Things to Consider Before Pursuing a Career Opportunity - Kyrabe Stories
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Things to Consider Before Pursuing a Career Opportunity


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How many of us have wished that we could find a job that pays well AND that we can actually enjoy? Many times, we end up compromising our interests for a position to just cover bills, leaving us dreading the sound of an alarm clock no matter what time it is. Luckily, there are ways of finding and pursuing a position that we actually want to do. It’s mostly a matter of first knowing where to look and how to approach the perfect career opportunity. 

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You don’t have to fit 100% of the job description! 

When I first started applying for dream positions, I canceled a bunch of applications for positions that I REALLY wanted because there were a few specific skills I didn’t have on the description list. It could be something like “3-5+ years of work experience” or “Proficient with [random software]”.  After declining myself the opportunity so many times, I finally spoke to a trusted professor, and she explained that many job descriptions were like spoiled Christmas lists. Yes, someone who had EVERYTHING would be ideal, but sometimes being proficient in at least 50% of the list and motivated to learn the other half in a timely manner is still acceptable. Don’t decline yourself the opportunity. Let the desired company be the one to say no, and remember that you can usually re-apply later if a similar position opens again. You’d be surprised at how many “similar” skills listed on your resume are still a-ok! 

Discover yourself!

One of the worst positions I voluntarily placed myself in was doing hard-sells through a promotional company. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved my coworkers, supervisors, and managers there. I just HATED doing hard-sells! I needed the money, so I figured, “Why not? They’re hiring, and it’ll just be temporary until I can get into my preferred industry.”

Now in previous blogs, I have pointed out that I have social anxiety when it comes to approaching strangers. This alone should have been a red flag for me not to jump to the first job offer that became available. Unfortunately, I was more concern with bills than my sanity. Results: having a complete meltdown in the middle of Sam’s Club less than a month into the position and needing to visit a psychologist later that week at the local VA Medical Center. Till this day, I still don’t like being behind a kiosk stand anymore.

Know what you want (and don’t want)! 

So please, please, PLEASE answer these questions on a blank sheet of paper (or subscribe to access our free OneDrive printout for this) before you accept a job that’s only meant to pay the bills! Yes, expenses can be stressful, but a job that doesn’t fit your interests can be even more stressful! 

What are things you enjoy doing? What are you passionate about?

This is not a trick question. List ANYTHING that makes you happy! It could be crocheting, playing videogames, hiking, cooking/baking, playing with dogs, reading, writing, singing, dancing, roller skating, the list can go on for days! 

The reason I’m having you list these things is that there are positions that will pay you to do the things you love! Don’t believe me? I grew up re-watching VHS recordings of Hip-Hop dancers because I loved their movements and had fun learning the dances too. In 2017, I discovered that I could get certified to teach Hip-Hop Aerobics for beginners and a campus was looking for dance instructors! I was paid $40 per one-hour class to teach beginners how to dance the same moves I learned from watching music videos! Passion pays! 

What are the things you are good at? What skills have you developed recently?

Although the hard-sales gig may have scarred me for life, I did enjoy the morning training on how to deliver a sale. It was summed up into five steps: introduction, short story, presentation, closing, and rehash. I won’t go into the details about each step, but what’s important is that because I love writing (hence why I began blogging), I learned to incorporate those steps into how I lay out my stories and present the affiliations we are a part of. I may not have liked the sales job itself, but it still provided valuable skills that I could use later.  

Think carefully about what you learned from previous jobs. Did you have a supervisor/manager that was also an awesome leader? What was it that made them an amazing person to look up to that you can incorporate into your own skills? Did you learn special recipes from working at a diner? How about computer skills from working front desk or retail? Those are all priceless skills that you can use to promote yourself!

What are the things you strongly dislike doing? What do you want to avoid?

This list will grow over time. I didn’t realize how much I hated doing hard-sales until I actually did it. I also don’t like blood and have a tremendous fear of snakes, so I know to avoid positions or environments that involve these as well.  From the military, I learned that I don’t care much about helicopter mechanics either (yeah, this is like the most random job entry on my resume at the moment).

Be completely honest with yourself here. If you don’t like working with children, write it down! If you cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke, write that down too! Do you catch yourself saying, “I can tolerate it”? WRITE IT DOWN! Yes, there will be times when we may need to negotiate our terms, but there also needs to be a point where you WILL cross the line and say NO!




Put it all together!

