Don’t settle for anything less than what you deserve.”

‘Congratulations, you start Monday!’- For any recent graduates, this simple sentence is the best thing you can hear. You finally got your first actual job which means you are “adulting” in the real world.

As soon as I heard that, I was relieved to finally be hired full-time but little did I know this job would be anything what I thought it would be.

My first “adult” job was with a marketing agency. It was something that I had no idea about but it was an opportunity that I was opened to. Why, would a communications major take a business related job…for the money.

And that is where I made my mistake. This job allowed me to finish paying off my loans faster so I said yes without giving it a second though. Looking back I can see that was a naive decision I made.

I soon realized that this job wasn’t going to help me with the career goals I wanted to accomplish. Instead it was going to throw me into the business field that I had no interest in pursuing.

For a weekend I complemented if I should quit or stay. It wasn’t until I talked to my cousin that he shared a similar story and gave me advice that I will never forget.

  1. I have time to pay off my loans so that shouldn’t be a reason to stay in a job that I wasn’t interested in.
  2. Find a job that I am passionate about because that is the field I will be working for the rest of my life.
  3. I shouldn’t settle for anything less than that.

When he told me this, I knew what my final decision would be.

Now I am back to where I started, working at my part-time job at James Avery and applying to jobs. Thank God I didn’t quit my part-time!

But I did learn something from my first job…don’t settle for a job that at the end is going to hurt you more than help you. And always end up working a job that you are passionate about.

Years from now, I will be laughing that my first job was in marketing but will be happy that I didn’t settle because at the end I would be doing something that I love.

Love Always,

Lidia

Tip: When you get a new job don’t quit your old one just in case your new job turns out to be something you don’t like!