What Job Would You Do For Free?
In a previous life I wrote resumes for hundreds of job seekers (someone once asked me what I did; when I said: "I write resumes," she responded: "What are you going to do with all the resumes after you've finished writing them?" Duh.) Clients told me what they were good at, what they liked and hated to do (never mention French fluency on your resume unless you can conduct the interview in French. Likewise, if you hated doing all the scheduling, accounting, typing or filing in your previous job, don't say it on your resume or your new employer will expect you to do all the scheduling, accounting, typing or filing.) I encouraged clients to look for jobs they loved so much that they'd work for free.
And what a great job I had!
My inner artist and editor got to compose, design and proofread. Even now I'm proofing over and over and over and over and over...
My inner kibbitzer met some real characters: a guy who played the bagpipes; a former model and fashion magazine editor whose list of references included nearly every major European clothing designer; the grandson of one of the Parker brothers, who recommended I buy my nephew a new toy called "Tickle Me Elmo," (what a coup that was! If I'd had the presence of mind to buy a few more I probably could have financed a year of college. Okay, maybe just a summer's worth of swim lessons, but still...)
My inner control freak got to tell people what to do and they did it.
Every day I'd gloat: "I can't believe someone pays me to do this!"
Then I had kids.
Just try to concentrate on interviewing and proofreading while children frantically wave cookies in your face for you to judge who got the biggest one. Just try to appear professional and trustworthy while typing with one hand and dishing out psketti with the other. Wasn't gonna happen.
Of course, being their mom is another job I love so much I'd do it for free. Good thing too, because in the ten years I've been at this company all my paychecks seem to have been lost in the mail.
Now I run a web site, for which I might actually get paid...someday. Turns out, it's another job I love. In prospecting for new merchandise I get to shop online all day. I get to dictate how the site looks, the tone of the promotional emails and the site itself. I get to put into play all the forty-plus years of customer service philosophy I grew up with as I watched my father build his company (thanks, Dad!). Now that the kids are in school all day I can actually put in a few productive and relatively uninterrupted hours.
Of course, not everybody is lucky enough to find work they'd do for free. But it sure helps if you do.
And what a great job I had!
My inner artist and editor got to compose, design and proofread. Even now I'm proofing over and over and over and over and over...
My inner kibbitzer met some real characters: a guy who played the bagpipes; a former model and fashion magazine editor whose list of references included nearly every major European clothing designer; the grandson of one of the Parker brothers, who recommended I buy my nephew a new toy called "Tickle Me Elmo," (what a coup that was! If I'd had the presence of mind to buy a few more I probably could have financed a year of college. Okay, maybe just a summer's worth of swim lessons, but still...)
My inner control freak got to tell people what to do and they did it.
Every day I'd gloat: "I can't believe someone pays me to do this!"
Then I had kids.
Just try to concentrate on interviewing and proofreading while children frantically wave cookies in your face for you to judge who got the biggest one. Just try to appear professional and trustworthy while typing with one hand and dishing out psketti with the other. Wasn't gonna happen.
Of course, being their mom is another job I love so much I'd do it for free. Good thing too, because in the ten years I've been at this company all my paychecks seem to have been lost in the mail.
Now I run a web site, for which I might actually get paid...someday. Turns out, it's another job I love. In prospecting for new merchandise I get to shop online all day. I get to dictate how the site looks, the tone of the promotional emails and the site itself. I get to put into play all the forty-plus years of customer service philosophy I grew up with as I watched my father build his company (thanks, Dad!). Now that the kids are in school all day I can actually put in a few productive and relatively uninterrupted hours.
Of course, not everybody is lucky enough to find work they'd do for free. But it sure helps if you do.
No comments:
Post a Comment