We put a lot of pressure on work these days. It’s not enough to just have a job—it has to be the right job. One that taps into your passion, pays the bills, aligns with your values, offers creative freedom, gives you a sense of purpose and, ideally, includes a nap pod.
It’s no wonder so many young adults feel stuck before they’ve even started. The modern job hunt isn’t just about employment—it’s about identity. And when every decision feels like it might make or break your future, taking the next step can feel paralyzing.
According to Deloitte’s 2023 Gen Z report, most young workers want their job to be more than just a paycheck. They’re looking for meaning. But when “meaningful” starts to feel synonymous with “perfect,” it’s easy to hold out for something that doesn’t actually exist.
“Young adults today carry a heavy sense of vocational pressure,” says Dr. Benjamin Norwood, a professor at Baylor University who studies faith and career formation. “They don’t want to waste time. They don’t want to make the wrong move. So they don’t make any move at all.”
Career coach Ashley Stahl sees it all the time. “We’ve glamorized the idea of a dream job to the point where people are afraid to start anywhere,” she says. “But clarity comes through engagement, not thought. You have to actually try things, even if they’re imperfect, to figure out what works.”
The myth of the “perfect” job tells you that once you land it, everything else will fall into place: your confidence, your calling, your faith. But more often than not, meaning comes after movement—not before it. A 2022 study in the Journal of Vocational Behavior found that people who explore a range of opportunities and learn through experience tend to report higher long-term career satisfaction than those who hold out for a job that ticks every box from the beginning.
And let’s be honest: most jobs are a mixed bag. You might love the mission but hate the meetings. You might find yourself thriving in a role that, on paper, looked boring. You might accept something temporary, only to realize it opened a door you didn’t even know existed. That’s not settling. That’s learning.
The pressure to find work that “feels right” is especially heavy in Christian circles, where language around calling and purpose can sometimes make it seem like God is hiding one perfect career behind Door No. 3—and if you mess it up, too bad. But that’s not how calling works in Scripture.
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes, “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Notice there’s no job title attached. No suggestion that your divine purpose is dependent on a specific LinkedIn listing. Work matters—but it’s not where your identity comes from.
Jesus spent most of His adult life as a carpenter. Paul made tents. They didn’t wait for dream roles. They showed up and did the work in front of them, with excellence and humility. And when their assignments changed, they pivoted.
That doesn’t mean you should take the first toxic job that comes along or abandon ambition altogether. It just means you can stop expecting your job to deliver something it was never designed to provide: a complete sense of self.
There’s freedom in realizing your next job doesn’t have to be your forever job. It doesn’t need to fulfill every part of you. It just needs to be the next right step. That could be the role that pays your bills while you develop your creative side hustle. It could be a job that’s not your passion but introduces you to people who change your direction entirely. Or it could just be a job that teaches you discipline, time management and how to send a decent follow-up email. All of that counts.
“Your career is a living thing,” Stahl says. “It evolves as you do. You’re allowed to shift. You’re allowed to grow. But you have to start somewhere.”
So if you’re staring at job listings and waiting for something to jump off the screen and scream “this is the one,” maybe stop looking for magic—and start looking for momentum. The goal isn’t to find a job that does everything. It’s to take a step that does something.
Because purpose isn’t a job description. It’s how you show up, whatever you’re doing.
And if you’re showing up with humility, curiosity and faith, then you’re already doing more than enough.
