On Being Perfectly Imperfect

When I graduated college, I had two goals. 

1. Get a job.

2. Be perfect.

By the time I was approaching the end of my senior year my resume had had more work done on it than Joan Rivers.  (Please excuse my horribly politically incorrect comparison)  Dozens of professors, advisors, parents, mentors, previous employers, current employers, bus drivers, hair stylists, strangers on benches had seen and critiqued my resume, many of which directly contradicting eachother. Everybody had their own opinion as to what was "perfect" to land me my first post-school job. While opinions ranged all over the spectrum, everyone seemed to agree that A) the job market and economy were horrific and I would be lucky to even get an internship within a year of searching, and  B) I should take the first coffee-pouring, copy-making internship that comes my way because noone wants to hire a kid still green from the classroom.


I knew that I needed to get a job.  This was priority numero uno and I proceeded to send out more than 200 resumes and cover letters to prospective employers.  Because I knew everyone had different opinions of perfection, I became a firm believer in variety and took no chances when it came to the application process.  For some agencies I took the serious, dilligent, professional route.  $10 words, somber tone, concise and to the point.  For some, I took a more fun, whimsical route.  Cleverly worded tongue-in-cheek cover letters, colorful envelopes, spunky and bold tone.  And for others, I left no chance to wording or envelope color and marched in boldly asking where to set up shop Monday morning.  Eventually, something had to stick.  Eventually, I would achieve  my goal of getting a job.

This led to goal #2.  Be perfect.  I had my job, now I needed to figure out what it was they liked about me, and become the perfect version of that person.  I didn't want to be fake by any means, but I was careful to allign my tone with that of the office.  I took careful note of the language, attitude, and clothing worn by the team.  I'm somewhat of a perfectionist/people pleasure by nature, so it wasn't difficult.  My starting position was as an administrative assistant for the CEO- what better person to strive for perfection for.  "Be perfect" became my daily mantra. 

I have since concluded that perfection is far overrated and far under appreciated.  At the end of the day, it causes more stress, lower self esteem, and really doesn't take you that much farther than imperfection.  As I was thinking through this idea of perfection vs imperfection, I read a quote by Seth Godin that said something along the lines that I should stop trying so dang hard to be perfect and realize that maybe just doing my best and being me is good enough.  Duh statement, but kind of profound.  The problem with striving for perfection, or one of many rather, is that you'll never find a conclusive definition of the word.  You will always fail.  If you stick to being you, no one else can be you as good as you can, and you'll most likely be much more confident, much happier, and much more successful.  Instead of worrying about maintaining perfection to gain or maintain your job, try these goals instead.

1. Be ok with being you. You have skills and abilities that no one else does.  Focus on your strengths, and utlize them.  If you are rejected for being you, that's probably not the right job for you.  If you get a job by being someone else, you might get stuck being that person forever.You'll know where you belong, because when you find it you'll thrive.

2. Be ok with making mistakes. Accidents happen.  You will mess up.  Embrace that fact now, and move forward.  You will send something to print with a typo.  You will forget an important meeting.  You will misunderstand directions.  You will stick your foot in your mouth.  Apologize, fix what you can, accept it as a learning moment and move along.

3. Be ok with the ugly laugh.  You know the laugh I'm talking about.  Not the polite chuckle or the subtle "lol."  That laugh that comes out unexpectedly as a sort of hearty guffaw.  It's not a laugh you can control, it's a laugh you often are ashamed of, but it's genuine.  The real us may not always be pretty, but it's beautiful in it's own way.  Instead of being ashamed or hiding it, embrace it.

Rules of blogging would say that this blogpost is entirely too long and does not follow the proper blogging formula, but what can I say, I'm just not perfect.


Mood: Confident and Unique