Recently I saw a news clip about middle school kids taking "career-ready" classes to get them a jumpstart into finding their dream job. While that is all fine and dandy, how many 12-14 year olds stick to their dream job? Are there any 12 year olds that dream of being an accountant, or even know what an accountant is? I have no idea. I also don't remember what I wanted to be when I grew up (minus the phase when I was 7 when I was pretty sure I could be a pioneer when I grew up, but that's a whole other story). I have been out of college for three and a half years now and I can say with certainty each job I have held since college has played a direct role in the position I have today. I am a compliance coordinator for a children's healthcare facility. I had no idea such a job existed when I was in middle school but I can't imagine a better place to take advantage of my skillset and interests.
My favorite part of my job is not the part where I write policies or edit practice manuals or schedule a monthly meeting with 17 people (all real things I have done this month). My favorite part of my job is the vision and passion I share with my coworkers. It takes a certain type of person to work where we do; that type of person does not thrive in every work environment, something I know from far too much experience. See, at my current employer, we all share the mindset of doing the right thing and helping others, with very little expected in return. The intangible feel good benefits of the workplace are one the biggest reasons I wanted to work there in the first place.
I only went job searching one Sunday night because I was fed up with being treated like crap and "not doing enough to get us another big bonus." I was turned off by the attitudes of my coworkers and how they had lost sight of helping people get their lives back. Sure, there were atypical perks to that place, like bringing my dog to work and periodic happy hours to celebrate successful settlements. The longer I am in the workplace the more I realize company culture can make or break an entire job for someone. I realized it didn't matter how much fun my workplace seemed. I wasn't happy. I saw the perfect opportunity for myself and I took it without looking back.
I am very thankful for all the jobs I have held in this world. They have all gotten me to where I am today. I am ungodly grateful to finally be in a place where my values are matched and my enthusiasm for doing to the right thing is the norm (with only warm fuzzies to show for my efforts sometimes!). I love having lower blood pressure and fewer bouts of anxiety over excess emails about how I should be prioritizing my day. I love how my boss tells me about the compliments and positive feedback others share with him about me as an employee. (100% performance evaluation after 90 days, thank you.) I love how the president of the company isn't too good to make the coffee each morning. I love how the CEO stops at my desk just because she randomly thought about me while she was driving to an appointment 2 hours ago. I love how my 85 year old cubicle neighbor doesn't want to retire because she enjoys her coworkers so much. I love that I love my job enough to enjoy showing up early to get more things done.
I love that I finally love my job. Period.
