Taking Chances and Blooming Where You are Planted

Taking Chances and Blooming Where You are Planted

by Heidi Greathouse, Senior Assistant, INALJ New Mexico

 

Heidi GreathouseSo, you may be in a situation in which you haven’t found your dream library job yet or even a library job at all and still are looking.  You may be in library school and will be graduating soon or you already graduated, but are at a job in which your skills developed in school have not been used yet.  I am here to tell you about two views in life that might be helpful to you in these different situations.

The first one is about taking chances!  When you are looking for a library job, there may be jobs that do not quite fit your resume and skill set.  Someone told me once that she applied for a job that she was not fully qualified for, but she took a chance and ended up getting the job anyway.  When I was applying for my job as a cataloger, I did not have any cataloging experience and the job description said two years of cataloging experience was required. I took a chance to apply for the job and got the job! I also took a chance on this job to move to another state where I did not know anyone.  I had to believe in myself and my capability of being successful in this job and being able to live in a new place.

The second way you can live your life is to “bloom where you are planted”.  I was given this advice when I wanted to move to other places and when I complained about my situation and circumstance. This positive view can help you grow personally and professionally.  You can also have a positive impact on other people’s lives. Some ways that you can make your life better where you are at are:

  1. Serve others! : If you give of yourself, then you stop thinking about your own problems and then you can focus on how you can better others’ lives.  When you give of yourself, you are not thinking about the negativity in your life.
  2. Be involved!: Find a club or group that shares your same interests or values.  By being more involved, such as in a community or religious group, you are more apt to meet people who can be a support to you.  Who knows?  Maybe they will the gateway for you in finding that library job!  I heard networking works at times.
  3. Be positive!:  Do not give up in finding that library job that you have been dreaming about.  Focus on what you can control right now.  Have faith in the future for yourself.  Everything happens for a reason.  Keep telling yourself that everything will work out the way it is supposed to.  Give yourself a pep talk if you need to.  Some days will be harder than others, but if you think more positively about your situation, then you will be a more grateful person and life will be a lot better for ourselves and for others.

I wish you good luck in your journey in finding your dream library job! Take chances and “bloom where you are planted”! You never know what may be around the corner for you!