“Many Occupations, master at none...”

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Irene Anderson, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

It is amazing what you can learn from people about what’s on their business cards. True story…. I recently spoke at a job seekers club and the statement above was the tag line on a business card one of the attendees gave me(let’s call him Bob). It shouts – don’t hire me! I feel for Bob, because I have been where he is, although not with the same business card! It’s a place of feeling that you just don’t measure up., and it is reflected in everything you do and how you present yourself to the world.
Bob was a successful scientific writer before he was downsized from his high paying occupation, there were some communication issues with Bob’s immediate supervisor, and when cuts came, Bob was first to be let go. Bob had worked at this company for 20 years. Bob assumes the supervisor had it in for him as a result of their communication issues., and that’s why he was let go. Bob is clearly still under the grips of the ‘blame game; assuming his fate is determined by outside forces.
As I listened to Bob speak about his experiences, I was struck by how the language, inflection and body language reflected the words on the card. He demonstrated a lot of eye movement and restlessness, and spoke in a self deprecating way. I am sure he was not aware of this on a conscious level, as humans we do not set out to create a poor impression on others. I shared with Bob an exercise that works to get you in tune with how you are perceived by others. It’s called ‘taking the meta view’ – looking and listening to yourself from a distance or height and taking a long hard listen to the language you are using. It works – try it!
What is it that holds us back from shouting out what we are really good at? Why do we resist telling the world who and what we really are., showing our best selves in every moment? In the case of Bob the job seeker who had many occupations, master at none, what does this tell us about Bob, even if we don’t know him? What it tells me is that Bob is putting up a wall, he has lost confidence, and he has accepted what circumstance has determined about his worth. It is amazing how words either spoken or written tell a powerful tale about who we really are. Add to this the power of body language and you have either a recipe for disaster or a recipe for success.
There is a direct connection between what we believe internally, consciously or unconsciously, and what we project to the world. Every success in life comes from believing that we are the strong and viable humans we are. No-one gets to mid forties without some smarts and Bob is no exception. AS we spoke, Bob kept saying that he wasn’t really an expert at anything, “yes he said I know a lot of stuff but I’m not really good at anything.” As Bob spoke with the group, he started to talk about his garden and how the neighbours were always marvelling at how beautiful the flowers were, and complimenting him on how gorgeous the garden was. As Bob spoke about his garden, you could see him leaning forward, his eyes opened up and he was smiling. I remarked, “See, you ARE good at something, is it possible for you to explore this as a career?”
This took him by surprise, and I could see the wheels staring to turn in his mind. Often we take our talents for granted, we assume that because it’s easy for us, it has little worth. Not so – what’s of little worth to one person is of great worth to others. As we left that evening, walking out to our cars, Bob remarked to me, “Maybe I am good at some things, I know I am my own worst enemy, and I will get a new business card.” Result!
Job hunting for Bob has been difficult; there are few opportunities in his chosen field, so he has resorted to looking for Customer Service roles, most of which pay minimum wage. I know Bob’s world, I have been there as have countless others. Downsized, Right – sized, de-hired, packaged out – all euphemisms for being fired, let’s not sugar coat it – that’s what it is, and it feels lousy and hurtful! For most of us of a ‘certain age’, work defines us. What we do is a reflection on social status, what friends we have, what circles we move in. Pull the rug out and ‘ouch’, confidence plummets, you are now in a black hole (if you allow it). Our work defines our success and if all of a sudden this is taken away, we no longer have a frame of reference. We can plummet into the back hole that is loss of confidence.
The secret to getting out of the black hole is to continually focus on what you are really good at, find a way to tap into your authentic self – find a passion and work it! Easy? No, it takes determination, planning and goal setting. It takes getting up every single day with a resolute attitude to make your mark on the world. It takes collecting a team of cheerleaders to keep you motivated. It means taking a long hard look at how you are projecting yourself to the world and changing what is not working. It means investing in yourself, because you know you are worth it. It means, sitting down and writing out all of the great stuff you have done in your life – and figuring out which of things really turned you on – that’s your passion and purpose. Get busy, if you are like Bob, time is of the essence – don’t lose a minute! What we put on paper is a reflection of who we really are inside. Change your words – change your life…
If you do all of these things; the business card will change from “Many Occupations, master at none” to “My Occupation – Masterfully Done!”