There are three ways we go through our working lives; with a job, a career or doing something we are passionate about.  Each of the three offer different levels of job satisfaction and opportunity.  Review my explanations of each below and see which one more describes your working or job seeking life.  If you are interviewing like a person looking for a job, you may want to change your approach and start working on your career or figure out what you’re passionate about and find a way to make a living at it.

I had the good fortune to meet with Alan Hill, a former client I recruited for while he was  at Best Buy.  Currently, he coaches and consults on how to build on your passion to create your best future.  People like Alan are able to articulate the following concepts in a simple way that is easy to understand and more importantly, easy to get excited about.

JOB

Job pays the bills.

People looking for a j-o-b are a commodity and in this market the employers have the advantage.

Compensation – Generally the lowest paid workers and most dissatisfied

Interviewing – This group worries about having the right answers to the interview questions.

Job Search Strategy – Spray and Pray.  This strategy involves sending out a resume to every job that is even close to what’s on your resume. Any job will do.

CAREER

Career pays the bills and is part of a plan to move up in an organization or industry to the point where you are making more than enough money

People looking for the next step in their career are more desirable and harder for employers to find.

Compensation – Potentially the highest paid workers, more satisfied with their job than the first group but occasionally dissatisfaction occurs as a result of conflicting values, family vs. career

Interviewing – This group worries about finding the right fit, they tend to interview the interviewer.

Job Search Strategy – Strategic resume submission and networking.  Not any job will do.

PASSION

Passion is doing work that you would do for free because you love it!

People who are looking for ways to fulfill their passion generally know exactly what they want to do and who they want to do it for, many work for themselves.  Their job search is more about targeting companies that standout in the area they are passionate about and finding ways to network with people in those companies.  This is generally easy for them as they naturally seek out social groups related to their passion and this is where they make their next job connection long before they need it.

Compensation – This group can be both some of the highest and lowest paid workers but they are also the most satisfied workers because for them, it’s not about the money.  They follow the advice from the book titled, “Do what you love and the money will follow”.

Interviewing – This group doesn’t worry about the interview process, they know they will deliver the best presentation they can and they will be tough to beat because they know exactly why they want to work for this company doing what they love.  Passion shines.

Job Search Strategy – Socializing, networking, partnering with people on projects & consulting gigs, speaking and training whenever they can and constantly evangelizing what they do and why it’s so great.  They generally get the interview without even sending out a resume because somebody is familiar with their work or saw them speak at a conference or event.

The good news is that if you find yourself in a category you don’t like, you can work your way into different category.

Are you waking every morning excited about the career you have?  If not, let your passion take over and every day that you go to work will be a blessing, not a challenge.