When you think of a job, it doesn’t always have to be the job you want to have for the rest of your life – it doesn’t even have to be one that falls under the career path you want to pursue. We are constantly switching through jobs and trying different things as college students, and that’s mainly because it becomes a necessity to earn money even before we have graduated. However, this doesn’t mean that we have to hate our temporary jobs; in fact, we can still find something we like to do.
You can start off by figuring out jobs that have something to do with things you’re passionate about. For me, I knew that I love clothes and fashion in general, so something in retail made the most sense. If you’re into art, for example, you can look for a position in an art studio or a gallery, even a tattoo shop as a receptionist. The point is that you can get creative, so you should brainstorm different places!
Then, you can start thinking of what has worked for you in the past and what hasn’t. I knew that retail made sense for me, but I also knew that my previous jobs in big retail companies had not been pleasant at all. So I decided to look into small business boutiques, and that ended up working out for me! It’s kind of like a process of elimination that leaves you with more specific options to choose from.
Once you start applying to places and eventually land an interview, you can scope out the environment and the vibe in person. This helps out a lot because if you can tell that the place won’t make you feel comfortable or it just doesn’t feel right, then you know it isn’t for you! After interviewing for the boutique I currently work for, I knew right away that I would enjoy this job because I had never felt so comfortable with a manager before.
You can then give the actual job a test-run and truly know whether it’s the one. If you still feel like it doesn’t click, then keep applying to other places because it can take some time! Just don’t get discouraged and know that it is possible to find a job you don’t hate.