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When It's OK To Accept A Job You Don't Really Want

This article is more than 9 years old.

Belinda? In a cubicle? Is this a harbinger for the End of Days? I guess I won't worry about picking up my dry cleaning.

One of my most talented and adventurous friends (I’m calling her Belinda to protect her privacy) is an accomplished photographer, videographer, activist and world traveler with at least one TED talk on her resume and a long roster of speaking engagements that have inspired countless people to go out into the world and use their storytelling powers for good.

So I was surprised when she told me she was looking for a full time job in communications. At an office. Sitting at a desk. I’d always imagined Belinda more comfortable in a mud hut making a documentary than in a carpeted cubicle making a spreadsheet. But there comes a time in many a freelancer’s life when you just want to sit and do some work and get paid with a regular check, not hustle all the time. “Over the years the business has required so much more marketing and [client] hand-holding that this shift took away from doing what I do best: storytelling,” she said.

Belinda had recently purchased a home, needed to become more solid financially and she wanted to open herself to more investment and real estate opportunities, but she would need to look better on paper.

“When going for a mortgage six months after the crash I was advised by my mortgage broker to write a letter saying the 20% drop in my six-figure income was due to a death in the family, not the second-largest financial crises in history because the truth would lower--if negate--my chances for a mortgage. Even with a credit score in the 800s, 20% down and $60,000 cash in the bank. I had to lie,” she said.

Then, there was the very practical consideration of health insurance. Despite the Affordable Care Act and an open marketplace, freelancers still have to jump through hoops to get coverage.

Belinda called me, agonizing if she should take a contract, three-month job she wasn’t crazy about doing work for the training department of one of Seattle’s largest employers, or wait for something better to come along.

We weighed her reservations, which were:

  • The job, through an agency, would pay $30 an hour after taxes, which was $8 to $10 less than she was comfortable making.
  • The commute through the suburbs would be up to 45 minutes each way, and the recruiter didn’t offer telecommuting as an option.
  • There was no guarantee that the gig would lead to a better, full-time communications job down the line, which is what she wants.
  • Concerns that she wouldn’t have time to keep the occasional freelance work going.

Kirk Keel, managing founder of CPG Camp, a New York-based coaching service for candidates in the consumer packaged goods industry, says offers this advice regarding the “Plan B” job: Don’t confuse the dream company with the dream job. “The reality is that the same (or better) job responsibilities are delivered within second or third-tier companies, sooner.” He also says not to overlook the skills development and learning often offered at a position slightly outside of your target career trajectory, and there may be some add-ons you didn’t anticipate. “When they look closely, most of our trainees find highly useful perks and/or fringe benefits even within ‘Plan B’ companies. I have seen professionals get second degrees reimbursed by the company, daycare services, gym memberships, and other benefits,” Keel says.

Because Belinda didn’t have much to lose, and because she wasn’t in dire financial straits yet, she decided to ask for the moon and see if the company would throw her back a couple little stars. Belinda went through the interview process, was offered the job, and ended up with:

  • $32 an hour.
  • Telecommuting for two days a week.
  • Software and hardware supplied by the company.
  • An agreement that she could use work she created for the company as part of her portfolio, which was a major win because she usually operated under nondisclosure agreements.
  • The flexibility to maintain her work with other clients.
  • Great health insurance benefits plus the possibility of COBRA at a maximum 2% more than what she’s paying now when she leaves.

But perhaps the greatest benefit to her, she says, is that a position a little outside her normal work makes her stronger for the long game. “I am pivoting my career and to come in overqualified allows me to rock this role, add a major corporate brand to my resume, build strong references and see where I can learn,” Belinda says.

The good thing about taking a job that you are not that interested in is that you have everything to gain and little to lose . And if you are willing to walk away from the offer, you have more leverage to negotiate the conditions you want and need to accept the position, assuming that they want you enough to give in to your requests,” says Todd Cherches, CEO and co-founder of Big Blue Gumball, a New York-based professional development firm and blogger at The Hired Guns. He likened the job search to looking for love: Sometimes the dream date turns out to be a disappointment, but the blind date you almost skipped in favor of watching The Walking Dead becomes the love of your life.

“Once in the job, the key to success is to go in with a positive attitude, do the best possible job, produce results, create a track record of success, and work on building your professional network. In that way, even if you are not that passionate about the job to begin with, you will at least learn and grow and put yourself in a better position for when that dream job eventually comes along. It might even be within that same company, once you've gotten your foot in the door and shown what you can do,” Cherches says.

But the big takeaway for Belinda was that you can’t win if you don’t play, and she had nothing to lose by speaking up for what she wanted. “We can ask for more, we have choices and options.”

Belinda said it was valuable to get input from her friends while she made up her mind. “I was very stressed out during this process as the hiring agency was pressuring me to make a decision on a dime,” Belinda says. “However, I delayed, threw them some bones (meaning I gave the shortest most incomplete noncommittal answers possible) until I had a chance to ask my community for some advice, and then took it. I’m really glad I did.”

Cherches added: “We all would, ideally, like to live out our dreams and find our calling, but the reality is that sometimes we just need to pay the bills, or climb the next rung on a career ladder . In real life, most people’s career paths are not straight lines, but roller coasters of ups and downs , and twists and turns, that carry us ever-forward until the ride is over.”