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Black Collegian Career Center
"I Hate My Job" - Mentoring People Who Need Career Guidance
by Reverend Al Sharpton
I am a
preacher as well as a civil rights activist involved in politics. I also
lecture. I actually worked for James Brown for some time as his tour manager on
the road but I quit and came back to New York with absolutely nothing so I could
pursue my dream job as an activist. I walked away from a lucrative show business
career to start my civil rights organization.
 I
went from being a presidential candidate to moderator of "I Hate My Job"
because the show is geared towards mentoring people who need guidance and
courage about what career path to take in life. I am uniquely positioned to do
this because I not only made a lot of my own dreams come true, and I was
mentored by people who made their dreams come true. My pastor, Reverend
Washington, when I was a kid, Jesse Jackson when I joined the civil rights
movement, and James Brown, who was a surrogate father to me—all of them came
from squalid backgrounds and made their dreams come true.
Nationally, I hope to encourage people with a
burning desire to do something other than what they are doing to follow their
dreams and live their lives to fulfillment. The format of "I Hate My Job"
allows me to do this because I can ad-lib some of my own philosophies into the
show. I even preached a little.
On "I
Hate My Job," California therapist Stephanie Raye and I help the contestants
in their pursuit of the job they've always wanted. From doling out weekly assignments to provide valuable
advice, I use my own personal successful work experiences to help these
once-despondent guys to exciting new careers.
Along the way, Raye and I sit on a panel to decide which of the
contestants is worthy of continuing on his new career path.
We judge the contestants on three main criteria: passion, persistence,
and performance.
I think
that collegians will find "I Hate My Job," useful because college is a place
where you make realizations about what career path to take in life and where
buds are sprouted for beginning a career. If collegians have the right mindset
and mental clarity about what path they want to take they will save a whole lot
of time instead of going the wrong way. My show will hopefully inspire them to
have the courage to do what they want in life.
African
Americans can look for me to be honest with all of the contestants, one of whom
is Black, about why all people should follow their dreams.
I
recommend that African-American collegians follow their dreams, and if anyone of
you hates the job you eventually get, want a change---get up and do it because
life is too short. Make sure you are of sound body and mind first, however.
After
the show, I plan is to continue expanding my National Action Network
organization across the country and to continue putting pressure on the national
Democratic Party to be more inclusive to Blacks.
Reverend Al Sharpton is the moderator of
"I Hate My Job."
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