Wabi Sabi Job Search

Hunting for the Perfect Job?

By Anna Mathieu, Marketing Communications Manager

Is there a perfect job? What would and how could it be? What is Wabi Sabi job search?

As headhunters, i.e. corporate matchmakers bringing together the right candidate for the right position, you might expect to hear us say that there is a perfect job. But really no job is perfect on its own, no company is perfect in isolation, and no candidate represents the pinnacle of perfection.

The Wabi Sabi concept is abstract and hard to pin down but has been boiled down by some as “everything is imperfect, incomplete and impermanent”. This applies to jobs, bosses, companies, products, and, well ‘everything’.

So rather than expecting a perfect job, spend real time being introspective and identifying what you are good at that you love to do. Now look for a fantastic match between you as the candidate, and the company and the opportunities associated with a specific role. If you can find the synergy in the imperfect parts, you may have just about found your perfect job. What does this look like?

For starters, when looking at job requirements, of course you’ve got to possess the technical requirements… well usually you do. Sometimes the job description has a laundry list of skill sets all coughed up and aligned in print, but sometimes the right talent can get the job done with a different skill set. So while you don’t want to get ruled out for not following instructions, don’t blindly accept every laundry list you see either. Try to find out more, and exercise some real thought about the whole package you represent and if you would excel at the position.

Do you need to be best friends with the whole staff? It might help, but respect and appreciation don’t come solely from sharing all the same hobbies and loving all the same television shows or mobile apps. Do you esteem the culture at the company? Are you impressed with the people? Does it feel like a good fit? So you may not be in the same fraternity/sorority (figuratively or literally) but if you can bring fresh air and additional perspective and personality that fit the flow that can be an excellent match.

Does the job description or the company’s sector not cover all the challenges and opportunities you imagined? Be sure you know you main “musts haves” and if you’ve got critical mass, then contemplate what challenges and opportunities exist and the culture that has been created. Can you appreciate it for its own unique opportunity? Can you imagine how you might evolve the position to include your additional interests? Envision whether this is the right place to bring your particular talents and objectives and grow the opportunity into something more.

Many agile software developers have adopted the Wabi Sabi philosophy to describe the necessary acceptance of the state of ongoing imperfection that is the product of development. This concept is to understand and embrace that things will evolve, and improve continuously, and that there is beauty in the opportunity to continue to improve. That approach really applies to so much more than computer code, don’t you think?

So when looking for your perfect job, take a Wabi Sabi approach. Look for what’s right in the confluence of your skills, talents, and objectives and the opportunities and challenges presented by the roles you are considering. Realize that you are a co-creater of the world and you can manifest a creative positive impact where you set your sights. Recognize that everything is imperfect and everything changes, even our notion of perfection.