When I graduated from college in 2007, I didn’t really have a job plan. Contrary to my extreme OCD notion to plan everything, I just knew I wanted to use my public relations and marketing degree. I was 21 years old and ready to take on the business world – build relationships, find contacts and advance myself. For me, though, a job was never just a job – it was a career.
Many of my friends in this economy are doing a job they hate because they don’t want change, a different challenge or are scared of the unknown. When five o’clock hits, they are done for the day. Their brain shuts down and they don’t think about work until the alarm goes off in the morning. For me, that was never an option. Working hard to advance my career and my profession was always one of my top goals. In this field, turning off your brain could be detrimental to your client/product or organization. Be imaginative. If we are advocating on a daily basis for a better profession, hard workers, etc. – then have we turned the field into just a job? Doesn’t that seem like a lackluster approach to professional life?
As public relations and marketing professionals, we are constantly on the go. A smart phone is usually within radius so that we can answer an e-mail or phone call as needed. Sure, we get recognition internally in the field and our respective offices, and we network like crazy with those that are considered. The type of person this field attracts directly relates to how we act in both professional and personal life. It’s not for those that need constant spotlight externally on their work. It’s for those that are willing to work behind the scenes to get a product or client out there. In this field, it’s not possible for it to be just a job. The dedication, drive and confidence that it takes to get ahead doesn’t factor into a job, but a career.
So how do you make your job a career? Is it something that is a plus in the marketing and public relations field? Why or why not? Can a professional in these respective fields turn off their brain at five p.m.?
Tags: Career, Gen-Y, Marketing, Public Relations, young professional
Lauren,
During my college internships, I remember asking anyone I could in a senior position whether they thought your passion should be your job or if the two should be separate. I got mixed answers, but nearly everyone agreed that it’s important to love what you do because if you do, it will show in your work.
Turn it off at 5? After many years in the business, tell me how to leave at 5. But you can’t really “turn it off.” Enjoy the ride, drive when you can, get off when you must.
Good luck.
Lauren,
I’m like you – my brain doesn’t shut off at 5pm. It has NEVER shut off at 5pm.
The thing I’ve come to learn is that every job is a part of my career. Some people my age view a job as “just a job”, or “just a paycheck”, but I find that people in my field and my industry more often view a job as a piece of their career, much like a piece of a puzzle.
Each piece may be different in shape and color, but they all fit together to create one picture, each contributing a part to the whole.
As far as “can we turn off our brains at 5pm”. I suspect the answer for many of us is “no”, though that doesn’t mean we’re work, work, work – it just means that we’re always “on”. Always prone to whipping out said smart phone and jotting down an idea in our notes for future thought or action.
Fancy seeing you here at MarketingProfs L. Kudos to you!
It’s funny – this topic of “just a job” vs. “career”. 95% of the time I am just like you – the nine to five is not an option, that instead of work/life balance, I want work/life integration. I want to LOVE what I do, so it can be incorporated into my “life” – My personal life and my career life are both extremely important to me.
But then there’s that little part of me that thinks sometimes the autonomy wouldn’t be so bad – that being able to ACTUALLY leave work and spend time with my fiance, my dog, and in the future my kids and family, may not be such a bad thing.
It’s all about balance. I want my work to be something I’m passionate about – but I also want the time to be able to put my job out of sight out of mind. I think a combination of both can be achieved, with time, and some sacrifices now while we’re still young so we can have that in the years ahead of us.
Lauren,
In the earlier part of my career, I thought exactly as you do now. At all times, I felt I had to be “on.” Every person I met was an “opportunity to network.” Many books I read supported this notion.
I’ve been working in marketing and PR for the better part of ten years now. What I’ve come to realize is that in order to be better at my job, it must not consume me. While that doesn’t mean necessarily turning off the brain at 5pm, it does mean making sure I do other things that don’t include my career. That means spending time with family and friends just purely for pleasure of their company. That means going out to a show or an event for the enjoyment of the experience, not to network. It also means including in activities that refresh and nurture my sense of self and purpose (e.g., getting involved in a spiritual community, participating in intramural sports, acting in community theater, being in a book club, etc.). It means turning off the smartphone and the computer at some point in the early part of the evening (not 1am).
So in answer to your question, yes, you can make your job your career, but as long as you realize that your career is not your life. I know it’s an odd sort of mental jujitsu. To a well-meaning, well-intentioned, driven person, this probably sounds counterintuitive. All I can say is that it is what works for me.
Ultimately, it has made me not only a better marketer, but a better human being.
Cheers!
