Sean Aiken, creator of OneWeekJob.com
Andrea Gomes
Fresh out of school, a lot of us don't know what we want to do with our lives. Neither did Sean Aiken, 25, of Vancouver, but he came up with an original way to get a better idea of what he wants to do in life. Sean went on a year adventure, working 52 different jobs in 52 weeks. He was everything from a brewmaster to Advertising Executive to firefighter and encouraged all his employers to donate his wages to charity. Sean's story is great for everyone who has uncertainty about what to do with their life and you can find out more about his adventures at OneWeekJob.com. I got the chance to ask him some questions about his journey and his answers were invigorating!
What made you decide to do 'One Week Job'? You say you promised yourself you wouldn't settle for a career that you weren't passionate about, but what really gave you the motivation/idea?
In my last year of college, my dad gave me some advice on finding a career, he said, "Sean, it doesn't matter what you do, just make sure it is something you are passionate about." It made me realize how so many are unhappy in their careers and I promised myself I would find something that I'm passionate about.
Not realizing where these passions lie, I came up with the idea for One Week Job. To go out and try as many different jobs as possible and first learn about what I need in a career to be happy.
What steps did you take to prepare for this? Was it hard to get people to offer you jobs?
The most important step was to keep taking it one step at a time, as cliche as that sounds. I had the idea, I thought that it was a good one and I thought it would work, though I was scared to actually go through with it. I created the website with my best friend, Ian Mackenzie (www.ianmack.com) who is a web developer. If people were going to offer me jobs they would have to hear about the project. So, I emailed all my friends and family and told them to pass it a long. Also, I emailed all major papers and news networks to tell them what I was doing. A few picked it up right off the bat and away I went.
What made you decide to donate your hard earned wages to charity?
I was asking employers to take me into their business, teach me all about it knowing that I was leaving after one week. To ask to be paid on top of that I didn't think would be fair, so I thought it was a great compromise that I ask that they make a donation to charity instead.
What was your favorite job? Why?
Tough to choose just one. I found that it was the weeks where I was working with some great people that made the experience memorable. It was not necessarily the job I was doing. The ones that stand out are: Cancer Fundraiser, Pizza Maker, Fashion Buyer, Advertising Executive, Steam Whistle Brewery
Of all the jobs you did, which ones would you consider as a career, if any?
Cancer Fundraiser, Advertising Executive, Producer, Real Estate agent... I don't think I will ever hold the same career longer than a few years.
Did anything exceptionally wacky or ridiculous happen while on your journey?
It worked!
Most of the time, where did you sleep?
It changed each week. Sometimes with my employers, sometimes with people who were following a long on the website, sometimes we used couchsurfing.com
What is the most important thing you learned?
The real world is not so scary after all. In school, I think we have a mis-conception that the real world is incredibly different than anything we have been exposed to requiring a whole new set of skills. Well, it doesn't. It's not that scary after all and the truth is most 'grown-ups' still don't know what they want to do with their lives. Also, I have learned that a large part of what makes people happy in their careers is the people they are working with. That it is not necessarily the day to day tasks that bring them back everyday, but rather it's the people they do it with and the relationships they have developed as a result.
What would you tell kids who have no idea what they want to do for a future career?
I think a mistake many people make when deciding what they want to do for a living is to focus on an title and ignore the characteristics that a particular career and its lifestyle would entail. "I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher..." After having then gained the knowledge or expertise to get there, we might come to realize this is not what we are truly looking for. Focus on learning more about yourself, the more you do this the better understanding you will have of what you need in a career to be happy. The possible ways you could go about doing this are endless, doing 52 jobs in 52 weeks is just one of them.
Make a promise to yourself that you will be in a job that you love doing. Once you make that promise to yourself, with every decision that comes your way, you will be asking yourself whether this will still keep you on the path to making this situation become a reality.
Now that the year is over, what is on your agenda?
I'm writing a book about my experience and all that I learned over the past year making the transition from school into the professional world. It will be published in Spring 2009, in the US by Random House and in Canada by Penguin Books. We are also working on the documentary.
My best friend, Ian MacKenzie, followed me around throughout the year and filmed my different jobs and interviews with my employers. It will be a 60 minute documentary about my year long adventure - what I learned, interviews with my employers, and offer guidance to young people on how to decide what to do with our lives.
We are currently looking for funding for the documentary and are asking that people donate one hour of their wage to help fund the film. In return, the person will get their name in the end credits of the film. The website for the documentary is: www.oneweekjobmovie.com
What was your favorite part about the whole experience?
The people. The willingness of everyone to get involved; to open up their homes, businesses, and lives to me. Without them, there wouldn't have been much of an experience at all.
Did you solve your own puzzle? Did you figure out what it is you might want to do?
Right now I'm focused on writing the book, then I will be doing presentations about my experience. There is a talks of a reality show, so I might be on the road again. It's interesting how searching for a career has almost become a career in itself.
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