What is a Job?
Because employment is related to a personal need first and foremost, it is easy to focus only on that job and the conditions experienced. A job may be something a person takes out of necessity and hopes will get better over time, which can result in feeling trapped if the conditions are intolerable or the work requires a skill level far below what has already been developed. As a career coach I’ve seen some people develop a sense of helpless and self-resignation when time in a job like that continues and it seems there is no way out of it. Some of my clients have worked in the same job for many years and their self-belief has become so limited that it is conveyed in the tone of their communication and their disposition.
What has to be done first is to change the perception that a current or previous job represents who that person is as a potential candidate. That is also related to the problem with chronologically written resumes, there is an emphasis placed on what the person is doing right now rather than take a long view of his or her career. Everyone is a summary of all of the jobs they’ve had, even if they have only had one long-term job. A job, or series of jobs, is all part of a bigger picture and that is a person’s career plan.
What is a Career?
A person has a career that they are developing with every position held and through those jobs they have acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities. This is why I take a different approach to resume writing and emphasize first the skills that a person has and is transferable to the next job they hope to acquire. It takes the emphasis off of the current job, which helps encourage recruiters and hiring managers to look closer at their resume. With a chronological resume, it requires someone to look at each job and try to ascertain or guess what skills a person has and in a competitive job market that type of extensive review may not be conducted. In order to change the format of a person’s resume I have to help them first see their jobs in relation to their overall career, career goals, and career plan.
A career is often related to and defined as an occupation, which a person can have one of during their lifetime, more than one of at a time, or change as their interests change. I have multiple occupations that include work as an educator, writer, resume writer, career coach, and the list continues. While I have had different job titles the work itself is all related to my occupations in some form. A career involves developing a long-term focus and viewing each job from a perspective of what has been learned and the skills that have been developed or acquired. Every job contributes to that career in some manner, even if the job offers nothing new or challenging and confirms that a person is ready to find new employment or a new occupation.
As an example, my career occupation has always involved teaching and leading others – regardless of a job title. I went from a corporate environment as a manager of training and development to an academic environment with responsibility for leading and developing faculty, along with teaching students instead of corporate employees. With every job held I have viewed it from a perspective of how it contributes to my career, whether or not each job was perfect, imperfect, beneficial, or short-term. This means that I do not have to ever dwell on a job that was unsatisfying as I am focused on the bigger picture and what I can do to continue to develop my career and occupation(s).
Developing a Career Focus
If you can change how you view your career, even if you plan to change your occupation at some point, you will find immediate benefits. The development of a long-range view will help you to feel in control of you career, even if you are presently working within the least desirable circumstances possible. Instead of seeing a job or series of jobs as having no value or representing a failure of some kind, you begin to focus on the skills and knowledge you possess and are continuing to develop. The following steps can help you to begin to develop a career focus.