Michael
While I agree that in order to be truly successful, you have to be passionate about your work (aka – turning a job into a career), and that does take very hard work. I’ve found that for me, the best way to do this is to find hobbies that relate to my career. As an Internet marketer, I’ll set up and run websites for fun that help me grow my skills and test out new theories.
That said, I think it’s important to know when to “shut down”. As someone who also graduated in the last few years, I think it’s important that young professionals don’t get too caught up in the job or career and risk burnout. There’s something to be said for sustained success, and if you never shut down, I have a hard time believing burnout won’t occur sometime down the road.
First congrats Lauren on your first article for MarketingProfs. I’ve been a member forever and love this group of smart folks.
Second, as you talk about your friends and how they “shut off” at 5 every day, I too have friends/colleagues who are similar. That my dear is what is known as the status quo and more common than people like us who are passionate about what we do, embrace change and are always looking to learn something new.
Personally and professionally I have always loved marketing communications and because of that, I’ve never really thought of it as a “job” (or even a career for that matter) because I get the opportunity to think differently every day and help clients and colleagues succeed.
You have that gift from what I’ve seen young lady and will succeed in life because of that. Never give up and don’t let naysayers bother you, they are “temporary;” and as you get older, you learn from those people and don’t forget it’s hardly ever personal. Everyone has their own baggage.
Great job!
Welcome to the Daily Fix team Lauren!
I always say marketing chose me, I didn’t chose it.
According to Myer-briggs my personality type (ENTP) is well-suited for marketing and teaching…go figure!
The downside is that marketing makes up 85% of who I am as a person, which isn’t always a good thing to have your career also be a hobby too. As well, it’s hard to not take things too personally when it’s a part of who you are. I’ve learned over the years that when someone says “Well, that’s good, but what else do you have?” (after I gave 120% the first time out of the gate) it’s not personal…it’s them.
Turning off my marketing brain at 5pm has never happened once in the past 15 years. I might not be thinking specifically about work or a particular campaign, but I am always thinking or reading about marketing. Fun to me is analyzing commercials at night. (Go on, say it — nerd. LOL!)
My term for never being able to shut down or turn off our marketing brains is the “marketer’s curse.”
Another down side to having a career vs. a job is that it’s very hard for career-oriented marketing professionals to work with folks who just see marketing as a 9-5 job.
Lauren, your passion, dedication and hard work will take you far!
Great article Laura… Congratulations.
As important as owning an influent network for your career is being sure that the network you own knows about what you’re are doing, goals, projects– If you are not seen, no one will remember you!
Talking about career, we use to set our mind to do what we used to see at the University, but after 5 years since I graduated, I am much more interested to do what I really believe and love. The last 12 months were tough and made me think every single day if I still believed in my job. The answer was NO, so I decided to leave and perform my career in a different way, off of my profession.
Now I am running my own business, taking lots opportunities that were not “available” when I were stuck inside an office or trapped in airports, aircrafts, trade fairs, nonsense meetings–
I recommend everyone to consider and reconsider what you are doing to be sure that in 5 years you will be in the right way to achieve your personal and professional goals.
Cheers!
Interesting food for thought: Can a professional that is career focused, truly not care for an external spotlight? A career is long term, and especially in this industry, it can mean multiple jobs. Not caring about the external spotlight can be hard.
I think that the best professional will consider the external spotlight to be secondary to doing their job well.
I’m not going to get into the being available at all times thing, because Beth might just rip my head off.
I agree though, that in this industry, if you’re thinking in 9-5 terms, you’ll hit a wall fast.
David
Community Manager, Scribnia
@Scribnia
Lauren, great to see you on MarketingProfs. You’ll add a ton to an already valuable conversation.
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“Turn your brain off at 5 p.m.” is an anomaly in the social media world we live in. Every now and then I get jealous of friends who seem to leave their work at work, but that jealously is quickly replaced by thoughts of the people I’ve met and the passion I have for PR, Marketing, (enter preferred term for what it is we do here
I think passion is the key. We are all so visible to each other online now that every job we do impacts our career and personal brand. And it’s so easy to spot someone who’s passionate versus someone who’s “workin’ 9 to 5.”
That’s why passionate people succeed. Because they don’t see their work as only a job. So yes, my long answer to your question is that thinking career and passion versus job is definitely a plus. If you’re not thoroughly invested in what you do…then why are you doing it?
Lauren! First, congratulations on joining the Daily Fix team! You’re a fantastic addition to this space and I think your youth and fresh perspective will be invaluable around here.
