The Ideal Job

Read some stories about people who love their jobs and say what helped them find the jobs of their dreams.

Believe it or not, some people get paid – and well – for doing the things that make them really happy. Here are a few people who have found the job of their dreams.

“I know all about job-hunting.” – Betsy

A few years ago, I lost my job as a manager in a factory. I was so unhappy. I was 38 years old, out of work for the 100^th time, and without much hope. Then, one day I was thinking about the question, “What do I do best?” and the answer came to me. I had been out of work many times, so I knew every manual about how to find a job or change a career. I must have been to over 100 interviews in my life, made 1,000 phone calls asking for jobs, and sent out a resume to almost 2,000 companies. When I looked at my skills, I saw that my best skills were job-hunting skills! So I started my own company, Career Consulting. It’s a business that helps people find jobs. I hired two people to work with me. The three of us work together on everything, but I’m the boss. It’s great. I love the work, and I make a lot of money!

“I have the funniest job in the world.” – Amanda

I have been a matchmaker for 41 years. Because of me, 60 couples are now happily married or engaged. I’m a good matchmaker. I have a very good eye for people. And I don’t mean I match people on how they look. I mean, I can meet a person just once for ten minutes, and I know for sure what kind of person he or she is. I get a feeling. And this feeling tells me, “Oh, he would be a great husband for Stephanie,” or “Ah, now here is the woman for Timothy.” I can’t imagine a job that’s more fun. I meet wonderful people. I work for myself. Nobody tells me what to do. I make enough money to live a simple life. And I get so much joy from seeing what happens to my matches. A month ago a couple stopped by on their way home from the hospital with their new baby girl. I’m so happy to think that I helped make that family!

“I have a job with an incredible view.” – Donna

Teaching skydiving¹ is so exciting. I love seeing students on their first jump. They are all nervous and excited. When they get to the ground, they can’t wait to call everyone they know and tell them they just jumped out of an airplane. Later, when they learn to turn and fly forward, they realize that they’re not just a flying stone. They realize that they’re like a bird – they can fly!

It wasn’t easy to get this job. I had to have about 1,000 jumps and about two years of training. And the salary was only $15,000 for the first year. But I don’t do it for the money. In fact, I don’t need to get paid at all. I love it that much!

Notes:

skydiving: the sport of jumping out of airplanes with a parachute.

Vocabulary focus

Ex. 1. Cross out the word or phrase that is not related to the boldfaced word(s).

1. resume: work history, job hunting, money

2. want ad: newspaper, skill, job

3. salary: vacation, money, job

4. employment agency: secretary, job hunt, resume

5. career: city, work, experience

6. out of work: job hunting, manager, free time

7. manual: book, information, newspaper

8. boss: owner, manager, job hunter

9. factory: fact, company, business

10. training: school, career, learning

Ex. 2. Complete the e-mail from Cristina to Jenny with words from the list.

career hire out of work ideal resume skills manager

New Job  From: Cristina_Bond@Richmond.edu To: JRIOS@springboard.com Sent: 01 October 2005 14:23 Subject: New Job 

Hi Jenny, Guess what? I finally found a job. Not just any job. A really great one: Web page designer. I think this might be the (1) ________ job for me. I’m so excited! I thought I was going to be (2) ________ forever. Remember how I told you that I sent my (3) ________ to about 300 Internet companies? Well, two weeks ago I met this woman on the bus and we started talking, and the next thing I know she’s setting up an interview for me with her (4) ________. I was so nervous during the interview. At first he asked me about my last job. I was afraid he wouldn’t want to (5) ________ me because I didn’t use computers in my last job. But then he started to ask me lots of specific questions about designing Web pages. I’m so glad I took that Web design course last summer. It gave me all the (6) ________ I need to do this job. Wow, I can’t believe it. I’m starting my (7) ________ as a Web page designer. I’ll e-mail you next week with my new work number and e-mail address. Yours, Web Master Cristina

Ex. 3. Jenny is responding to an e-mail from her friend Cristina. Complete the e-mail. Use the words in parentheses.

Needing Help From: JRIOS@springboard.com To: Cristina_Bond@Richmond.edu Sent: 03 October 2005 11:16 Subject: Needing help
Hi Cristina, Glad you finally found a job. Jobs are so difficult to find, or keep. I just lost my job, and I need to find a new one very soon. Where do I start? Could you help me? I have so many questions:
(résumé)			Do I need a new résumé
(skills)
(salary)
(want ads)
(employment agency)
(manual)
(boss)
(your idea)
Thanks for your help. And best of luck in your new career. Can’t wait to hear more about the job! Love, Jenny