Reflections From Craig, The Careerguyd

I meet with a lot of (mostly young) people who tell me that they are interested in a particular occupation:
“I want to be a Nurse.”
“I want to be a Social Worker.”
“I want to be a Crime Scene Investigator.”

When I discuss any client’s aspirations with them, I make it clear that I do take dreams seriously. I am there to coach and encourage then to make progress in their lives and to help foster a path of growth and achievement. I am there to help them succeed. I am not in the business of being a naysayer, and I abstain entirely from the word “can’t,” though I often give people a fair dose of challenging reality when I see fit.

For many, when I ask the simple question of why they aspire for something or how they intend to get there, I get nothing more than vague answers. This not only pertains to their rationale for new aspirations, but also for former goals that were dropped. In either case, there is a superficiality that, for many, spells trouble. And as much as I am there to help people actualize their goals, it is also a motivation to steer them in the right direction if necessary. We only have one life here on Earth, so why waste time pursuing something that maybe is not meant to be? But as anyone with wisdom can profess, acting on faulty information often leads to error or failure. And surely, even the most prudent individuals out there will make errors, no matter how thorough or thoughtful their planning might be. Sometimes, you simply have to try things out to really know if the shoe fits.

While mistakes and errors are an inevitable part of life and learning, I entreat people that when it comes to setting goals, it is critical to be as mindful, concrete, and also imaginative as possible when they are setting their goals. I keep citing Covey’s 2nd Habit to them: begin with the end in mind. If the end is merely a vague picture or a goal set with myopic obstinacy, it is unlikely to match reality or to result in the intended outcome.

I will often ask questions like these:

So you want to be a Social Worker? What kind of Social Worker? What populations do you think you want to serve? If you study a social science, what other opportunities might you be well-suited for if an opportunity in Social Work does not pan out? What are the BEST things you can be doing for your career development while you are completing your education to help you accomplish your goal?

The answers are there for those who acknowledge that most accomplished people do not get to where they got by burying their heads in the sand. The more concrete your goal is, the more likely it is to happen. And the more imaginative you are in setting your goals; the more likely you will be able to adjust to the reality that happenstance brings.

In any job market—particularly when there is high unemployment—networking is critical, if not essential for getting a job.  But I think relying on networking strictly for the utility of getting a job is missing the point.  After all, isn’t it cynical to establish and or maintain relationships if honestly the only purpose in doing so is to get some use out of the people we network with?  Who wants to feel like they are being used anyway?

So the way I sometimes like to frame networking to others is I encourage them to expand their community (or tribe, if you prefer).   In framing it this way, I share that the words community and common have the same roots—so a true community is based on a group (or groups) of people who you can consider your kindred, those you consider to be most similar to you, particularly in interests or values.  For instance, when I work with someone who demonstrates creative interest or ability, I ask them how much time they spend with others who are also creative / artistic.  The idea is that a community can nurture who you are (or who you were meant to be).  As far as career development goes, a person should be seeking opportunities to actualize their unique selves—nurture and surround yourself with all that encourages you and allows you to be YOU.  And a true community plays a significant part in that.  A community can inspire you.  A community can embolden you.  And, perhaps most significantly, a community can help you hone in on what your unique gifts and strengths are, because being surrounded by others who share your color can help you discover the distinctive hue that only you have.  The color red surrounded by different colors simply looks red, but when different variations of red are juxtaposed, one is able to see more clearly what the difference is.  This is perhaps the greatest irony of community this way, since common also means average or ordinary, yet a community can help you discover how you are extraordinary.  And once you are awake to what is remarkable about you, you are empowered to bring this unique value into all you do, including your work.  And what is the essence of a job interview:  “how can you add value?”  This is only the tip of the iceberg.

So when networking is done correctly, it is much more than finding leads to jobs. It is growth. It is discovery.  It is inspiration. It is motivation.  It is affirmation.   Indeed, connecting with others connects you to yourself.

Though my role as a blogger has not had much salience lately, I continue to read as much as possible.  When I first started work as a career counselor, one of my favorite library resources to help people with resumes and other essential job search information was the Knock ‘em Dead books by Martin Yate.  I continue to rely on his information, and look forward to whenever there is an update to his series.   I was therefore excited to learn that Mr. Yate had recently published a new installment to the series: Knock ‘em Dead – Secrets and Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World. 

For those who are facing this challenging job market, this is a fantastic book to quickly grasp the latest techniques for getting noticed in a crowded job market and on the pathway to success.

Here’s what I particularly like about it:

• Yate’s voice is very personal, like he is talking to you or coaching you.  The job search can be an alienating experience, so I think Yate’s conversational approach is particularly nice.
• He demonstrates what he preaches: that success can be found through networking.  He does this by interspersing his own advice with the advice of a panel of top-notch career professionals.  No one is an island, and while Yate’s experience in career and job search advice is encyclopedic, it is also enhanced by his engagement with a community of others that share his passions.  Using one’s network is important for all who are striving for success, and Yate aptly models this.
• While it covers the greater essentials of what it takes to be career-savvy in the context of the contemporary job market, it is also a quick and easy read.  This is why I might recommend this book for someone who has not had to conduct a job search in a while,  since there is typically an urgency behind it.  Quick-reference and comprehensive—this book has a nice balance of the two.

