CareerTalk
NOVEMBER 2004 Career Indecision - it may be a good thing!
You know what it feels like when everyone's pressuring you about your 'future'.
It may start with family and peers but it ends up as a nagging inner voice telling
you to 'just get on with it' and 'do something'. Consider George and Kari.
At 21, George is fun-loving, creative and hooked on snowboarding. Since high
school, he's been working at a Whistler coffee shop, snowboarding as much as
possible and fooling around with photography and videos of boarding stunts.
Last year he sold some footage to a Japanese ad company, and now he's thinking
of applying for film school.
But first, he wants to go to Japan and maybe work for the snowboard manufacturer.
He might teach English while he's there - he's not sure. As his friends settle
down in careers, he's feeling the pressure to 'grow up'. His CPA father is losing
patience - and pressuring him to get a business degree to 'fall back on'.
Kari is a brilliant student and talented musician. She's had her 'nose to the
grindstone' since grade ten. Top marks in Law School have led to a plum articling
job in the entertainment division of a large law firm … but now she's not
sure.
She's liking her clients (in the music industry) better than her colleagues
and starting to think that law was a mistake. She wants to get off the roller-coaster
(as she puts it), take a year off and just enjoy her passion for music .maybe
work in the music or recording industry. Her family is shaken!
George and Kari are not alone in their career waffling. Young people have always
experienced career indecision - and at an early stage, we approve. We regard
this as a developmental and wholesome state that will spur them on to increased
exploration and goal setting. But while we approve, we're nervous that this
not go on too long. In an increasingly competitive world of work, you don't
want to get left behind.
In other important life decisions, we seem to have learned the hard lessons
of premature decision making - especially with regard to our love life. No one
would suggest that you must make your marriage plans as soon as possible (in
high school or college at the latest), and yet we're still strangely comforted
by the high school student who knows 'exactly' what he wants to do as a career.
Choosing the right career early is so much better, we think, because it avoids
wasting all that time, money and heartache .but applied to your love life, who
would advise that you never risk the mistake of 'wasting' even one date with
the wrong person? It just sounds silly!
George and Kari needed to clarify their own feelings about career, where they
were and what their career exploration paths might look like. They also needed
to get support for their journey from family and friends.
When they came to me as individual clients, they were feeling pressured and
confused about how to proceed. Our initial assessments (personality, values,
interests) helped them appreciate the route they'd taken so far, and opened
some new possibilities. The goal became to develop individual career exploration
plans that would give each of them (and their families) a sense of direction
and adventure.
The Results
George's passion and natural flare for snowboarding resulted in a plan to research
the whole snowboarding industry (manufacturing, competitions, retail, marketing).
His reworked résumé uncovered a surprising wealth of transferable
skills and led to a new job (ski shop) and the decision to sign up for a video
production course. He's also met a group of young film-makers.
Next month, he's headed for an international snowboarding competition in Japan.
With his cameras in tow, he's also hoping to make some industry connections.
When he returns, he plans to combine his growing video expertise with a career
in the retail end of the business. His father's networks will help him here
.and he may even see the need for a business degree.
Kari was burned-out. She needed the break from law but she wasn't ready to
throw it all away. Her firm agreed to a six month leave and even helped to open
some doors. After a short holiday, she began interviewing and meeting many of
the key people in the Canadian music scene. A pivotal moment was her phone conversation
with a well known Canadian impresario about his career path - from musician
to talent developer.
Now Kari's leaning toward music and management of talent ..but she's decided
to first complete her legal training. She'll be working with recording industry
clients as she explores this sector for possible career opportunities. Her firm
hopes to capitalize on her enthusiasm and many new alliances . and her family
is more relaxed about supporting her decisions.
What we're coming to understand is that, in career decision making (as in matters
of the heart and mating), the best approach is to take our time, keep our options
open and go ahead and make some mistakes. Resisting the pressures to 'decide'
(before you are truly ready) may be the most sensible approach to a complex
and unpredictable future.
The good news is that while you're exploring, you're building invaluable self-knowledge
and the kind of change skills needed in today's world of work.
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