Enjoying Work

By Catalina Reyes (undergraduate FIGRI student)

Statistics related to people who don’t like what they do for a living are astonishing. According to a Gallup survey published by Forbes magazine, 71% of workers are not engaged in their work. This is a consequence of not loving what they are supposed to do and not being able to take the risk of quitting and searching for new job opportunities that are suited to their skills, dreams and passions.

I believe that we can turn those numbers around if we take the time to get to know ourselves better, make a life plan and execute it. So if you are worried about getting a job after graduating, this might open up your mind and probably help a bit.

A good start in order to make this possible is to identify what you are passionate about. If you have no idea, it is worth writing down a list of those activities which fulfill you; those that make you happy and during which time passes so fast that you don’t even notice because you are completely absorbed by it. It is also important to evaluate what you are good at because it is not a secret that as human beings we are all different and that’s why everyone has different talents and develops different abilities. 

When you combine both aspects, your mind will clear and you will be able to picture yourself working in the right place. It doesn’t matter if it is in an enterprise or as self-employed; what really matters is that you are good at it and that you enjoy it at the same time.

Even though it is crucial to have a clear goal of what you want, it is also necessary to make a plan of how to reach it. In order to do so, you must know the requirements to obtain the desired job and from now on work hard to fulfill them. So, if you are supposed to perfectly manage Excel, why not take an Excel course? Or if you are required to speak French, It would be a good idea to go on a foreign exchange program. For this reason, action must start NOW.

Finally, I encourage you to start working on your CV, preparing for an interview, asking for job recommendations from your friends and relatives, volunteering for social work and getting some work experience.

I hope that with these suggestions you can think again about your future plans related to the labor experience. I am pretty sure that if more people started liking their jobs or whichever activity they do for a living, people would have better lifestyles, better health, and most importantly a better relationship with their families.