Three years ago, I discovered an exciting submission for the ChangeThis website, a manifesto encouraging readers to reconsider their framework for weaknesses.  It was called the Freak Factor:  Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness, and I was so impressed by it that I shared it with many of clients and colleagues alike, and I even referenced it in this blog.  The manifesto promised to someday become a book, and so until last month, I had been anticipating the publication of the full copy–and now (to my glee) it has come to fruition.

When I discovered The Freak Factor, I was already a big fan of the work of Buckingham and Clifton, as demonstrated in the  Now, Discover Your Strengths book or the work of Tom Rath in the Strengths Finder 2.0 book.  These books effectively asserted that career development should revolve around opportunities that allow the individual to apply their strengths in greatest concentration and to not be concerned so much with improving one’s weakness.  The Freak Factor builds on this idea by turning it upside down.  What I like particularly about The Freak Factor, is it suggests that maybe we shouldn’t be so fast in focusing entirely on our strengths, as often there is another facet to our weaknesses, which when appropriately applied in career, can be a strength.  The starting point is that we can of reframe our weaknesses into strengths, and conversely, when our strengths are put in the wrong context (i.e. the wrong job), they might be seen as weaknesses.  So if a person is criticized for being too stubborn in one context (weakness) in another context, this stubborn quality might be rewarded when perceived as the strength of persistence.

The Freak Factor is an exciting celebration of one’s uniqueness.  It encourages us all to accept ourselves, as is, and challenges us to forge career opportunity by daring to be different and applying our unique qualities to our greatest advantage.  If a person is feeling like a square peg at work, or if their self-estimation has been challenged by rejection or failure, this book is an excellent pick-me-up. It gives one the fortitude to truly be themselves and launch themselves accordingly toward their bliss and passion.   Loaded with inspirational quotes, biographical clips of individuals that were bold enough to break from the mold of conformity and flaunt their uniqueness, and small exercises for their reader to carry out their own self-reflection, this book has been everything that I have been anticipating over the last three years.

People often ask me:   Which jobs will have the greatest opportunity in the future?  What occupations will provide the greatest security in the future?  Or, I will see them make career decisions primarily based on what they hear about the job market. For instance, individuals who admittedly do not like working with people or science and math and are seeking training to become Registered Nurses.

What do I tell these people?  Well, I ask them what they are passionate about and I ask them what they think they have the potential to be the BEST at.  Because regardless of the job market, I earnestly believe that when a person initiates their career development within (intrinsically) and set their goals accordingly, they will ultimately find the opportunity they are looking for and their achievement in personal excellence will become their job security.  No matter how limited the job market is, if a person develops the reputation of being the BEST at what they do, therein lies their security and opportunity.  I see people avoiding occupations because the pay is low or there are not enough jobs.  These initially are valid concerns, but what if a person BOLDLY moves in a direction that allows them to channel their passion and God-given talents?

To effectively apply this strategy requires self-knowledge.  A folly of many is they have a passionate interest in something that is not commensurately matched by talent.  I love to use the example of American Idol in this instance.  There are thousands of auditions each year, each person passionate enough to stand in line for hours and possible sing before an audience of millions.  Yet ultimately, only ONE idol is selected.  Mediocrity is not sufficient to make it to the top, and thousands of aspiring idols remain in obscurity. (Though some benefit from notoriety!)

Passion can open up opportunities, but ultimately talent is what provides security.  The essence of career development is helping others discover their passions and talents, and then to encourage them to move forward in that direction. There you will most likely find security, and more importantly, satisfaction.

Guy Kawasaki’s   Holy Kaw!  segment on Alltop.com led me to an interesting article in WSJ titled, No Glass Ceiling for the Best Job in the World by David Kesmodel.  In this article he reflects how even though men account for nearly 73% of the beer-drinking market, women apparently are better tasters when it comes to testing new product.

Though I could reflect on how stereotypes have prevented employers from identifying top talent, what struck me most in this article is how often it is that people can go through their entire lives without ever noticing or identifying what their talents or gifts are.

The article mentions how Miller Brewing recruited women in-house from marketers and secretaries to see if any of them had any talent as professional tasters.  I imagine that in that quest, they identified some true talent–talent that would be more valuable applied in tasting than whatever else they were doing for the company.

It makes me wonder What if these individuals worked in some other manufacturing outfit, say auto parts?  What if they limited their search to individuals that had already established themselves as tasters (must have experience!)?

Apparently, there was an element of randomness or happenstance that allowed these opportunities to occur.  But in regards to identifying what your talent is, there is another gem in the article, where a Polish beer taster reflects how she is not quite sure why she is an adept beer-taster. Her best guess is that she loved to smell perfumes as a child.

Here are two things that can be learned from this woman in regards to career:

1.  One way to identify your career calling is to identify something that brings (or brought) you pleasure.  The woman who enjoyed playing and experimenting with aromas now gets paid to identify minute tastes and aromas in beer. What did you love to do/spend hours doing when you were a child?  Might this thing have any context in what you do now for a living?
2. Try not to disregard anything that is (or was) unique about you.  Enjoying perfumes might seem so trivial in most any context, but look what it led to for this woman?