I think the best example I have for this was my discovery that I could get paid to be a blogger. I’ve loved creative writing since I was a kid, but I figured that a writing job was limited to journalists or big-time authors. I didn’t think anyone would care about my short stories. After my breakdown doing hard-sells and a mini-intervention with my managers/supervisors, one had suggested that I looked into Content Marketing. Check out our blog “Work for Your Passion, Not Just for a Paycheck” for more details on this story! Long story short, I discovered that I could combine the things I learned from sales with creative storytelling. That’s when I came across the need for bloggers.

My blog is still young, but I’ve been extremely happy with watching it grow and evolve into my own passion project and side gig. Your case may be different, but there are opportunities out there to explore! Use your list or download the PDF below to pinpoint what position will be perfect for you! 

KS-Things-to-Consider-Before-Pursuing-a-Career-Opportunity-PDFDownload

Know your price!

What do you call a dream professional position without any pay? A hobby. 

Glassdoor is an amazing site for discovering price ranges for your dream position. Don’t be afraid to ask for a fair price for your unique skill sets and personality! I admit that it was hard for me to answer the question for pay. I’m still learning that if I cannot define my worth, then other’s will either think I’m “worth less” or worse “worthless”. Do your research, list your skills, calculate what you need to not only survive but thrive, and place your price. Many times, you’re worth a lot more than you give yourself credit for.

Learn as you go!   

Finally, at no point in life should we stop learning! Our societies and opportunities are constantly changing, so take advantage of as many learning opportunities as possible! There are so many affordable resources out there to help strengthen needed skills. I personally use LinkedIn Learning to teach myself a variety of skills ranging from business to technology to creative topics. It is a monthly subscription, but you can try it free for a month! We have a link where you can try it at https://kyrabestories.com/linkedinlearning 

Also, we have a page dedicated to book recommendations if you prefer reading instead. If the book is available on Audible, it’s a great way to finish many books during transit or walks by just listening to them! You can download the app for free from our link https://kyrabestories.com/Audible!

Now let’s hear from you!

Have you ever had a position that had you dreading every shift? What motivated you to pursue something better? Please leave a comment below. We would love to read your stories as well! If you found this blog helpful, please share with friends! If you enjoy our stories, please subscribe to the newsletter for more learning opportunities if you haven’t already! 

And as always, remember to just live and learn one story at a time! 

Take care, 

Kyndall Bennett from Kyrabe Stories

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83 Comments

  3. The only time I dreaded going to work was after I became a whistle blower. The irony is that I loved my job, but the director was making things miserable for me. Now, I’m retired. I miss the work I was doing and the people I worked with, but I don’t miss crying on the way to work and on the way home….and at my desk, every day.

    1. A horrible manager can cause so much distress to amazing employees! I remember my fiance would come home contemplating on leaving a position he actually enjoyed all due to a manager that had absolutely no leadership skills. He finally switched roles and found a position where he enjoyed the leadership. A bad manager can truly destroy a good business!

  4. This is great info! I’ve done a lot of job searching & side gigging since I left the workforce to pursue the best career of all…motherhood. Thanks!!!

    1. Being a parent I would have to say requires the most skills of all! I think it’s good if you’re in a position where you can experiment with various opportunities to see what you’ll like best that corresponds with parenting as well!

  6. I have been telling my husband for months to stop worrying about if you fit the description to a tee when searching for a job. Sell yourself! If you believe you will be a good fit I feel like you can make them want you. We all want to be doing something we love and enjoy!

    1. So true! I had someone once tell me that a company’s job description is like a spoiled kid’s Christmas list: realistically, not everything will be checked off the pickier the list is. ?

  7. I had a job right after I finished college that was hard. I had a college degree and yet I was getting paid hardly anything. It was really hard to go in everyday but I stuck with it because the benefits were really good. I eventually quit and moved on.

    1. ? Unfortunately, I believe that many companies do that, especially if turn over is high and quick. When I worked technical support, they dropped our hours from 40 a week to 30, which was a major hit on my paycheck. On top of that, when I gave one manager my two-week notice, another manager contacted my recruiter and told THEM to tell me not to bother coming back since I was leaving anyway.

  8. I love this post so much, because I’m finally doing something I love. When I decided I needed a change, I thought about what I loved to do the most. Computer, watch TV, read, write, and travel. Well, I’m doing it! I started a whole new career in February starting a blog. And now I’m going a giant step forward … and starting a traveling vlog on YouTube! I’m doing it!

    1. That is amazing, Kymberly! I believe that your upcoming vlog will help be a huge motivator for people to realize that it is possible to make a living doing things that we love to do!

    1. Never again, Jill. I’m grateful for what I learned, but I would rather go back into the military working on helicopters again than to go back to working direct sales! Power to the people who do it passionately!

