Career, Inspirational, Lifestyle

Working a Job vs Jobs That Work

ellieslondon

I am writing this post on the day I quit my office job. It is not scheduled to go live on my blog for almost one month, because I am doing so well with my scheduling at the minute, so hopefully by the time it goes live I will have my proverbial act together and know what direction I am taking.

In the mean time, I wanted to put out a fun sort of post based on previous jobs, to get us all thinking about what it is we do and what it is we want from roles we take.

creative-869200_960_720

What was your first job?

It was an internship when I was in university, working for a national newspaper from home on the night shift. My job was to look at celebrity outfits and find out what they were wearing and populate the articles before they went live on their website, with details of the celeb look and how to copy it for less. It was this job that made me realise I wanted to work from home.

What is you current job?

*gulp* – I am a freelance writer. (Gulping because I am no longer saying I am trying to be a… I am saying I am a… and that is scary).

What job would you like in five years?

I would like to be a successful freelance writer and successful being defined as living my best life doing the job I know I was born to do.

What was/is your favourite job?

Writing. I love it and try to do it everyday.

What job did you hate the most?

In university, I had an internship literally opening envelopes for a PR company that promoted socks made from Peruvian wool. The office was basically five bitchy women sitting around a huge table talking about who they had slept with and which clients were the most fun on nights out. I lasted two days then did not return. I also really hated being an admin assistant for a snooty property company, but I was only there about two months.

meeting-1453895_960_720

Who is/was your best manager/boss?

Me. My whole life, when I have set my mind to something I have a ruthless determination and I know when I can do something, even if I don’t know how to do it, I remain stubborn until I get what I want and figure it out.

What is your shortest time in a job?

Also in university, I tried my hand working in retail. I have so much respect for anyone that can do this. I was told by management that I needed to be more outgoing and talk to the customers in the store more. I knew this was never going to happen so after one day I said it was not for me and did not return.

What job you would you like to try the most?

I would love to be a pilot. Or an architect.

What job would you not want to try?

Something where I had to get really dirty or do lots of exercise.

What did you want to do when you were little?

I was one of those kids that wanted to do everything and my dream job changed regularly. The first thing I wanted to be was a pilot, then I wanted to open a restaurant and cook for people. Then I wanted to be a dancer, followed by a writer. In my teens, I wanted to be a pathologist. When the time came for me to go to university, I was contemplating doing engineering or architecture, but in the end picked journalism as a passion for writing was the one thing that never changed between all of the above ideas.

No doubt over the coming weeks there will be more posts about my jobs-journey but hopefully this post brought a smile to your face, if not thinking about your own employment, then at least reading about mine.

Let me know the answers to some of the questions in the comments below – I’d love to know.

Published by ellieslondon

A London based content writer with a little corner of the internet for ramblings that spring to mind. On a quest to meet fellow creatives!

33 thoughts on “Working a Job vs Jobs That Work”

  1. It’s not the easiest option going out of the normal way and do what you really want to do. And you have really done it. All the best 👍🏼💪🏼

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Freelance writing is such a difficult world to break into, and just the fact that you are doing well enough to be able to quit your old job speaks volumes! Good luck – I hope you carry on bossing it 💪 xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It is such a struggle but I quit my job only based on sheer determination, a passion and a little bit of savings. I’m nowhere near ‘making a living’ yet but what I am getting feels like more than I ever got from m previous jobs < if that makes any sense at all! ♥ Thank you so much for reading my post and your kind words of encouragement 😀 x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. That was exactly the same for me – the ‘what I wanted to be’ was always there in the back of my mind. I even did journalism at uni and then started working in customer service and admin!! I hated it so much – I really hope that in 2020 I can build on what I’m doing because it doesn’t get any less scary 😣 Thank you so much for your words of encouragement ♥ x

      Like

      Reply

  4. I thought this was a great post, and it’s interesting reading about your job journey! I am definitely trying to change my job at the moment 😊 nice read xxx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Great post. It is so nice to get to know you better. My first job was actually in retail, I worked in a bookstore during summer. It was crazy time, because parents were buying stuff for school and sometimes I just wanted to punch them. It wasn’t the best job, but it opened some other opportunities. Now I am actually unemployed and finishing my Masters, so will probably start looking for a new job in January.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That is great when a job like that can open up new ops! None of the jobs I had were even vaguely related to anything creative, and were in that environment where any creative vibe is instantly frowned upon, even down to not being able to wear bright colours in the office! Wow, best of luck with your masters (and the later job hunt), I’m sure you will smash it ♥ x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Having the guts to try makes me so proud of you….I always wanted to write and have masses of stuff no one has ever seen as I’ve spent my entire working life just making ends meet.
    Always have the courage and determination you have had since being tiny and NEVER give up your dream
    Love you loads 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. This was one of my motivations, not going to lie! I know how much you love writing and obstacles that have prevented you over the years and there’s absolutely no shame in that because it’s blooming difficult – and I know i couldn’t do it if I wasn’t in my current situation ❤️. As everything lined up, i knew now was the time to try x

      Like

      Reply

  8. Me again….my first job was a waitress….serving bar meals in baskets….I got told off for telling people if they didntceat the salad garnish we just used it again in the next meal…….Lol we didn’t but they were never sure…..and most bosses are xxxxholes take it from me I’ve 40 years experience 😋😋😋😋😋😋

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Loved seeing this! Getting a glimpse into the things you hated and the things you let go before you finally reached the stage of saying “I am a . . . ” was enlightening for everyone else out there, like me, who wants to do what they love for a living.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It’s not always practical, i know, for so many people and it hasn’t been practical for me the last few years. I’m lucky i had the opportunity to give it a shot right now so i wanted to make the best go of it that I could ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much. It could be going better of course but I’m happy with the progress and the baby steps at the minute. I’m working hard at something i love which makes a big difference! Best of luck to you – I hope you’ll be able to freelance soon – retail can be so long! ♥️

      Like

      Reply

  13. Really interesting read, what a first job to start with haha. Looking forward to seeing how things progress for you! Scary making a change but better to be doing something you want to do 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. I admire you for quitting your day job and hope freelancing is going well? My first job was working for my parents – they had their own business selling jewellery and cosmetics and I helped with admin, designing promotional materials, and selling stock at shows or markets. I enjoyed it as I felt like my own boss. My second job was another retail job but it was never quite for me. My dream job, is still my childhood dream of being a palentologist.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. That is such an amazing story ♥ is that something you are working towards now? When I was a child, the first thing I remember wanting to be was a pilot – I’d still love to do that, but definitely not something I’m working on! As for my freelancing, it is going very slowly, but I am happier in this than I have been for years which is what keeps my motivation up! I hope to be able to find more reliable and steady clients in the new year ♥

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I’ve looked into it, yeah. I would need to go back and do two years of A levels in either an Earth science or geology, then on to uni for 3 – 4 years. So right now, I can’t afford it. But after I’ve cleared my debt I will start saving for the A level course first. I’m glad your happy freelancing and hope it continues to go well in the New Year. xx

        Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s