Dear Terrible Job,

I’m writing to inform you that I don’t miss you, but I am very very very grateful for you.  When we met back in 2008, I had big dreams.  I dreamt of becoming a film editor working for a huge production company in California, and I hoped you would help me get there.  Shortly after we met, I started to realize I didn’t like you.  I actually dreaded seeing you every day, but you taught me four very important lessons.  I’m writing today to tell you about what you taught me.

Lesson #1: How to hustle. 

I graduated during an economic recession, so work was hard to come by, period.  At the time, I was focused, I had a goal, and I knew where I was going.  Instead of applying for jobs endlessly online, I landed you by putting on a suit, printing out my resume and knocking on the door of a small  production company in Media, PA that I researched online and decided I wanted to work for.  I asked if I could volunteer for you and you were so impressed with my work after one month that you offered me a part-time position and an hourly rate.  You showed me the importance of taking matters into my own hands when the odds were stacked against me and how to excel at my work and not take this opportunity for granted.

Lesson #2: What it was like to work for someone who actually cared about me and my future.

The greatest thing about you was my supervisor.  Not only did he recognize my talent and decide to pay me, but he also had a vested interest in my career.  After working for him for about two years, he asked me, “Where do you see yourself going in this industry?”  My supervisor didn’t know this, but he asked me this question about a year and six months after I realized I hated you.  However, I didn’t know what else to do with my life, so continued to regurgitate the same story I had been telling since graduation.  “My goal is to move to Hollywood and become a film editor.”  This was easier to say than the truth.  I was lost.  I didn’t want to put that on him, and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for the opportunity he had given me or just misguided in general.

Lesson #3: The importance of an informational interview.

With this information, my supervisor connected me with his good friend who was living in Hollywood and working as a film editor.  If you include undergrad, I had been pursuing this dream for six years.  SIX YEARS!!  And this conversation with my supervisor’s friend was the first time I actually spoke to someone in the industry.  Wouldn’t you know it, after our conversation I realized I DID NOT want his life!  It sounded like this guy did not have a stable income and he had to fight tooth and nail to put food on his table.  That was the nail in the coffin.  I had to make a change.  It was painfully obvious.

Lesson #4: The importance of self-reflection.

Now I really knew I hated you.  For the first time, I sat down and tried to think of what I wanted to do with my life.  I considered how I wanted to spend my time each day and who I wanted to be helping.  I knew that helping people had to be a part of my career.  One of the reasons I enjoyed filmmaking was because I knew I would be creating something that had the potential to help people escape their daily lives, get lost in a compelling story, learn something new, or just hang out with their friends.  I wanted to take the helping people part of my job with me.  I just needed to find a different way to do it.  I reflected on people who had made an impact on my life (outside of family members) and I kept coming back to my coaches.  As a child, I participated in soccer, softball, gymnastics, horseback riding, swimming, track, and diving.  I even played basketball for a little while…that didn’t last…I’m like really short.  Anyway, my coaches in all of these sports taught me really important lessons about how to be motivated, dedicated, and strong.  They made me feel good about myself.  They supported me when I needed support and pushed me when I was being a slacker.

After letting this idea marinate for a little while (and by “marinate” I mean drinking large quantities of wine), I decided I was going to go back to school to get my master’s degree in education so I could be a college track and field coach.

Now, I’m obviously writing you this letter as a career coach not a track coach, so my professional journey took a few more twists and turns after we parted ways.  However, I was able to make all those pivots because of you!  You taught me how to hustle, have standards, talk to other people, and self-reflect.  In reality, you were not a bad job. I was a misguided 20-something who simply picked a career so I could say I had a dream and a goal.  This dream and goal had very little to do with what I wanted and more to do with my desire to seem like I had it all together.  Landing you was just another box I was checking off my “This Is What Success Looks Like List.”  I know now that this isn’t how you cultivate a successful life.

I wish I had a career coach (like myself) to help me realize all these things sooner, so we could have spent less time together, and I could have spent more time working toward helping people in a way I cared about.  But, oh well.  Things worked out just fine for me.  I have no regrets and I’d like to send this letter by just saying thank you.

Respectfully,

Lauren Barlow, M.Ed, CCSP, GCDF, MBTI

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