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Take a test I just took: write "I am a (whatever) because" and finish the sentence. There are no wrong answers on this test. You can't
fail, unless you can't finish.
I wrote nearly two full pages before I could write "I am a writer because I am curious." This answer
made me happy, but there was plenty of pain to wade through before I reached the end. If you do this honestly, you'll tromp through some pain of your
own.
But tromp you should. Since you're looking for a new job, you may as well do a mid-course correction while you have the chance. If you
can't come up with a good reason why you are a (whatever), perhaps you really don't want to be one.
My lovely wife Wendy is now a high school
English teacher. Before our son Alex was born nearly 15 years ago, she was a COBOL programmer at EDS. We never thought we could afford to live on one
salary (especially mine at the time), but Wendy felt staying home with Alex was more important than programming. She was right.
After our
daughter Laura reached school age, Wendy felt guilty staying home. She had always worked, starting as soon as she could drive herself to the mall and
sell women's clothes. She worked through college. She did some part-time programming from home while raising Alex.
Wendy wanted to work. She just didn't want to work with computers anymore.
Yes, I know an EDS-trained COBOL programmer can charge more in two
days than a teacher brings home in a month, thanks to Y2K. But I would rather have a happy Wendy than a wealthy Wendy. She works harder as a teacher
than she ever did as a programmer, but loves it. Giving back to society is important to her, and we certainly need more teachers who want to be in the
classroom.
Are you where you want to be? Are you sure? I thought I knew why I was a writer, but it took me two pages to reach the answer. It
took that long to examine and list all the reasons that didn't make me a writer to find the reason I became a writer.
Why are you a (whatever)?
Why aren't you a (something else)? Why aren't you an (earlier job) anymore?
I was always drawn to what looked better than what I was doing at
the time. Computers, in 1984, looked better than building photographic equipment in my father's company. Selling Novell networks looked better than
selling PCs. Selling high-end networking equipment looked better than selling networks. Consulting looked better than selling. Writing looked better
than consulting, and I could work from home. Over several years, I wrote more and consulted less. Being somewhat lazy, home won, and I became a
full-time writer.
Perhaps "lazy" is the wrong word. "Lacked drive" is better. I had offers to be a hot shot consultant,
flying here and yon. I even knew people who started with companies in Silicon Valley and cashed out rich. I could do it, but I didn't have the drive.
Didn't want to fly four places in five days and see my family on the weekend. Didn't want to move to San Jose and work 80 hour weeks, hoping for a
stock option jackpot. Still don't.
Know those maps with a dot that say, "You Are Here?" "Here" is not a bad place, if you
want to be "here" and, even better, know where you don't want to be.
"Here" changes as you move through life. When Wendy
and I got married in May, 1980, she was a receptionist and I was selling long distance telephone service. She was finishing her last few college hours
at night, and I was trying to be a violinist in a symphony orchestra.
I know exactly why I'm not playing in an orchestra today: I couldn't push
myself to practice more than five hours per day. Non-musicians often don't understand this, and I never admitted this publicly before. I'm telling you
a painful truth so you can tell yourself the truth.
Knowing what things you don't want to do will help tell you why you are what you are. When
you understand the choices you've made so far, you'll better understand where you are now. That all sounds more touchy-feely than I wanted, but
self-honesty is often difficult to verbalize.
If you aren't comfortable with what you are now, changing jobs won't help. You'll just be unhappy
in a new company. More money will keep the pain away for a while, but not forever.
Talking with high-tech recruiters, they assure me the tight
job market does not mean they take whoever walks through the door. Successful candidates have to prove they have skills, of course, but they also must
fit into the culture of the new company. "Plays well with others." Get along, carry their weight, advance the team by pushing sometimes and
leading others.
Write "I am a (whatever) because" on a small piece of paper and put it in your pocket during your interview. You'll
get the job you want. Why? Confidence. You may be the first person the recruiter has ever met who really knows the answer to "I am a (whatever)
because."
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