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Hobby, job, career or vocation

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Today some of the creatives in our network met on zoom. They shared different types of art and where they are in their creative process. It was very inspiring to see different kinds of art in one room: music, photography, writing, storybooks, drawings, jewelry, … All made by brave women who find the time and the courage to express their inner self despite their other responsibilities.

After the meeting, I keep thinking about a very interesting video from Liz Guillbert where she differentiates job, career, hobby and vocation. Making a career out of being creative is very challenging and maybe it is not what everybody wants. 

However, if you are struggling with your relationship with art, please take a look at this video, Liz makes a distinction between 4 words that we sometimes confuse. I will describe it here but I really encourage you to watch the video:

  • Hobby: Something that you do only for pleasure. There are no risks, you don’t have to make money out of it. It is only for you. You do it because it makes you feel good but you don’t need to have one.
  • Job: This is the only 1 of these 4 things that you must have. It is something that generates money to pay the bills and makes you a responsible adult who can take her or himself. Most creatives need a job in order to be able to do their art.
  • Career: This is a job that you are passionate about and you love. You have it because you believe in the mission and you don’t mind the struggles. If it is not that and you have a career that you don’t like, Liz recommends not doing that anymore and finding a job instead.  
  • Vocation: is a calling, is that voice that never stops in your head, it is something that your whole body is begging you to do. Gillbert says that this is the thing that nobody can take from you, you will always have it. In Liz’s case, writing was her vocation. It was something that she did every day no matter what. 

I think, like Gillbert, many of us wish to be able to make a career out of our vocation, but meanwhile, we need a job. Even though some expat-spouses have the gift of being temporally liberated from paying the bills, that alone doesn’t make it easier to pursue a vocation. Sometimes it is difficult to trust yourself and to fight your fears.

In this post, I want to encourage you to beat your daemons and to find people who will support you in your creative process. Surrounding yourself with people that share your journey is really powerful. We hope that you are able to find that group within the network.

If you liked this post, please comment below!

Guide: How to present yourself and your experience to get the job you want

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This is a guide to help you structure a short presentation about yourself in preparation for our talent fair or a job interview.

We recommend that you start with thinking about the last section 3 – What I could do for you (an employer)? by focussing on the basic question – What do you want?.

It is worth spending some time thinking this through and then you can plan the other sections so you conclude with What do I want? This will allow you to exclude all other irrelevant information. You will give a strong clear message to those who are listening to your talk.

You are aiming to prepare a talk that will last no more than 5 minutes – it is OK if it is less.

So as a start, try and identify what the perfect job would be for you right now. 

  • What do you want ?
  • What title would this job have?
  • Do you prefer one work sector to another? e.g. Would you like to work in the fashion industry, in energy,…?
  • Do you want to work for a big company or a small one?
  • How many hours a week do you want to work?
  • If you are working in an area where specialised skills are needed what is your preferred area of work? E.g. If you are a finance person do you like general work or specific technical areas.
  • What else is important?

It may be that you are OK to accept a job in finance in any area because you want a job so much – it may be that you will only accept a particular job in your preferred area of expertise – be true to yourself about what you want – we are all different!

Write down a clear short description from the notes you have made from these questions .

Structuring your talk

Then use the following structure to write the rest of you presentation always bearing in mind what your answer is to section 3.

Introduction

Name

Nationality

Languages I speak

Countries I have lived in

The job I am looking for ( briefly)

What am I going to tell you about me ?

  1. My training
  2. The work I have done
  3. What I could do for your company

1. My training

  • Give key examples of the training you have had (limit these to ones that are most relevant for the job you are looking for).
  • Give qualifications and countries where you got them.
  • Talk about any memberships of professional organizations.

2. The work I have done

  • Give some examples that show your abilities to do the job you are looking for
  • Which organisations did you work in?
  • Give key facts – e.g. how many staff did you manage?
  • Key achievements e.g. what did you do to improve things in your work ? 
  • Use STARS to help you identify your achievements and what you could do for a new company:
      • What was the Situation?
      • What was the Task?
      • What did you Actually do? – How did you handled this task?
      • What was the Result?
  • So what ? What could you do somewhere else  for someone else? Link this to the job you have outlined in section 3.

3. What I could do for you (see the description earlier in this guide)

Keep it to 3 or 4 points maximum

Focus on what you want to do

Preparing to talk

  • Practice your talk.
  • Think about what clothes you will wear and check they are comfortable, professional and true to you. e.g. Don’t wear high heels if you would never normally wear them.
  • Get feedback from someone if you can. Ask them to check that your presentation leads logically to what you would like as a job. Ask them how you come across.
  • Use cards or a sheet of notes to help you remember everything.
  • Go at half your normal speed when speaking and raise the volume of your voice as much as you can.
  • Stand on both feet and keep still and steady.
  • Breathe and smile!
  • Look at the audience as much as possible – look around the group.

Good luck!

Other resources

Presentation example: Katy Kennedy

ideas.ted.com – how to introduce yourself so that you will be unforgettable  (in a good way!) – may give you some ideas