Traditional Employment—Pros and Cons

I have had the most amazing few days. Out of the blue I received an e-mail describing a job posting. As I read the specs, I got an eerie feeling of déjà vu. I was reading technical requirements that I haven’t seen in a job posting in years: IMS and COBOL, to be precise.

Now, in addition to being a Web 2.0 social networking guru <grin>, I’m really an old mainframe dinosaur at heart. Furthermore, it so happens that I have been pondering lately the benefits of regular employment. So I took a chance and applied for the position. The recruiter called me back almost immediately, and we had a lovely chat (the first lovely chat I’ve ever had with a recruiter, I might add). This guy asked me for a résumé, and I had to admit that I hadn’t updated my résumé in well over ten years—I haven’t had to, being self-employed.

So I spent all yesterday afternoon updating my résumé, and I had a blast doing so. I found myself daydreaming from time to time about past assignments that were the most enjoyable, from teaching a group of Saudi Arabians the fundamentals of COBOL and CICS, to working in a QA capacity where I was paid to try to break systems—cool. I’ve been blessed with an extraordinarily varied career history.

In network marketing circles it is not uncommon to hear people refer to jobs with contempt and disdain. “You’ll never get rich working for someone else.” “Don’t you know that JOB stands for Just Over Broke?” In fact, in my own case, I recall a conversation I had with a friend, we’ll call him Jeremy, where I was trying to convince him of the merits of joining my opportunity. Jeremy has a great job with a high-tech firm, and he was having as much difficulty explaining to me that he was content where he was and wasn’t looking for anything else. I remember being flabbergasted. Why would anyone willingly work for someone else?

I had forgotten my own history.

This is, perhaps, understandable. That last “real” job I had was a dream job that, over time, metamorphosed into THE JOB FROM HELL. I had the world’s most incompetent boss, who reminded me of the pointy-haired boss in Dilbert comics. To this day, I can’t watch The Office on TV because it hits far too close to home. In fact, it was this bad experience that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, leading me to form my own corporation and go independent. But I had let this bad experience (and a few others) negate all the positive experiences in my thirty-year career.

Applying for this job position reminded me of the good times. As it turns out, I am not the right person for this particular position, but I spent a few hours earlier today applying for several other jobs online. We shall see. I am open to re-entering the workforce. I am also open to remaining independent and working my network marketing businesses full-time. The beauty of network marketing is that, once you are established, your businesses can run on autopilot, freeing you up to pursue other activities, whether full-time employment, charity work, or being a stay-at-home mom or dad.

So, for anyone in a traditional job whom I may have offended over the years with comments of derision, please accept my most humble apology. If you enjoy your work, if you believe in your company, if you share your president’s vision, then consider yourself truly blessed. Network marketing may not be right for you. Then again, it’s up to you what you do in your spare time, and I work with many happily employed people who nonetheless see the benefit of building an additional income stream. I may convince Jeremy yet.

Whatever you decide, my wish for you is that you can find work that is meaningful for you and rewarding on many levels.

Tagged as: cobol, employment, ims, job, mlm, network marketing, resume, social networking, spare time, stay-at-home dad, stay-at-home mom, web 2.0