Recently, I had the opportunity to present a career workshop for employees that were reeling from an imminent layoff. Some folks had been with the company since their high school graduation! The tension in the room was palatable and I began to feel self conscious and nervous. My hope was to give the group information that would empower and motivate each and everyone to develop a career action plan that would work magic. Clearly,my idealism and passion for career development was getting the best of me. Instead,what I found was a group of individuals that had fallen victim to what I call the career archetype. This is the person that is completely out of touch with finding work in a tough economy.
In literature the archetype isn't always the hero, but the fire breathing dragon, the one eyed cyclop, the Sirens that called Odysseus to his demise. Now, this may sound too dramatic and literary for the average person trying to navigate the complexity of the job seach, but there is a connection, I promise. The connection is in our ability to acknowledge that we may be a career archetype, which is merely a metaphor for our inability to accept and embrace change. Often in literature the archetype embarks on a journey of self discovery, and this is the passage that the newly unemployed need to discover and embrace. The next blog installment will provide insight into how we make the transition from career archetype to career success story. Stay tuned.
