The Pongo Blog
10 Inspiring Quotations for the Discouraged Job Seeker
September 04, 2008 (10:00AM) by Julie O'Malley, CPRW
When you're mired in the frustrations that so often accompany a job search, sometimes it helps to step back and regain perspective from great thinkers throughout history.
OK, there's that, and there's also the fact that my brain's not fully back up to speed since the long Labor Day weekend.
So I thought this would be an excellent time to rely on the collective brain power of others who have spoken profound words on the subject of job qualifications, job success, job performance, or job loss.
I hope you'll find these 10 work-related quotations – from personalities as divergent as Aristotle and Steve Jobs – amusing and motivating.
On Being Qualified
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it. – Theodore Roosevelt, (1858-1919) 26th President of the United States
There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody. – Florynce Kennedy, (1918-2000) Lawyer, Activist, Civil Rights Advocate, Feminist
On True Success
One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation. – Arthur Ashe, (1943-1993) Prominent Tennis Player, Civil Rights Activist
When you leave college, there are thousands of people out there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. – Anna Quindlen, (1952- ) Author, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist
Never continue in a job you don't enjoy. If you're happy in what you're doing, you'll like yourself, you'll have inner peace. And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined. – Johnny Carson, (1925-2005) Comedian and Television Host
Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb
On Doing Your Job Well
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. – Aristotle, (384 BC to 322 BC), Greek Philosopher
People forget how fast you did a job – but they remember how well you did it. – Howard Newton, a guy who, though credited with this quote, doesn't show up in a Google search. Anyone? Anyone? (Please leave a comment below if you know who he is or was.)
On Losing Your Job
Getting fired is nature's way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place. – Hal Lancaster, in The Wall Street Journal
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. – Steve Jobs, (1955- ) Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. (fired in 1986; re-hired in 1996), and former CEO of Pixar.
That's all for now. Hope this post has made you laugh, made you think, and/or made you feel a little more hopeful about your next career move.
Do you have a favorite quote (work-related or not) that helps motivate or inspire you? Please share it; you might make someone's day.
How about one of the most inspirational work-related quotes of all time...
"Take this job and shove it!" - Johnny Paycheck (1938-2003) Musician, drug/alcohol addict, tax evader, also convicted for attempted murder. Still a good quote, though.
Posted by: Dave Lewis | September 05, 2008 at 8:33 AM | Quote This Comment
@Dave Lewis Yes, that one is motivating in its own way, I guess. Thanks for the chuckle! - Julie
Posted by: Julie O'Malley | September 05, 2008 at 9:59 AM | Quote This Comment
The best job is no job work for yourself, and do only the thing you enjoy. You will work all day with a smile, because you have a great boss, YOURSELF!
Posted by: Star Moon | September 08, 2008 at 12:54 AM | Quote This Comment
@Star Moon Yes, being your own boss has lots of positive aspects (but then again, so do a steady paycheck and employer-paid benefits :)
Posted by: Julie O'Malley | September 08, 2008 at 10:02 AM | Quote This Comment
The consoling words for the job seekers is soothing.
Posted by: Career Networking | September 24, 2008 at 4:27 PM | Quote This Comment
“When you want something, you have to be willing to pay your dues.” - Les Brown
Posted by: Executive Careers Blogger | July 09, 2009 at 8:05 AM | Quote This Comment
I read your quotations and the previous comments, the quotations are encouraging for me, but in these economic madness it is so hard...
Posted by: 411 WebConnect Canada | October 06, 2009 at 8:47 AM | Quote This Comment
It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles
Posted by: Jobs In India | May 31, 2011 at 7:26 AM | Quote This Comment