You'll need to be creative

This is a composite question that a recruiter asks in the background when evaluating you in a job interview.

Of course, a mature company already has a performance objective measurement system ready to apply to you if you meet the requirements and convince the recruiter with your attitude.

Also, remember you are competing with others for the position (for which you feel qualified). So in a crowded world, competition is fierce.

The picture is complicated by the rise of automation and artificial intelligence. Jobs, whose core was manual skills, are being absorbed by efficient robotic systems: cheaper and with no threat of boycott due to wage or benefit disputes. 

So, one must now make the right choice of profession or trade.

And this is a determining choice for the rest of one's life! Although, you also have the option to change if you are not satisfied along the way.

Of course, when you are young, you do not know for sure what you want to dedicate your life to.

Then, the educational system (as well as the companies) apply questionnaires to determine the areas where you have potential. In that sense, they suggest the choice for you to exercise your vocation.

Here, I ask myself, what is this vocation? Is it something you are born with?

I suspect not!

Who has the vocation to build a telescope?

Undoubtedly, vocation is influenced by models observed since childhood and modified during cultural indoctrination. Factually, one is the result of society's forge, only one: gives it the personal touch.

You are part of the social fabric, and it demands that you be efficient (in the use of resources) and produce more to maximize the system in which you live.

Of course, one needs to make a living, and I deduce that it has always been that way.

Wait a minute! Here I see the trap. Better for the system. And therefore, for the controllers of the system.

Let me explain. If you work for a big company: who benefits the most from your creative work?

You ask, what does creativity have to do with efficiency and productivity?

I think a lot in these times of robotization.

Although, it is well known by organizational psychologists that creativity is at odds with efficiency. 

An artist is not concerned about how many resources he spends; he is only interested in the unique result. He doesn't even care about value unless he lives on it.

You will say, Stop, I am not an artist! I just want a well-paid job. 

The point here, my dear reader, is the relationship between passion and satisfaction, without forgetting the monetary aspect.

Think about Apple for a moment. I'm not saying look for a job at that company. The story behind the success is not very good, to say the least.

The emphasis is on the fusion of art into the technological paradigm that makes someone willing to pay for a product no matter how high it is relative to the competition. 

Now, if you already have your dream job. Don't worry about these lines you just read. Or if you are enjoying a comfortable pension. 

Perhaps, you are in the select group of the exception, and you should worry about staying there. I don't mean that you earn a lot of money, but how satisfied and happy you are with what you do and get paid for it. 

For the rest of us (myself included), the problem remains the same: 

Be efficient and productive in a creative activity that brings you happiness and satisfaction, both individually and collectively, and get paid well for it.

 Source: Image by bruce mars on Unsplash

Final thoughts 

Well! If you were expecting a foolproof method to determine your efficiency and productivity: sorry if you are disappointed. In my experience, such a method does not exist if we add to the equation the feeling of freedom and happiness for doing something useful, not just for yourself.   

In fact, I am still looking for the magic formula to alleviate this shortcoming.

So, I would be (totally) irresponsible and crazy to recommend such a method as I imagine it.

Besides, what is good for me will not necessarily be good for you. My conditions are not the same as yours, however similar our socio-cultural environment may be. 

Although I could suggest some productivity and task management tools (that I am exploring right now) for you to try at your own risk. After all, that's what life is about: taking risks in pursuit of commensurate rewards.

I am also open to hearing about your experiences in this regard. Among all of us, we could find the panacea to this situation.

The perfect job for you doesn't exist out there. Unless you create it yourself. And if you can't, then who can?

An original article by @Jnavedan

The thumbnail by  Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash

Cover image by  Shridhar Gupta on Unsplash

I end by thanking all my colleagues in the community, who add value every day here. As well as all my sponsors for believing in the content I share with you.