Why It’s Time to Get Over the Idea of Having the Perfect Job

To this day, I still remember when a colleague I couldn’t stand gave me some sage advice: “No job is perfect,” she said. At the time, I was searching for my “dream job.” I was young, and I thought it existed. That’s why I was so distressed when what I thought would be it was really another doozy

But not really. That job may not have had great hours, benefits or the commute I was after. Looking back, though, it gave me a large part of the foundation needed to launch my career as a freelance writer. Are you trying to make all the right moves in your career, and freak out when things don’t go as planned? Are you stuck in a job that you swear is a complete dead-ender? Maybe it’s time to stop thinking in terms of career perfection. Even your dream job or career has things you won’t like about it.

While you may not be able to see the benefits of your current situation right now, they probably exist. They key is to stop pushing for perfection and work with what you’ve got. Many of us aren’t where we want to be career wise, or we may not handle a situation correctly. But we’ve got to go easy on ourselves, learn from the mistakes and move forward.

View Each Job as a Stepping Stone

In my case, I thought being at that job was a waste of time. Feel the same? Try to look at it objectively. Will the job be a good foundation job in the future, even if you hate it right now? Then it may still be worth holding. Other signs that a crappy job is really a gem include being around powerful people in the company that may be able to help you in the future, being able to gain valuable education in your field, and making contacts in your industry even if the ones at your company suck.

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Don’t Beat Yourself Up

Mess up a big preso? Your career probably isn’t over. About five years ago, Alexandra Franzen, author of You’re Going to Survive, attended an event featuring a well-known scientist and author.  “The place was completely packed. The scientist began her talk. She was brilliant, thoughtful, and totally captivating,” recalls Franzen. “But then, in the middle of her talk, she completely blanked out and forgot what she was supposed to say next.”

After a long, awkward pause, Franzen thought the speech would be a disaster. But the speaker cracked a joke, laughed at herself and marched confidently across the stage to grab her notes from the podium. “Then she dove right back in, like nothing had even happened,” says Franzen. The speaker went on to get a standing ovation—some of the audience was crying because her talk was so powerful.

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“That’s when I realized that being ‘great’ at your work has nothing to do with perfection,” she said. “So what if your article has a typo? So what if you temporarily go blank and forget your next line? So what if you sing slightly flat or sharp? Sure, it might be embarrassing for five seconds, but so what? You will survive. Everyone will survive. And most of the time, your colleagues (or your audience) won’t even care.”

“If you try your very best, if you operate with courage, if you’re genuinely passionate and excited about whatever you’re sharing, that’s what people will remember,” says Franzen.