Salam hangat,
I always asked this question to the person I interviewed : " Why do you want to change your job and apply here ?" - normal question for an HR person who is interviewing a candidate applying for a job I suppossed ?
And I often got the " Because I don't want to be stuck and want to get out of my COMFORT ZONE " reply - besides the retoric answer : " I would like to get a better salary and a better career path ".
Even though I have been faced to this similar replies for so many times, but everytime the person in front of me gave me that answer, I always startled and asked back : " So you don't like your Comfort Zone at your current workplace, and you'd like to move to an UNCOMFORT ZONE elsewhere ?"
After the interviews were completed, I always wondered, why don't these people like their "COMFORT ZONE" ? Looking at the word "Comfort", isn't the meaning supposed to be something which is enjoyable, likeable, and has positive and nice feelings that a normal person would like to have ? As for me, I really would be very very super happy if I am in my Comfort Zone in doing my job ! Who doesn't want to be comfortable in his or her life ?? I do !
"Well , actually I am very happy with my current job, my colleagues are friendly and nice, my boss is very supporting, the office is cool,.. bla bla blaaaa.... but I need new challenge, a new carreer path, because I have been doing this job for over 5 years, and there is no more opportunity for me, so I need new challenge to motivate me, which I might get in other companies .....and I don't want to be trapped in my COMFORT ZONE " - those were the next lines they would say to me after my first question on the reason they wanted to move out to another company.
After hearing their answers, I became confused, because for them, "Comfort Zone" seems like something that people should avoid and get rid of !? While in my life, I have always dreamnt and will continue dreaming to be able to live and work comfortably in my "Comfort Zone", as much as I could !
I tried to analyze their thinking, and I came to a conclusion that I think they were wrong to use "COMFORT ZONE" terminology as a scape goat for their reasons to leave their current jobs. In fact, I think they have reached a state that their Comfort Working Zone has deteriorated and switched to an "UNCOMFORTABLE ZONE" instead . Why ? Well, because they started to feel that they are bored, don't have career path anymore , stuck, no significant salary increase, and many other aspects which have made them UNCOMFORTABLE working there ! Now it makes sense . To me it is very normal that a job can be boring and not attractive anymore after a certain period of time where you don't have anything else to learn from that job,no more new challenge and become a boring routine activities that you have to face everyday, and eventually make you feel UNCOMFORTABLE.
So, after my above "scientific" analysis, I can reply back to my interviewees : " I think I know why you want to move, it's not that you don't want to be trapped in your COMFORT ZONE, but your zone has become UNCOMFORTABLE, and you want to get out of it " ... and they just starred at me blankly.
Well the reason I suddenly wrote this third posting with this topic is perhaps because I was thinking why am I so happy facing my retirement day from my current job ? Am not I supposed to be sad, worried because I will leave all my dear colleagues, friendly environment that I have been having for 17 years ? It has been my Comfort Zone indeed working with this company. And now why am I going to leave it but feel so happy ? Now I have found my answer; I think it's because my Comfort Zone at work is not so comfortable anymore. It has changed due to many things. Different shareholders, different boss, new office politics by certain people who want to look great, different policies and including an internal factor which is ME ; who is getting OLDER ( oh no ! ). They all have made me feel a little bit uncomfortable working full time, 8 to 5, and so it seems that I started looking forward to a change which is my retirement, where I can do what I really like and enjoy such as Do my Architecture designing, and playing cello, and accompanying my son studying, and driving my wife to her office, and writing blogs, and Teaching English ! ... ( it seems that I might be even a lot busier than what I am doing now as a full timer!! )
So you see, I still manage not to go out too far from my blog's title, don't I ? As this third posting at least is still related to the reason why I want to be a Returning Teacher.
Thank you fo reading ...
Salam Hangat....
