We may not be to breadlines yet, but unless you’ve been in a coma or you’re independently wealthy you probably can’t help noticing that these are hard times. Job “insecurity” is affecting all but the highest rungs on the employment ladder.
The economic repercussions of 9/11, the ongoing replacement of people with technologies, the outsourcing of ever-growing numbers of manufacturing and service jobs to foreign countries, all are making it harder and harder to feel confident that America is still the land of opportunity. And this is true even for those of us with a good education and in-demand skills.
Today the market for work is a buyer’s market. How do you stand out? How do you make yourself visible? The answer is simple but not easy: by knowing exactly what you want to do and why you are the person who is ideally suited to do it.
For some, this is no time to fool around with impractical notions about searching for work that reflects their life’s purpose. The name of the game is either to get a job, any job, or to hold on to the one you have at all costs.
While it’s true that numbers, as in mortgage payments, car payments, utility bills, college tuition, etc., are inescapable realities, it could be that the “hard” pursuit of traditional solutions at the expense of doing the “soft” work of knowing yourself and seeking work that suits your talents and desires is counterproductive in the long run.
Why? Because an employer looking to hire someone is always going to give the edge to the person she believes will do more with the job than just get it done.
Regardless of the task, there is always an aura of the craftsman about the person who brings to his work a joyful alignment between it and himself.
Consider this …
- As a business owner, who would you rather have write your company’s brochure? A person with an active interest in your industry who derives pure pleasure from stringing words together? Or a bored copywriter in an agency pool who’s programmed to churn out x number of pages a day?
- As a manager, who will you assign that high visibility project to? The person who’s been interested and involved in the organizational mission from day one and who’s worked hard to stay up to speed? Or the person who happens to be next in the queue?
- As a homeowner, who would you rather have your residence decorated by? An interior designer who started out decorating her doll’s house at the age of 8 and after 30 years feels the same excitement now as she did then? Or a fine arts graduate looking for extra income?
Today the market for work is a buyer’s market. How do you stand out? How do you make yourself visible? The answer is simple but not easy: by knowing exactly what you want to do and why you are the person who is ideally suited to do it.
If the purchaser of a service (we used to call them employers) can pick and choose from a large pool of candidates, then authenticity—being absolutely the right person for the task—is not simply a competitive edge; it may well be decisive .
THREE STEPS TOWARD ACHIEVING CAREER AUTHENTICITY
- Begin by finding out who you are (consider doing this even if you’re pretty sure you already know). Self-assessment tools like the Strong Interest Inventory® and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® are particularly helpful. Proven resources, such as the exercises in Richard Bolles’ classic, What Color is Your Parachute? are, too. Seek support and feedback from a professional.
- Write your career autobiography, the whole story of where you’ve been and what you’ve done. But don’t stop there: write stories about incidents in your life (professional and personal) that gave you a deep sense of personal fulfillment. Share those stories with a partner, peer and/or a professional to identify themes and patterns.
- Draft at least three statements that define the key selling points of your core identity. Continually refine this message until it resonates deeply within you (don’t minimize this—it’s very hard work).
A final word about timing. Don’t launch your work search until you know your product, which is YOU, thoroughly. Branding is the same for individuals as it is for products. You’d never catch Coke or Pepsi putting a product on the market before they knew everything they could about what they were trying to sell!