I’ve never really been a 9-5er myself. It can be hard, though, as there are moments I absolutely wish I could toss my smartphone aside or escape from the confines of my desk and just NOT think about the work that needs to happen next.
As younger careerists (I love that word), we’re also at a point in our lives that defines our career and, to some extent, we can’t afford to live in the 9-5 mental space. This is when we make or break our paths, you know? And if we’re committed to creating strong and vibrant careers for ourselves it’s important to ditch the 9-5 mentality. There’s always a need for balance and stepping away, but it can be hard to do when you’ve got such strong motivation to have a successful career.
Also, the digital space has taken the definitive lines of work and play and blurred them a bit. Many of us PR and marketing types find online social engagement for professional purposes fun, and because it’s integrated into our work we find it easy to just continue along with it after our technical work day is over.
I don’t know of the types of people who love and work in marketing and PR have the full capacity to turn their brains off at the end of the day. These fields are immersed in sociology and human behavior, which is pretty much all life is about. Hard to get away from that, right?
I’m not sure it’s possible to completely turn off your marketing/PR brain at 5pm if you’re completely invested in the work you do. It comes with the territory, and is especially prominent in the early, foundational years of your career.
To represent the other side of the coin: I’ve been more successful in socio-economic terms since I made money from something that wasn’t my calling. When I tried to turn my love into a career, I found myself falling out of love. My job is fun and interesting but not really my greatest passion. And not feeling “passionate” about my work in the terms described above facilitates objectivity and strategic perspective I find others who care more often lack.
Lauren-
The fact alone that you’re writing the post above tells me you have lived, rather than simply observed, the post-college career push. I would add that I can see the merit to both “options”, and also that some of the most successful people I have met did not leap directly into their careers. I, too, graduated in 2007, and I’m happy to report that each successive “job” was turned into a career building block in many of the ways you highlight above. Part of the problem with many is the way they think, or rather don’t think, about the way their job can really be made into something more productive with regard to long-term career options.
I don’t think I can “switch off my brain at 5pm”. But I do set a schedule for work, for family, for leisure. We can’t just be all about work. Besides, networking is not just present in business atmosphere, it’s even easier when your just enjoying yourself.
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Andy Michaels
http://www.andy-michaels.com/
I agree with Michael. You don’t necessarily turn your brain off at 5, but you do need to do things outside of work. I don’t check e-mail outside of 8-5 and usually don’t work on projects outside of that time. Even when I was in charge of my company’s name change and rebranding project (and we’re a $2 billion, 600 location company), I rarely worked late. I need time to refresh and focus on something else or it’s hard for me to stay motivated or be innovative. But I don’t turn my brain off at 5 either. I read a lot. I average 2-3 books a week. Non-business, non-marketing related books. But, I still learn from them. They teach me about human relationships, about how other people think, and about why people act the way they do. All of that makes me a better marketer than only reading about marketing-related items. And regardless of how much I love my career, family will always come first and I will always love them more, so spending time with them, really with them, not checking e-mail while half listening to them, is absolutely necessary.
Also, I’ve noticed that the people I’ve worked with who tended to work the most hours were actually the least efficient. It usually signaled a problem with their time management skills more than anything.
Now, I will say I’m sure I’d have a different view if I worked on the agency side of the fence instead of in-house. I don’t have clients to answer to, and I’m sure that would change my response.
I agree with the idea of not getting your job done only for a paycheck. But I also have to say, that there is more to life than your career.
Even if marketing is your passion, it shouldn’t be your only goal in life.
You sound like every person out there should be thinking about work 24/7.
You should market yourself with your friends, family, pet, hobbies, true love, etc.
Work is only work, not your life.
I just got my marketing degree and yes it’s hard these days. I think we will have to work in an environment that we don’t like because that’s how the economy is going to these days. Sad but that’s how it as. It least i’m happy to have a job.
Greg
Every 9 to 5 job has been defined not by the hours they gave me, but by the nagging urge I had to be working on something bigger, something more “for me”. I think that urge for me has always been about creating. I am an artist, a writer, a designer. I love solving problems, being the idea guy. That is what drove me into advertising and marketing. Being able to present big ideas.
For me this all ultimately led me to striking out on my own, fairly consistently actually. I was never happy with my 9 to 5 work and always voracious with my 5 to 9 work.
If you are going to work a 9 to 5 job, I think the key is, beyond finding something you are passionate about, to find somewhere that lets you have an impact. A place where your ideas can be heard. A place where you can contribute.
As for me, that place is running my own business. And I almost never turn off my business. I take breaks. I plan for downtime, but it is rarely out of mind completely. But that is good for me. Because I love what I do.