Job Satisfaction...

I remember having a drink with an old boss after we had closed, we were talking about one of lifes greatest issues, Job Satisfaction.

I was 16 at the time, fresh out of school and starting my 'career' in the hospitality industry. The general theme of the conversation was the same that I had had weeks earlier with my Head of Sixth Form,

"I don't want to do something that I'm not happy doing, whether it's for 2 years or for 1 day, life is short, what's the point"

It's a cliche, I know, but it is also something I have generally tried to always live my life by, my boss said I was being naive, it was an typical adolescent outlook on life, and that sooner or later I would come to realise at some point you just have to knuckle down and get on with life and I will get a proper job, and I will hate it, but it's just what you have to do.

Now, whether it's that I was a rebellious teenager, or whether it's something of my own temperament, I vowed to prove them wrong, I truly believed that I would be the exception to this rule, I promised myself I'd never settle and end up doing something, just for the money.

5 years later I am looking back over that conversation, having achieved what I left school to do, and I realise that I didn't keep that promise, in the last few years I have worked for people just because I needed to pay the rent, I have worked for corporate chains that 16 year old me would disapprove of, however I have no regrets. I write this post, not to talk about the importance of doing what it is that you really want to do, but to show that by stepping back, looking at your job differently you might realise that the 9-5 rat race job you are working in might be exactly where you should be at that time, even if you hate your boss, hate the morning commute and are fed up of staring at a computer screen all day.

And so I leave you my CV, perhaps not the same CV I'd give to an employer, but the CV I'd rather be judged for, it doesn't show my extensive list of 'skills or responsibilities' but it shows what I'm thankful for.

Sleepy Town Tea Room: October 2008 - December 2009:
I made my first coffee, no formal training, just good old fashioned practice makes perfect.
I made my first friends who weren't the ones I had lessons with, I realised you can have friends and more importantly learn about life from people much older.

Same Sleepy Town Restaurant: September 2009 - July 2011:
You have to let go of things that will hold you back, you have to make sacrifices in order to achieve what you need to, you have to prioritise, and sometimes, sadly work has to come first.
I met one of my best friends, who several years later did me the honour of being my best man.
I learnt about food, I tried new flavours, I learnt about things.
I moved out of my family home and learnt about paying bills and budgeting wages (not very well)

Corporate Fundraising Company: July 2011 - October 2011:
I found out about people, I raised money for good causes.
I learnt about perseverance, and the importance of a good attitude.
I learnt about charities, and the good that people are doing in the world.
I learnt about working with a big team of people, and motivating people who are cold and wet at 8PM to carry on walking from door to door.

Interview at Posh Coffee Shop: 30th October 2011:
I learnt that I didn't want to be a snob about coffee! I realised that customer service matters more than being technically great at making a product.

Corporate Department Store Restaurant: November 2011 - March 2012
I learnt about following rules, 'playing the game', I learnt about making tricky management decisions.
Most importantly, I met my wife.

Very Well Known Coffee Shop: March 2012 - July 2014
I could take time off, I could pay my rent, I learnt the skills that meant I could start my own Cafe.

So I find myself here. Sat in my cafe on a sunny morning, Watching people trickle in and out, hearing the hum of chatter and soaking in the smell of coffee, and I realise, I was wrong when I thought I could avoid 'following the system' but I have a lot to be thankful for.