Letter: Fields of Fascination
Dear Deb:
I want to do career development with my candidates, as taught in your workshop, but most of my candidates do not know their Field Of Fascination or their Dream Job. How do I help them discover their dreams?
I applaud your desire to open your candidates’ minds to the possibilities that they can have more than a job – they can have a career. It is through Career Development, not job placement, that our candidates will gain self-sufficiency. The difficulty is that most of us have never been taught to “think outside the box”; so we can only imagine that which we have already seen. To get candidates to imagine new jobs, you must show them new options.
Start by reminding them that jobs are made up of two parts; the title (which represents the skills they will use) and the field (representing the people with whom or atmosphere in which they will use their skills). The job will be dramatically different if you change either the field or title. For example, a driving job in the construction field is a Heavy Equipment Operator, and a driver in the entertainment field is a Limousine Chauffeur are very different. Likewise, being a Camera person is very different from being a Chauffeur even though both are in the entertainment field.
To determine the field in which a candidate would like to hold a title they have chosen, have them systematically review the list of fields listed in the index at the front of the yellow pages and consider whether they want to hold the position is each of the fields, i.e. “Would I like to be a secretary at a ambulance company… at an art school … an auto body shop … etc ”. When they are finished, you will have a list of dozens or even hundreds of fields that interest them. When you research those fields in the yellow pages, you will have a long list of companies your candidate would enjoy working in. Another idea is to interview candidates regarding how they spend their time, what they enjoy reading about or watching on T.V., or what they would do if money, talent or education were not an issue — these are fields which fascinate them. Perhaps they can use their current skills in these fields.
To determine what title they would enjoy, distinguish between their Dream Job (one they would like to hold in 5 years), and their Entry-Career Job (one which they are qualified to hold today). Both are in their field of fascination, but at very different levels. The potential of the Dream Job motivates them to work hard at their Entry-career Job so they will be promoted. The Entry-career job should use skills they currently have and are good at — even if they have never been paid to use those skills. The best way to discover these skill is to ASK YOUR CANDIDATE, their friends and family.
Photo by David Wright
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