in a service job, the assumption is that you must have made a mistake or lost your way. If you are a teacher, people will remember their own educational experience, which leads them to either demonize education, or overromanticize your job role.

Other people view you as almost angelic for doing such a selfless act as teaching young students. In the arts, singers, musicians, artists, dancers and entertainers are viewed as glamourous, talented or pompous and self absorbed, if they are successful. When the success dies down, they are villainized. If they self destruct, it was because they chose such a horrible career choice. Or, if you are trying to make it and have not had instant success, then you are wasting your life. If someone makes it, then they were just lucky, no hard work was involved along the way, it was only their pure talent that got them to the top.

Why Are You Showing Up for Work

Are you doing the job with integrity and honoring your true self? Or are you giving a subpar performance just to get a paycheck? Do you give 100 percent and still feel unfufilled in your work? When we choose to compromise, we give up our true callings to win societal approval and avoid discomfort financially. You can be whatever you want to be in life. If it is legal, of course.

Unfortunately, some people do find ways to do illegal things within legal jobs and careers. Go figure! However, most of us choose a practical career or job in order to have stability. We settle! We settle to fit in, to not stand out, to be accepted by our family, friends, and colleagues. There are no good or bad jobs as long as you do not compromise your intergity and your authentic self while working that job or career.

What Makes a Job or Career?

YOU make a job or career! You make the difference! If you are doing a job that you find fulfilling, then that makes it good no matter what anyone else tells you. Teaching is a beautiful career, especially when someone is passionate about it. Every customer service job is essential to the function of our economy and day to day living.

When a service worker is giving 100 percent, he/she can make a person’s experience memorable. If someone hears a beautiful piece of music or watches a powerful film or play, it can have an impact on his/her life forever. When you show up and give the best of yourself, you will feel happier no matter what job or career you have.

Conclusion

I remember getting so much praise and appreciation from people in general for having a teaching career, which fed my longing for approval abundantly. If I wanted to keep up the people pleasing and the NYC teaching salary and benefits, I could have continued working in education.

I was chasing a check, caving in to familial and societal approval, compromising my integrity regularly, and neglecting my mental health on a daily basis. Your conscious knows when you are conforming, but you ignore it. We all know that there will be hard days at work no matter what job or career you have. But ask yourself: how do you show up to work each day? Are you just trying to get through the day every single day? Are you using any of your natural gifts? Do you know what your gifts are?

Find out as soon as possible if you do not know. Listen to your conscious or God or whatever you believe in. Tune out what the world is telling you. This is hard, but I believe in you. If we would become self-aware and be true to our authentic selves, I truly believe that we would all find contentment and peace within.

Book Suggestion: The Big Leap: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/6391876

https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-find-a-job/

Hope this Helps

Dominique Duarte

In one week, I will turn the big 33! Woohoo! It is hard to believe that I have been an employee for 15 years already. I have had 35 jobs since I was 17, and I have never been let go from a job, except Campus Pizza in college. Of course, Campus Pizza was run my student managers, go figure! I have had several jobs over the years and have tried to be a good employee overall. Here is what I have learned over the years. Show up consistently, communicate with your employers, and be open to learning and growing.

Best Job Search Site: https://www.indeed.com/

The Best Ways to Find a Job: https://bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-find-a-job/

Show Up Consistently

This is a big one! I think most people get let go from a job because of attendance. This is the easiest thing you can do in any situation is to just SHOW UP. We all have sick days and this is totally understandable, but you must communicate this to your employer. Communicate anytime you are unable to come to work. Your boss will greatly appreciate it.

If you have to miss work or are running late, your employer is more understanding if you let them know ahead of time. Attendance led to my one and only firing at Campus Pizza in Murray. I had worked there for a little over a year on weekends. When I had performances that conflicted with my shift, I would try to get someone to cover for me.

However, there were times when I could not get anyone to cover my shift. Since I could not find anyone to cover one of my shifts, I got the boot for not being able to find coverage and then not showing up for the shift to perform in a musical. Basically, if you do not show up, it effects everyone else during the shift, no matter the reason. Show up and be on time.

Always Communicate to Your Employers

Communication is key and in the Campus Pizza situation, I should have asked for the student managers cell phone numbers in advance. I called the dining hall before the shift and no one answered the phone so I left a message. The student manager did not get the message, so it was considered a no call, no show. The student manager immediately sent a termination email without talking to me first.

She knew that I had been a reliable employee in the past, but no call, no show means immediate termination for most jobs. As far as communication goes, the situation with Campus Pizza is an anomaly for sure. Post college, I have always been able to contact my employers through email, text, or by phone. In 2022, there is no excuse to not contact your employer about your attendance. There are too many ways to contact your managers so take advantage of it. If you have any other concerns about anything job related, let your managers know in a professional manner.

Be Open to Learning & Growing

Learn as much as you can about your job. Go above and beyond, even at the simplest of jobs. When you continue to learn at your job, you gain more life skills, and it can make even the most mundane jobs more interesting. Always ask questions so that you can become as knowledgeable as possible about the ins and outs of the job.

One of my favorite jobs other than acting was working at Trader Joe’s. I loved bagging groceries and stocking the shelves since I love to organize things. Also, there were so many different tasks to do at Trader Joe’s, so it was never boring. There was always something new to learn.

Futhermore, working at Cracker Barrel helped me with my communication skills because I had to answer the phones and check out guests daily. I learned how to be interested in other people and ask open ended questions to get to know people better.

This is an essential life skill that I have used in all areas of my life. If you ask people open ended questions like” What did you do today?”, you will get most people to open up so quickly. Lastly, there will be changes at work sometimes, so become as informed as possible to continue doing your job efficiently with the changes.

Conclusion

So whether you just got a new job or have been working at your job for years, show up consistently, communicate with your employers, and be open to learning and growing. If you show up well at work, you will feel better about yourself than if you are just doing the bare minimum and barely showing up. Be the best you at all times.

Hope this helps,

Dominique Duarte