Is liking what you do the same as not hating it?

Do you love your job? Do you enjoy the industry you are in, even if you do not love your job? Are you good at doing what you do? If the answer to all of these is NO, I have to ask –what are you doing?

During your young professional years, no matter what position or industry you are in, should be a time of continuous learning and taking advantage of professional development opportunities. Whether you’re a baker, a truck driver, an accountant, a nurse, a lawyer – I have never known anyone being terminated for “knowing too much”. (Not to be confused with being a know-it-all, that is a different story altogether).

My background is in Communications. One of the things I love about the job, is how interdisciplinary it can be. Because most Communication positions are based on writing and public relations, it is a job that requires the ability to research and understand the background of your industry and employer in order to succeed. I landed my current position in an industry I knew nothing about –because I had the communication skills they required, and the rest was up to me to develop in.  A writing test on a subject I had absolutely no knowledge of was a part of my hiring process. That was almost three years ago and I’ve learned a lot about the industry I work in to say the least. Is it one I ever thought I’d find myself in? No. Do I love what I do? No. Do I hate it? No. But have I learned enough to stay and advance within the industry if I choose to? Yes.

I see a lot of people come through my office door looking to get into the transportation industry.  Young, old, retired, fresh out of high school, experienced, inexperienced, hard working and lazy. I can immediately tell who is going to be successful in the program they are applying into. Various factors indicate success, the most common ones being speaking and listening skills. This is mainly in part because in my brief interactions with them, these are the two that leave a lasting impression.  I receive numerous inquiries everyday, and it amazes me how ignorant, rude and unprofessional people are when inquiring about a program that combines tuition funding, training and a job. Here are a few tips I’ve comprised from my experience:

1)   Don’t let mommy do the talking for you.  If you are interested in something and looking for information, YOU make the call. I get countless calls from mothers (or girlfriends or wives) who claim their sons/boyfriends/husbands to apply for the program. If that were true, the sons/boyfriends/husbands would be the ones calling. She can’t do your job for you and she can’t apply for you so you might as well try out that independence.

2)   Provide your phone number. Do not put down your mom’s work number, or your girlfriend’s cell on your applications unless someone it is necessary. I once called an applicant to congratulate him on being accepted into the program, only to be greeted with a “who the #&%@ is this?” from his girlfriend. Big mistake.

3)   Use an appropriate email address. If gangsta69@hotmail.com is the email on your application, chances are you are not getting a call in for an interview. Email accounts are free - please get a new one for job applications if your existing one lacks in professionalism.

4)   Is this really what you want to do? Sometimes that pushy female in your life (see tip #1) wants you to do something your heart isn’t 100% in. This is a recipe for failure. Sooner or later it will catch up to you, so assess your repercussions first, and make sure you are applying for that job or program because you want to. These mistakes can cost more than your relationship with that person (for example, the program I accept application for will cost you over $8000 if you do not complete the program requirements.)

5)   Keep your records clean. Things happen, everyone make mistakes. But some of those can haunt you the rest of your lives.  Finding a job in a position of trust may be challenging for someone who robbed a bank 10 years ago. They didn’t think they’d get caught and have that record stand between themselves and that supervisor position at the grocery store one day down the road.

Once something appears on a criminal record or driving record, it is there to stay.  For example: how can someone who can’t afford a regular class 5 licence because their fees are too high (due to countless at-fault accidents and speeding tickets) possibly be serious about wanting be become a professional long-haul truck driver?

Asses your career and job options and opportunities well. In this day and age, we are the only ones who can stop ourselves from doing anything.

Open Mouth. Insert Foot.

My mother always told me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. She was that kind of person, I have so much respect for her for for being that way. I obviously got the ill-tempered trait from my father's side. I've put my foot in my mouth plenty of times; in fact one of my new year's resolutions was to be more mindful of my words and actions, which would allow me to think before I speak (or email, or blog or text etc). So far, so good and I am happy to announce the culprit of this post is not me.

As a part of day job I attend career and job fairs to promote the industry. We have a lot of very useful information that we collect from a very credible source -a human resources council specific to our industry. Their sole purpose is to recruit, train and retrain those in our industry. They don't pull statistics out of hat; they do extensive research and provides tools and training to industry associations and firms -such as the one I work for- to deal with issues in our industry's human resources.

Yesterday I attended an event in which my workplace is a sponsor. As a sponsor, we got to set up a booth for students looking for career information. One of the mentors of these students had a problem with one of the statistics (a industry salary average) we had on a banner. So, she decided to yell at me, making a scene in front of everyone present. She thought I was just a face behind a table, little did she know how long I've been doing my job for and what I know, or even what organization I was there representing.  Like a lady, (unlike her) I waited until she was finished her rant, smiled and simply handed her an information sheet with the stamp of the human resources council specific to our industry that provided us with the offending statistic. She threw it at me, told me she'd know because she worked in the industry and stormed off.

As I see it, here is where she went wrong:

- as a "mentor" for these group of students, she was not setting a good example of professionalism
- she basically admitted she makes less than the average person in her position which means she is not good at what she does or has yet to develop. (In which case, she never will with this attitude)
- as someone who had been invited to the event (she was either a teacher or volunteer) she made a big mistake by yelling at one of the event's sponsors (the company I work for)
- she admitted she was from the industry so there is also a high possibility she is also from a member company of my workplace

Her boss could be on the board of directors for where I work. Or, the event could lose our sponsorship over this. That will not be the case, but it could happen.  Either way,  she's bruised a relationship between my workplace and the event. If only we had all made a resolution to think before speaking.