That’s what she said.

If you happen to watch The Office, arguably one of the most entertaining shows on television, chances are that you probably have a small crush on Jim, the wise cracking, overly qualified boyfriend of Pam. Jim has been at Dunder Mifflin for a few years, long enough to have been promoted. Presumably he took the job right out of college as a way to pay back loans and get his parents off of his back.

But what now? Should Jim stay and work for this company that he loathes out of convenience? Or should he start re-examining his career plan? Hopefully, for the show’s sake, Jim will continue not only his sales position at Dunder Mifflin, but also the hilarious pranking that ensues between Jim and his arch nemesis Dwight Schrute. Real life Jims, however, might need a wake-up call.

Being young and out of college is intimidating. The majority of grads aren’t too sure what exactly they are looking to do. Many, like Jim, settle with sales jobs because they don’t require a lot of experience and the commission is very tempting. But after awhile it becomes difficult to leave a company that you’ve been at for years, let alone search for a job while you’re still employed.

That's why it is important to look ahead. If you’re feeling stuck at your current job try developing a personal plan that can transcend into the next ten or so years. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you enjoy what you are doing now?

If yes, would you like to continue to move up or would you prefer to own your own business?

Are you willing to relocate yourself and your family for the right job?

If you’re still lacking motivation to reevaluate your current career, think back to a recent Office episode where Michael tells Jim that he will learn to become a better manager in the next ten years. When Jim replies that he doesn’t think he will be at Dunder Mifflin in ten years, Michael replies, “That’s what I said.” The camera pans out and we are left with a horrified looking Jim.

“When I grow up…”

For a long time (read: my entire life up until college graduation) it was assumed that I would be attending law school eventually. Eventually meaning that my parents would have preferred right away and I preferred to wait it out. That’s because, although I had always intended on studying law, earning my J.D., and becoming a practicing lawyer, at some point down the road law school lost its luster.

Maybe it was overkill. I had just spent four years sitting in classrooms listening to all of my pretentious classmates compare LSAT scores and letters of recommendation. Maybe it was the fact that I had conveniently fallen ill twice before my own LSAT exam. Or maybe it was because as I matured, I realized I wasn’t ready to acquire backbreaking student loans for a profession I wasn’t 100 percent positive about.

Upon entering my last semester of college I scored an amazing internship with a former Florida legislator and current all around do-gooder. Somewhere down the road my boss, well recognized within the community for his philanthropic work, became my mentor and with that I began to exam fields outside of law.

Writing professionally was never something I planned or considered doing. Somehow during my transition from college student to real person I stumbled upon the opportunity and ran with it.

It is important to remember that while you are scouring the job boards and classifieds to keep your options open. Just for today search for professions that you never thought about before. If you’re the guy who watches the Super Bowl strictly for the commercials why not try your hand at advertising? If you knit Christmas presents every years why don’t you do some research on textile and design companies in your area?

Sometimes our professional lives don’t play out exactly as we have imagined and we don’t become what we thought we would be when we “grew up”. We may not become professional baseball players, astronauts, or high profile attorneys. But by stepping outside of ourselves and looking in unusual places, we may find the career that has been waiting for us.

Give the Kid a Chance

The gig is up. It’s gotten out on to the Internet that most employers and recruiters spend ten seconds on the initial review of all résumés. If you’ve ever dealt with the barrage of applications one single job posting generates, you understand the reason why it’s done. The only way to manageably sort through the pile is do a cursory review of experience and education to see if they are right for the job.

I agree with that process to an extent, but what if we’re throwing away perfectly good candidates because of this?

A large chunk of the job force is looking to switch careers. A large chunk of those people cannot go back to college to get a new degree. And a large chunk of those people are rolling the dice on job boards by applying for jobs they could reasonably do, but are in industries for which they have no experience.

That’s not to say they don’t have skills that could apply to the job. A full résumé and cover letter often reveals that although a candidate hasn’t worked in the industry for the job you’re placing it doesn’t mean he or she is not capable of it.

Many jobs across many industries have similar skill sets that can easily translate to a new job outside of the candidate’s experience. Teaching is an excellent example.

It’s a sad statistic that most teachers exit the profession in less than five years. If you’ve ever stood in front of a large group of disinterested children you would be sympathetic. This means there are a large group of people every year looking to switch careers completely.

What these people leave with is a very diverse set of skills that makes them perfect candidates for a myriad of jobs. Their daily activities which include planning, public speaking, personal relations, performance review, and a host of others prepare them for many industries from public relations to management and even recruitment.

However, these people can be left behind during a brief examination of experience. That’s why it’s important to dig deeper into résumés. It may add additional hours to your day, but in the end you’ll better be able to find a very qualified candidate. Isn’t that what it’s all about?