5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Take a Mediocre Job

August 3, 2012

MediocrityYou finally did it! You’ve graduated from college and you’re all set to take a position somewhere working at your dream job. You have the knowledge, the skills and the passion. The only problem? You can’t find any open positions doing what you’ve trained so hard to do. There are, however, several job offerings for mediocre positions at companies that don’t even come close to doing what you went to school for.

Here are five reasons you shouldn’t take that mediocre job:

You’re selling yourself short:

Sure, it may pay the bills in the meantime, but do you really want to go into work completely unfulfilled every day? It’s one thing to take on an entry-level job at a company that does what you want to do and then proceed to work your way up in the company, but taking a position at a company where you won’t utilize any of your skills and that will leave you discouraged and unsatisfied every day is selling yourself short of your potential.

You don’t want to take a position, only to quit quickly thereafter:

What happens if you accept a mediocre position, work there for a few weeks, and then get a job offer more suited to your abilities? No matter which way you cut it, it’s not going to look good on your resume if you have job listings that only span a few weeks at a time. You need to be ready to dedicate yourself to a job for a respectable amount of time, and that’s much easier to do when you’re working in a career you find at least somewhat enjoyable.

You’re wasting the employer’s time:

Employers are interested in hiring employees that are willing to grow with the company and that they can rely on retaining for a while. Taking a position only to leave within a few months is going to leave the employer short-staffed and in a predicament that could have been avoided had you not taken on a position you didn’t really want.

You’ll grow stagnant:

The first few weeks at any position are a transition period where you’re learning the ropes of the company and the position you’ll be fulfilling. This can make any job, even one you’re less than excited about, busy. However once you’ve left that transition period you can quickly grow tired of completing tasks that you’re uninterested in and end up stagnant and uninspired, giving less than your best.

You’ll be less productive:

Many employees who are unhappy in their job positions end up wasting mass amounts of company time by perusing the internet, job searching while on the job, and putting off assignments that hold little interest for them. This lack of productivity on your part is going to cost the company you’re working for unnecessary money, as they’re paying you for time that you’re not spending working, or worse, that you’re using to search for a new job with.

It can be hard to determine what the correct move is when you’ve been looking for a new job for a while and the only foreseeable options are ones that are less than appealing to you. However taking a job that you have no interest in and has no way of opening up into something that you actually want to do is setting yourself up for a career that is wrought with unhappiness. Don’t sell yourself short by taking a position that is beneath you and has no room for advancement; keep looking for a job that you will challenge and excite you. You’ll find it sooner or later.

About the Author:

Monta the mother of three children serves as an Expert Advisor on multiple household help issues to many Organizations and groups, and is a mentor for other “Mom-preneurs” seeking guidance.  She is a regular contributor of “find nannies”.  You can get in touch with her at montafleming6Atgmail dotcom.


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