In my usual web surfing this weekend, I came across a Job Misery Survey that asked respondents what made their favorite job great. The top two responses were:
- It utilized my skills and
- I felt like I had a purpose
I was reminded of a few of my favorite jobs and I can honestly say I have to agree. One of my all time favorite jobs was as an Americorps member with the National School and Community Corps (now EducationWorks) in Philadelphia. It was my first job out of college and I worked as a site manager, running community based programs in a local school. I got to work with students, parents, teachers and administrators, and community members. We started a chess club, worked with an adult literacy program, and ran a food donation program. I led a team of 8 corpsmembers, some of them had never worked before while others were recent college grads just like me.
After one year I was promoted to regional manager, where I was responsible for 40 corpsmembers over 16 schools. Neither position paid very well, but it was by far the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. Not only did I get to use my creativity and project management skills, but I was also teaching and serving other people – part of what I believe my purpose to be.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t learned about creating work-life balance back then and totally burned out of that role. I would leave there and do a few temp jobs before becoming a 5th grade teacher.
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