  11. Such a great article! I recently was unsture of what I needed to do but knew I needed a career change! These are things that I wish I had read.

    1. One good thing about a bad position is that once we find a wonderful one, we appreciate that new position 10 times more because we now have something to compare it to!

  12. Thank you for this, I just applied for a job that I thought I may not be qualified for. This was great information and I feel a little better for applying.

    1. Yay!! Great job! When I was job searching, ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn were extremely helpful (mostly for their 1-click apply options to save time)!

  15. I used to dread when I was teaching yet it was so rewarding. It was so mentally draining dealing with so many students that were homeless and I just wanted to save them all and there is no way possible. I eventually had to leave because of the mental toll. I found my love online work. There is always learning to be done I haven’t stopped since. Follow dreams!

    1. My mom used to be a teacher, and I saw how draining it became over the years, especially after the school system began “updating” their teaching requirements. I’m grateful that you were able to find a way to do what you love in a way that is less stressful. ❤

  16. I got my current job by saying well I’ve never done this job, but I have all the skills to do it and I’m willing to learn. 3 years later I’ve learned masses!

    1. Yes!!!! Many companies do look for a passionate learner! We might not know everything during the interview, but heck we can learn it along the way if the position is a passionate one!

  17. This is a really helpful list of things to think about when considering a new career or evaluating the one you currently have. I find it’s always helpful to do some introspection to see if I’m still pursuing my passion. I appreciate your insights.

    1. Thank you, and that’s really good to also examine! As we pursue different career opportunities, it’s possible for our aspirations to change over time!

  18. There are all kinds of great tips in here! Thank you for putting this together. I especially loved the insights that you don’t have to fit 100% of the job description and that you can use the components of a hard sale (introduction, short story, presentation, closing, and rehash) for blog posts and other purposes!

    1. Thank you! It’s good to know that our skills have the potential to transfer to multiple fields, preferably one that isn’t so nerve-wracking! ?

  19. I plan to retire in a few years and start doing what I love – all these are things I need to focus on to get there.

  21. That’s a lot to think about. I started my blog because I wasn’t completely happy teaching, but sometimes it’s okay. And now I have tenure, and the retirement should be good if lawmakers leave it alone. It’s hard to know if leaving is a good choice or not.

    1. All I can say is to honestly analyze 1) how truly happy are you teaching in the classroom and 2) how many years are you committing to a possible retirement and if it’ll be worth your time in the long run. Would you be allowed to teach part-time and focus on your blog full time once it grows? What options are there to compromise with? Blogging has so many possibilities to explore, and sites like “Teachable” is now providing ways to people to make money educating in their unique ways. If you made a lot more passive income from online courses and blogging than teaching in the classroom, would you prefer that over retirement pay? Only you can answer this one. Some people do prefer in-person interactions more, and that’s still great!

  23. Great post with helpful links too! You have to find what makes you happy, it’s out there. I LOVE “Know what you want (and don’t want)!” Truth!

    1. If I can keep anyone from having to learn that lesson as hard of a way as I did, then this post will be worth it! It’s one thing to be annoyed at work. It’s another to have a social anxiety breakdown from it!

  25. Great list! It can be hard to know everything to do when you take a new job.

    1. I agree, Junell. I admire companies that have a mentor system set up where new hires can have a direct individual to approach without feeling like they are intruding. ❤

  26. Great post! I did alot of thinking about what I liked and disliked; strengths and areas to improve. I ended up leaving my last job and landed on this current one.

  28. Awesome suggestions. It’s so important, as you wrote, to know yourself and know what you enjoy! I love pursuing my passions.

    1. Thank you, Shirley. I wish I had known that there were more opportunities out there than what was presented at our high school career fairs. In Alabama, my school mostly focused on Business, Teacher, or Doctor roles, none in which I was extremely interested in since my passion was in drawing in writing stories. ? Luckily, my mom was the one that notified me that I could go to college for Animation instead.

  30. These are great tips for finding that “perfect career”. In April, I worked with my local university to deliver an “exploring careers” curriculum with my 4th and 5th graders. Your tips were all shared!!

  31. These are really good tips! I think a lot of times we limit ourselves by thinking we have to fit the job description 100% like you said and that is so not true (in most cases anyways)! I am a stay at home mom who works for our own company now so I don’t really have to worry about job searching anytime soon which is a really good feeling!

    1. That is really good! Yeah, I admit that at first if I saw something I “wasn’t qualified for”, I would just pass up the opportunity. Then after a while it was like, “If I was able to learn all this other stuff on the fly, I should be able to learn that too! Screw it, I’m applying!”

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