How To Lose A Great Job .. And Find A Better One.

by Steven · No Comments

A couple of weeks ago I’ve blogged about about getting great jobs.

Point of that story was to show how I went from surviving at work (and often getting fired) to getting a job I really wanted – and loving it.

The access to that was to begin craving challenge in my job. I wanted to get a job which I was not qualified enough for.

A job in which I’d have to hit the ground running and be out of my comfort zone – learning very fast as I went.

So great. I got that exact job.

What you don’t yet know is that four hours after I wrote that blog post, I found out that I didn’t get it, after all.

I went in to have a chat with the manager about next weeks roster, and he broke the news.

They decided that I was too under-qualified to work in their calibre of restaurant and chose to continue looking for a more experienced person.

I walked out of the restaurant in a daze. I was angry and upset. Furthermore, I began to wonder whether everything I wrote in that blog post was full of shit.

Was it all empty rhetoric which was not supported by any results in real life?

Then I really got something.

What matters is not what happens. It’s how we react to it. And how we react is driven by how we perceive the situation.

See, I could not control what happened. I lost the job, and that was the end. But I could choose what the situation what meant to me in that moment.

The reason I was angry and mad (and now frustrated) was because I chose to look at the situation as:

- a loss of opportunity,
- a loss of income,
- a waste of time which I spent looking and doing the trial shifts, and
- an obstacle which was in the way of achieving my greater goals

What about a different meaning?

I began this journey as a quest for challenge. I went for that job because I wanted the biggest challenge I could find.

And now I found out that I didn’t get it, after doing 3 shifts.

Great! This is not a loss. This was now an even bigger challenge.

As soon as I replaced the “loss” goggles with “even bigger challenge” goggles, I felt energy and drive return to me. I immediately went home to print more resumes.

And the next day I got a job at a different Italian restaurant.

When the GM, who was interviewing me, began with..

“So, what are your dreams?”

..I knew I was in the right place.

Most managers begin interviews with the Stuff – you know, the “which boxes have you ticked?”, the certificates, the years of experience.

This one began with the Dream. What am I trying to achieve? What purpose am I out to fulfill on?

Next, she told me about her passions, and the vision she has for the restaurant. I said I’d love to help her make it a reality.

And the story ends there.

I’m employed again, in a job which pays more, in a restaurant where I my experience gap is not as extreme.

By the way, all these concepts are present in a great book I’m reading at the moment, called Three Laws Of Performance. If you are ready to transform your dull workplace into one you love going to, I highly recommend it. It’s a nearly perfect business book.

Steven

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