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Q and A with the Vocational Coach
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(March-2003)Do you own your own employability? 2003©
By Craig Nathanson, The Vocational Coach
Twenty years ago, if you had walked up to me and asked me what I did and what would I like to do in few years, I would have had an easy set of answers. I would have said, well, I'm a manager of course. In a few years, I want to be a bigger manager! Looking back, I was quite serious. My self image and entire world was rolled up into a title. Over the past twenty years after much internal work and self-reflection, I would have a much different answer. Well, I'm a dad, husband, coach, author, speaker, teacher, community volunteer, Marathoner, doctoral student, aspiring philanthropist, (My wife laughs at this), and the list goes on. You see, this list is one that can't be taken away, unlike a job title. You can take away the job title though. How empowering it was to in fact think about what I do in terms of skills or activities. Aligning these skills or activities under one's most important values is indeed the nesting effect. I won't cover this process in this article but it is one that is equally powerful.
Employability in Your FutureDuring this period of both company layoffs and poor economic growth, I believe defining what one does in terms of their specific skill set will be of use to b both organizations as well as individuals striving to figure out their vocational passions while in transition. To strengthen employability, I have outlined a few practical ideas for looking at yourself as a person with a portfolio that includes your specific set of skills and services that you are able to provide. I think you will find that this method of thinking and defining might open up new paths of opportunity for you. Only you Can Answer: Who are you as a person? (I am a person that is ..... What is your purpose in life? What are your values? (My key values are...... What are your beliefs? (I believe that ....... What are your
capabilities? (I am good at....... My perfect vocational day would be? You might note that as you change a belief about yourself, it affects your capabilities, your values and your purpose just to name a few. Take someone who believes that they are not good at speaking in public. This might impact their capability to speak and might effect their wiliness to volunteer (Behavior) If this person acted in a way that made them feel confident about speaking, it might indeed impact their capabilities and their beliefs about speaking. One might also evaluate how their values and purpose are impacted as well?
Make a List of all the Things you are Good at? How would you explain what you do to someone without mentioning your job title? At least do this exercise as it is thought provoking.
Balance Ah, the B word. Have you found that too much of anything can cause burnout? Once you have answered these questions for yourself, and are thinking of your life and services you offer as a portfolio, try the following: Take a given month, and allocate by percentage where you spend your time with what I call the ten slices of life.
Ten Slices of Life § Hobby work(What you like to do with your free time) § Family work (Time with family) § Leisure work(Vacation, travel, relaxing) § Homework (Duties at home) § Wage work (Primary job) § Study work (Education) § Fee work (What can you sell) § Community work (Volunteer) § Health work (Include sleep and other activities to keep your body in shape) § Mind work (Activities to feed, grow and stimulate your brain) * Now, draw yourself a chart showing by the current month where you spend your time. * Draw a new chart reflecting where you want your allocation to be in five years. What's the gap and what can you do to close the gap? * Make this fun. Do this once every six months and evaluate. Has your purpose changed? How about your values? What about your beliefs, capabilities and behaviors? Have you added or deleted anything from your portfolio of services? How does your ten slices of life graph look?
Are You in Balance? Lastly, every six months, answer this question. If you had to describe your calling card without mentioning a job title, what would it say? Too timely? This process can take about 2-3 hours every six months with perhaps a one-day startup somewhere off on your own. The investment can last a lifetime. What would you like your license plate to say to state the purpose of your life? The next time someone asks you what you do, try telling them without giving a job title. You'll be surprised what you experience. Scary at first, sure. Do you own your own employability? You can! |
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