Determination: This is How We Do 34.....

By: Christina  Deck

Fun Sunday Fact: By the time you are 30, you can expect to have five to seven jobs. The average employee will have worked 12 to 15 jobs over the course of their career, staying an average of 3.6 years.

My business entails assisting my clients with resume writing and professional writing pieces for businesses. Recently, I have been working with two of my friends to revamp their resumes. Both of them are my age, 34. I quickly realized as I was composing their resumes how life evolves over 12 years. It shocks me sometimes how fast time flies by us and how in the blink of an eye we wake up and we are no longer 22 with no responsiblities, but 34 with kids, mortgage, spouse and the perks of being an adult. All of a sudden we were slapped in the face with all these realities that we thought our parents were accountable for over the years. We now go to bed at 9 p.m., do midnight feedings, a few of us are reinventing ourselves at this fine and respectable age and at times, the uncertainty of the future can freak us out a bit. Maybe I am generally speaking on my own behalf.

In reviewing my clients' resumes, I noted both had had at least five to seven jobs over the course of 12 years. I myself started to think about my previous employment history as well. I soon realized I have had six jobs over the course of the last decade. I have been in my current position for the last seven years at Deck Family Practice as their business manager. I launched C Emery Scott in May.

Yet when I was a freshly minted face out of college, I too was navigating the real world and attempting to steer my ship toward a career or post graduate school which was exhilarating and scary at times.

All of our experiences have made us the person we are today and shaped us. As business professionals, you have learned from your mistakes too as not one of us is a perfect human being. When you were 22, you may have been lost as to what your career path was in life, but over 10, 11, 12 years the journey led you to your destination.

The fact is that we should not be ashamed of our extensive job history or pursuing a career which gives us personal happiness.

This is quoted from an article by Eric Siu from Forbes.com, he states, "Professor Alex Edmans of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania discovered that businesses with high levels of employee satisfaction perform better than those without.  Research from the University of Warwick says happiness makes people 12 percent more productive."

Ultimately, we should all strive to find a profession where we are happy, which translates into productivity. We essentially do not want to waste company time or our time where we are miserable.

Personally, I am grateful for the last seven years, as I greet every challenge with determination. I embrace it more than ever, as I am able to think on my feet and help others solve a problem. I vividly remember the first time someone yelled at me about a billing statement and crying. Obviously, I had to develop a thicker skin to survive in my position. Unfortunately, not every person you greet is happy or nice or even RATIONAL.

As a business professional, you have to have determination to survive and thrive. 

If you need some song inspiration, I recommend Will.I.AM #thatPower or Katy Perry's new one, This is How we do.

~ C Emery Scott