Kobe lobster
It’s nice to be wanted, for sure. When you’re starting out in a career and questioning whether you make the grade, there’s little more flattering than being approached with job offers. I think for a long time, I had enough doubts about my employability to think that you should never turn down an offer - at least not without another in hand.
Recently, I’ve reached a new conclusion - not an epiphany exactly, but a new clarity. I actually have power over where my career takes me. I don’t have to follow the random trail of opportunity, leaping ahead without any thought as to what’s the best. I’m not a fortune teller and it’s hard to predict how a job will turn out. But if I have misgivings or serious doubts? I don’t have to ignore them.
Being a lobbyist is not an entirely evil career choice, despite what some will tell you, but it’s not a morally neutral one either. There are good things to lobby for and bad things to lobby for. There are neutral things to lobby for, but even they can lead to trade-offs and negative outcomes. And the person who is paying your salary will have a lot of control over what you end up advocating. The thing is, I can choose who that is.
My ego has been stroked this year by a number of job offers and inquiries. Some have been easy to turn down, others much more attractive. All would involve some compromises and consequences. The process has been helpful, because it’s shown me what I want and what I don’t want.
So no matter how flattered I may feel, it’s time to start drawing some lines in the sand. And maybe I’ll get to use my powers for goodness and niceness.
