VATupdate Newsletter Week 46 2023

Career

Remember, when you were a kid, and people continuously were asking you what you want to do when you grow-up? And how’s that working for you? Do you already know? There’s an advertisement on Dutch television that asks this question. And it triggers a couple of things in me.

Firstly, I don’t know what I want to do when I’m grown-up. There are many nice things to do, such as playing golf, going to a spa, or solving VAT questions. But there’s only a few people that can turn these nice things into an everyday job. In a way, we are very lucky that we are doing what we like (the VAT stuff), but it’s not something that I thought of as a child, and even I have to spend some time on other things as well.

Secondly, the question implies that it’s necessary that you DO something. Of rather, that you already know what you want to be doing the rest of your life. People like structure and many people plan ahead, even unconsciously. We have to have some income, otherwise we can’t pay our bills. But there are many unexpected things that can happen. I have seen VAT people turning into garden designers, and pilots switching to VAT. Anything is possible.

Thirdly, it seems important that you are ambitious. Without ambition, it’s impossible to grow and reach your goals. The problem I have with that is that these goals can be different for everybody. But if you’re not eager to become the next partner/manager/CFO in the company or organisation, apparently you are not “ambitious”. To me, this point of view looks at the “careerist” as a person who cares more about the job title and advancement than the work.

Let’s just be happy with what you’re doing and try to do the things that you like. If possible, try doing these things more often, and turn your hobbies into something that you can share with others. That what we do with VATupdate.com.

If you have any comments, questions, or ideas that you want to share with us, please send us an email at [email protected] or leave a comment under the posts of this newsletter on LinkedIn.

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