finding my place.

i'm still at this nonprofit i was determined to get into. first i was an accountant. then after 1.5 years and just when i started to feel like accounting highlighted all my workplace strengths [read:type a organized], i transitioned into a financial analyst role. the learning curve was steep and exciting for exactly 3.2 months.

but for over a year now, i'm comfortable and stagnating. not to mention that i've only received one slightly lower than cost of living increase which is standard for this company's finance department. i'm disheartened because things could be so different so easily. pay me market rate and provide more structure around my current role which would lend itself to more growth. but the company isn't interested in hearing that. maybe they're just not that into me. the current role under the current conditions is not sustainable.

at this moment [much to my recruiter's dismay], my drive to work for a company whose mission is bigger than its profits overrides my drive to potentially be more financially secure at a profit-driven company. this will of mine has made it annoyingly difficult to find a more satisfying role. i've been told that being so specific in my search makes me naive. i disagree. i've been told i should avoid mixing a company's morality with my own. i disagree.

my choosiness doesn't make me a good person. i simply want to work for a company whose main mission is to do a lot more good than bad in this world. because i'd like to think i'm mostly like that. and if i have to work, i'd probably work harder for a company i'm excited about. it has nothing to do with not wanting to climb org charts & the money ladder because i am definitely driven to do that. but i argue that i should be able to accomplish that regardless of the company's mission.

throughout this search, i've realized the majority of people around me are striving to have careers that are not solely self-serving. and i don't hang out with people that i can't relate to. i'm sure you don't either. so i'll venture to say that the connection between who you are and where you work is important to plenty of people. not all, maybe not even most. but i'm happy to be among the some and plenty.