227: Picking Your First Job

Intro
– Find somewhere you can find a mentor; also hear that experience is the best teacher.
– Large organization where you can learn systems: Small organization where you can do a lot of stuff.
– Find a great workplace culture; or you can learn as much from a bad culture as you can a good culture.
– Offer my perspective on picking your first job…assuming you have a choice. If you don’t; you might just need to take a job.

History
– 3 Internships while in college.
– Children’s Intern at Home Church: Common
– Youth Intern at Growing Church: Did Nothing.
– Children’s Pastor at Small Church: Did Everything & Was Overworked and undervalued.
– Youth Pastor eventually interim pastor at Mid-Sized Church for 3.5 years

Two Points
1. Find Calling, Not Benefits, Not a Career, Not a Ladder of Advancement.
1. Key Questions (Ministry-Focused)
1. Does your heart break for the community?
2. Do you love the people?
2. Further
1. Pay package and benefits do give you a sense of value for the role. (Within Reason)
2. Future Opportunities are helpful, there’s not many people who stay at an organization for 10 years. Sometimes “advancement” is dangled without any plan or vision.
2. Your job choice should be tailored to your development, which means you must know your weaknesses.
1. Your first job should not be viewed as your maximum level of impact, but your maximum level of development.
1. People coming in overestimate the impact they are making, underestimate what they can be learning.
2. Now Pick, with that in mind. To maximize your development.

Guidelines to Consider
1. If you lack strategy, go to a large organization!
2. If you lack experience, go to a small organization!
3. If you’re secure, get a leader you will learn from.
4. If you’re insecure, get a leader you will connect with.
5. If you’re mature & secure, pick opportunity.
6. If you’re not, pick culture.

Don’t: Pick Benefits, Salary, Cool City, or Future Promises.

Close
– People pick jobs for all the wrong reasons. Choose Calling & Development over everything else first.