Choosing What’s Best For Your Career

Janelle (not her real name) was excited to start her new job and put her own mark on the world. But after her initial training, she realized that that was it–she was now expected to start performing. Feeling unprepared but hopeful, she nevertheless launched into her work with as much confidence as she could muster. However, after several months of constantly faltering, bluffing, and failing to meet her new employer’s expectations, Janelle realized that either she didn’t have what it took, or she just wasn’t a good fit for the job. The day she gave her notice was so hard. Janelle had no idea what she was going to do next–she only knew she couldn’t struggle at this job any longer.

As a job seeker, you may think that the worst thing that could happen is not finding a job. But believe it or not, there is something worse—accepting a job for which you end up not being a good fit. At best, it can mean a detour for your career. At worst, it can become a demoralizing experience that makes you second-guess yourself for months and years to come, and put an unwanted ding in your resume.

No, We’re Not Just Being Nosy

This is why, when you are being considered for a job opening, your Amtec recruiter will ask you lots of questions! In essence, with every job opening, we have two customers: our client company, who is paying us to hire someone, and our candidate—someone like you. Our task is to find a good match that makes both of our customers happy. We always look for a win-win. That’s why we want to really get to know you and understand your career goals. The better we can see where you want to go, the more we’ll know whether you’re a good fit for our current job opening or not.

Lose, Lose!

When you’re choosing what’s best for your career, the last thing we want to do is help our client company make you an offer, only to discover six or nine months down the road that this wasn’t really the kind of work you wanted to do. In that scenario, you will have stopped receiving internal satisfaction and reward from your work, and probably stopped bringing your A game to the job. Your manager is probably frustrated that he isn’t getting the performance from you that he had hoped for, and the company’s bottom line is likely suffering. You’ve sensed his frustration and have increasingly felt a sense of failure and frustration yourself. Neither of you is happy, neither of our customers wins, and we too experience the fallout of your unfolding dissatisfaction.

Please Don’t Just Settle for Any Job

This is why, even when a company just loves you as a candidate, your Amtec recruiter will question you intensely. He or she may counsel you that the worst thing that could happen is for you to get an offer, accept it, and then a few months down the road discover this isn’t the right fit for you and your career. He or she will tell you that accepting a job that doesn’t fit with your goals will only end up hurting both you and your new employer. As hard as it may be for you to hear, your recruiter will kindly tell you that it’s better to wait for a good fit that will be a win-win for both you and your new employer.

Only You Can Prevent Career Meltdown

As a recruitment agency, we’ve found that it’s critical that we pay close attention to what’s most important to you in your career. As a candidate, you too must be analytical and self-aware enough to make decisions based on, not just what jobs are available or how much an employer likes you, but what will provide you with meaningful work that fits with your abilities and furthers the direction of your career. For questions to ask yourself when choosing what’s best for your career, read this post on making a job change next. For Forbes’ recent advice on how to answer, “What makes you a good fit for this job?” click here.

Candidates, do we have the most current version of your resume? If not, click here to post it, and visit our job board while you’re at it! You or a friend might be a good fit for one of our open positions.