Seasons of Your Career: Exploring 'Good Enough' Jobs

Sometimes your career is about the trajectory and other times, it's time to seek a 'good enough job'.  A good enough job is one that meets your basic financial needs while not taxing your well-being. In this episode, I discuss: 

• Why the 'dream job' is a myth
• When to consider a good enough job
• The difference between a good enough,  an in-between, and a sober job

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, welcome back to the career refresh podcast. I'm your host, jill Griffin. All right, I want to talk about the good enough job. Sometimes we call it the in-between job. It's also referred to as the sober job. They all mean slightly different things, but there is a thread that implies that you were still on the journey Rather than at the destination, and I want to go a little deeper on that today, because we've spent years trying to figure out how to fit our lives Into our jobs, because they don't always match up, and we've spun ourselves around trying to figure this out, and I don't really know many people that are, you know, working their dream job and I've got everything all figured out.

Speaker 1: 0:46

I Also find that a lot of people think that our purpose Comes from our work. I mean it can, but it often doesn't. Most likely, our purpose is about who we are, not what we do, and For some people, a good enough job is about finding Interesting work or challenging work, with less pressure, decent security, good benefits, decent pay, but it's about how to maintain your mental health, your well-being. All while good enough is okay. It's a phase in your career. It may not be forever or it may be forever for you. But for decades we've been told to find this dream job. And look, I'm an executive coach, I'm a career strategist. I believe in building a strategy, finding fulfilling work, doing Meaningful work, making a difference, using your skills, finding your strengths, leveraging them regularly. I believe in all of that.

Speaker 1: 1:48

But I also think we've fallen into some level of delusional thinking to think that it's always going to be that and If we could figure that out, then everything would be okay. Everything means ever is better. They're better. I just have to find that job. And I just don't believe it. There's always going to be something that's not perfect. That's life right, a little bit of good, a little not so good. And I, when I work with a new client, I often hear them saying say things like you know, I want to figure out what I need to be doing because I got to figure out this next job. I got to figure out how to use my skills and my strengths and I got to find the job. And you know I just I want to find my passions and you know I want to make sure that the next job I take I have to be at it for a while, like I have to stay there for a while and, like I Understand the desire for all of those things. I understand the desire to want to park yourself on a team to build something whether it's a product, a platform, professional relationships, friendships, networking. I understand all of that.

Speaker 1: 2:51

But sometimes you come up to a time in your life where a good enough job is good enough and I still don't believe you're always going to find the perfect job or the dream job. But you may also go beyond the good enough job and it may be, you know, a real career building, a career trajectory type job. So what am I saying? I'm saying that you may want to consider a good enough job when you want to pursue a side hustle, but the good enough job is going to pay your bills and not tax your brain and body so much that there's no Creativity on nights and weekends for you to build that side hustle. A good enough job may be when you want to be present for an aging parent or your growing children so you can leave on time and have the energy for those you love and live with. You may get a good enough job when you're post maternity or paternity leave and you want to make sure that you can pick your child up on time from daycare, work flexible hours, be available if your child is sick and not have all the stress and pressure of what's going on at work Impact your day.

Speaker 1: 4:03

A good enough job may be when you make decent money. I'm sorry, maybe a little bit bored, but you're able to save for your kids' college fund or your retirement or that big wedding you're planning or whatever you want to do with your money. You're a little bored, but you're making some decent cash and it works. It's good enough. A good enough job may be that the pay is the opposite. Maybe it's kind of on the low side, but they are giving you skills, exposure, development and training and the payoff is huge. But it's good enough right now. You might get a good enough job when you are getting close to retirement and you want to keep your brain sharp and busy and your bank account full. You may consider a good enough job when you've come off a long stretch of intense work that led to burnout and you're working on your physical and mental health now and you don't want to re-enter the workforce the way you used to work. Good enough job can allow for a flexible schedule so you can go to grad school at night and not be taxed all the time. A good enough job may be working for your dream company, but in a different role, a role that gets you in the door and then, after a certain period of time, you're going to push for promotion or rotation. A good enough job is perfect for when you want to downshift, downlevel after being sick or in recovery and borrowing on that recovery theme.

Speaker 1: 5:41

The 12 step community has a concept of a sober job, which is a job that will help you get your financial means, your needs, met, but it's not so taxing and draining that you cannot maintain your sobriety or get to your meetings and maintain your recovery. That's a good enough job. But they call it a sober job. And if you're currently unemployed and you find an okayish opportunity and you want to get back into the marketplace, you may want to dig deeper and do some discernment or work with a mentor or coach to figure out if that's the right job for you right now.

Speaker 1: 6:23

At times I often advise clients that in between jobs, which may be about freelancing or contracting or consulting, might be the good enough job. Now it's the in between job. Why? Because it keeps your brain fresh, keeps you out there in the marketplace, keeps you networking and making contacts and making new relationships and getting new skills. It might be the right thing for you to do the in between job.

Speaker 1: 6:51

I want you to put your best foot forward. I want you to be inspired, I want you to leverage your strengths and I want you to develop a career strategy, get the benefits and maintain your mental health and, yeah, make some bank. I want you to have all of that, but there are times in our lives where taking a six or a 12 month period and saying you know what right now, good enough is still good and that's what we're going to do right now that might be the right thing for you. So I want you to ask yourself how do you want your day to look, how do you want to feel most days that begin and end with work? What do you really value? I had a conversation recently with someone who was saying that the classic phrasing of the job description works well in a high-paced or a fast-paced environment. That was really triggering for them and they were realizing that, like right now, no, I actually don't want that, and that's amazing to know what you don't want as much as what you do want. A good enough job might bring you some of those things.

Speaker 1: 8:00

So, friends, give it some thought. Where are you in your career? Where are you in your job search? If that's what you're doing, I want to hear from you. Have you considered a good enough job? Email me at hello at georgryphoncoachingcom. As always, I love hearing from you, so keep your emails coming. It's so fun hearing from listeners, and listen friends. Have a great week. Give this some thought and I will see you next time.