“Find Eat”
I like how a person’s job is described in English. In Chinese, it is called 找吃. In Bahasa Malaysia, it is called “cari makan”. Both of these terms hint about the amount of money earned in a job. If one does not earn enough, how does one pay for food? But in proper English (not broken), “find eat” is not a term that is used. The correct term is “making a living” which is about how a person wants to live. In my opinion, that is the main thing to be considered when looking for a job.
The phrase “how to live” is perceived differently based on the individual’s perspective on life. Some measure life by their achievements. Some measure life by the people they meet or friends they make. Some may even measure life by what they own. No matter what the case is, if you know how you want to live, you will know what type of job you want. So the question is, “Do you know how you want to live?”
Finding the Clues
God created us different with differing characters and traits. Hence, to find the answer, it is important to fully understand yourself. To do that, one has to pick up the clues as one lives on this earth. The clues come in different forms – family background, environment, education, friends and even mundane activities like sweeping the floor. Below are some examples:
Example #1 EDUCATION: We have all heard the saying — “Academic qualification is not important. It is just a degree you use to get a job”. But do not interpret that statement as “Since it is not important, then I don’t need to work hard at it lor.” Although all your A’s and B’s may not matter once you have a job, it is important in helping our prospective employers decide whether to employ us which in turn decides how we live. For instance, if you have worked hard on all your subjects, you will know your strengths, whether you are better at memorizing or understanding, reading or visualizing, planning or following, etc.
Example #2 FAMILY: I grew up in a family of 6 – my parents, 2 elder sisters and one younger brother. While growing up, I did not like my sisters very much. But with the encouragement from my mother and my father’s strict rule about how family must bond together, I learned to accept one another. It made me realize that family is very important to me and I now have the ability to mix with people from a wide spectrum of life – young or old, male or female, introvert or extrovert and so on.
Found in God
After 7 years in the market place and two jobs under my belt, I have come to realise that although all the steps I took to understand myself and how I wanted to live helped me in looking for a job. It was ultimately my conviction that God was guiding and leading me towards where He wanted me to be that gave me the peace and satisfaction that I needed in life. You may have seen some people job-hopping because they are unable to find the “right job”. I could have easily fallen into that category of people because one can always find things to not like about any job.
As a Christian, to find the right job, or right way to live is living a life that is found in God. No matter what job you choose in the end, the most important thing is that God is still in the centre of your job. I am always encouraged by the story of Joseph – be it as a brother, a slave, a prisoner, a chief of staff or a prime minister, God was always in the centre of it all and that was what gave success in the jobs that Joseph did. Joseph might have wanted to be a scholar or a wealthy businessman when he grew up, but he chose to let God guide Him. And that was all that mattered.