![are you convincing yourselves i am a willing victim? are you convincing yourselves i am a willing victim?](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g74q0LEcmWE/WsPe-I2LfHI/AAAAAAAAIjY/SjnS3S1_XGoi6FqJIQvo86pMeeH1JCZMACK4BGAYYCw/s800/IMG_20170816__194859_edit.jpg)
Many professionals become underemployed because they take part-time positions that pay significantly less than a full-time salary. The loss of face in accepting a lesser position can be humiliating, and for some of us it's too much to bear. Would you feel less important if fewer people reported to you, or your title changed from Vice President to Director? Our culture tends to judge us by our accomplishments rather than our character. Is your concern about things like sending your kids to public instead of private school, or having to walk away from your house because you can't afford your mortgage? In a society where people often measure their self-worth by the number on their paychecks, a lower salary can mean a substantially reduced lifestyle, and be a devastating blow to your ego.
So in this circumstance, you will have to ask yourself: What does stepping down imply for you? Yet, if you ask a number of unemployed individuals what stepping down means to them, you will likely get a variety of responses. Very few people want to be less successful in the future than they've been in the past, whatever their definition of success. Should I take a job I'm overqualified for just to make ends meet until the job market improves? Or will moving down the ladder, even due to extreme circumstances, permanently damage my career?Ī: Taking a step down – This phrase is loaded with angst for most job seekers. While money is important, I think there's more to my anxiety than dollars and cents. I'm very concerned about my future and having to step down to find work. And while the economy is beginning to grow again, unemployment is barely budging. Q: After 20 years of continuous employment, I've been out of work for six months.