I know what you’re thinking, “Wait! Didn’t you just recently publish a blog post espousing the benefits of holding fast and rejecting the common wisdom that ‘any job is better than no job’?” Your confusion is valid; however, there are two sides to every debate. While career experts may advocate a theory of steadfastness and advise job seekers to make career decisions only in light of their long-term professional interests, theory may fail to capture the many facets and nuances of day-to-day decision making.
Sometimes the options life leaves us with are less than desirable and we are forced to decide between two equally bad options. The theory that job seekers should hold out for a desirable position is novel and sometimes that choice is an impossible one. Dennis Nishi of The Wall Street Journal tells the story of one individual, 52 year old Joel Lueck, who successfully juggled a low-paying transitional position and his job search, choosing to job search during the day while working at night. While Lueck’s story is meant to inspire hope in America’s jobless, taking a low-paying job can require a dramatic shift in how you live your life, says Nishi. What is most important, is that, should you decide to take a temporary job to keep your finances afloat you “try finding low-wage work that can help your career in some way.” For example, Nishi suggests, “If you’ve worked as an interior designer…taking a job as a sales associate at Home Depot can allow you to use your design skills to advise customers.” That is, job seekers should never lose sight of their ultimate career objective, even when deciding to take temporary or low-paying jobs.
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