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Common Misconceptions

 

Common Misconceptions

1. You Need To Figure Out Your Career By Age 22
2. Some Career Seekers Are Just Lucky
3. The Best Direction To Go Is "Up!"
4. The Test That Tells You Exactly What To Do
5. You Can Find Work, Now, Through Employment Ads!
6. Prayer And Bible Study Is Enough
7. A Bible Degree Is Essential For Ministry
8. If God Is In It, My Job Search Will Go Quickly
9. I Need More Education
10. My Friends Know Me Best
    

1: You Need To Figure Out Your Career By Age 22

Have you been led to believe that you should figure out your career by the time you're 22? Where did this thought come from? Perhaps it originated in an educational system that forces you to choose an area of study for a vocational field in which you've never worked. That's like committing yourself to live in a distant place for your entire life without even having visited the place!

Of course maybe you know one of the blessed few persons in this world who knew before they were in the first grade exactly what they wanted to do in life. Actually, very few people are this lucky. Unfortunately, compared to them, you're always playing career catch-up!

There's another explanation for the assumption that you should have your career figured out by your early twenties. It's the thought popularized in our post-depression era that most people stay with their first career choice for a lifetime. This assumption may have financial merit for the corporate climber, union worker or highly trained professional, but it ignores the realities of today's changing marketplace and one's personal growth and development.

The reality is it's perfectly normal to make several career changes over a lifetime. In fact, changing careers is much more common than discovering your one, perfect career by age 22. Get rid of the guilt of not having it all figured out. Stay flexible and embrace your work future with expectancy and hope.

What exactly did you know (or what do you expect to know), about your career at age 22?

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2: Some Career Seekers Are Just Lucky

"Career luck" is usually the label we put on individuals who take risks, foster positive work relationships and follow their talents into the marketplace. You see, it's much easier to label someone as lucky than it is to confront fear of failure, mistrust or self-doubt that keeps many of us marking time at work.

When it comes right down to it, luck has very little to do with career opportunity. Those who seem to move forward encounter many of the same obstacles we all face. The only difference is they keep risking, reaching out to others and believing in their gifts and talents. That's why they're the lucky ones.

When has your own hard work helped you generate a "lucky" result?

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3: The Best Direction To Go Is "Up!"

Why are we so convinced that "up" is the best direction to move within a company or career? Maybe it's our cultural addiction to the myth that "more" is in fact better. We're convinced that more money, more benefits, more authority and more prestige will bring us more joy and happiness.

Yet many today, trade in their best skills for a position that seemed to promise more, yet in fact delivered little happiness. Many discover there's no joy in moving up when you move away from your real strengths and interests.

Have you considered whether moving up would be a better use of your time and talents?

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4: The Test That Tells You Exactly What To Do

"I want to know where to go with my career. I want to take a test that will tell me exactly who I am and what I should be doing."

Do you know what's wrong with these statements? When it comes to careers, there is no one test, survey or inventory that can reveal exactly what to do regarding your work.

Somehow today, we expect to find the perfect answer, make the perfect decision, and gain the perfect insight that will tell us exactly where we need to be in our career. Why? Why do we look for a magical test that will spit out the perfect answers and sort out our confusion about what to do and where to work? The reasons may have to do with what you're experiencing at the time.

Perhaps you seek the perfect test because you just want reassurance. You may doubt your subjective instincts and want objective confirmation. Or, maybe you want instant answers. After all, we've learned to believe that career decision-making is more of an exact science than a personal journey. Still, you may simply want to abdicate responsibility. If your career choice doesn't work, it's easier to blame a test than to live with your own decisions.

Testing does have its place in the career decision-making process. Aptitude tests may reaffirm what comes natural to you. An interest inventory may focus your thinking toward similar careers. A personality profile may sensitize you to a preferable type of environment and work style.

However, none of these tolls will replace the risks, perseverance and setbacks that are an inevitable part of finding your niche in the marketplace. The most accurate, revealing test is the one you're living right now by answering life's questions with your beliefs, thoughts and actions.

Be honest: Would you really like to take a test which promised to reveal your perfect job?

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5: You Can Find Work, Now, Through Employment Ads!

Wanted: Person like you wishing to find highly rewarding job with great benefits. To find out more, just keep reading...

One of the most common career misconceptions is that successful jobs can be found in newspaper employment ads. When you're looking for work, it's easy to browse through the employment section of the classified ads and get discouraged. Many of the jobs listed aren't in your area of interest or qualification. This sobering fact only feeds the real misconception, the fear that your experience may not be that marketable.

Well, don't believe everything you read. The help-wanted ads show only a fraction of the help needed in your community. Most employers, in fact, fill their job openings by word of mouth, so they have no need to advertise in the newspaper.

Remember, the world of work runs on relationships, referrals and hidden opportunity. You'll find none of these in the employment section of your newspaper. Looking for work is a great time to practice the biblical principle of believing in the unseen, rather than believing the misconception that your next job lies waiting in the want ads.

Using just fifteen words or less, how would you word your own ad describing what you can offer?

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6: Prayer And Bible Study Is Enough

The thinking of Christians who assume that intense prayer and Bible study will reveal God's will for their work life is quite puzzling. Often, they surrender their work future to some circumstantial revelation from God. For instance, if the person doesn't hear back from a hiring manager on a particular day, "It's obviously not God's will that I get the job."

These same individuals don't rely solely on prayer and Bible study when their cars break down, or their teeth begin to ache, or their bank fouls up a transaction. Yet, when their careers falter, prayer and Bible study suddenly become all sufficient.

Please don't misunderstand; prayer and the study of Scripture is an important part of any major life decision and should not be minimized. However, the faith that God is directing your life must be translated into some tangible activity or it is not faith at all.

Too often we wait for God's mystical career leading because of embarrassment, pride, discouragement, or fear of making a mistake. We want a burning bush experience like Moses, or a Damascus road revelation like Saul, without any risk or commitment on our part. Times of career transition require both faithful action and spiritual discernment. One without the other simply prolongs your progress.

In looking for that next career step, are you maintaining a healthy balance between being on your knees and being on your feet?

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7: A Bible Degree Is Essential For Ministry

If you've been reluctant to pursue ministry-related work because of your limited theological education there is good news. Many positions in Christian service do not require theological training.

Why do we assume a Bible or theological degree is required for formal, ministry-related work? Do all health care employees possess a medical degree? Certainly not. There are technicians, bookkeepers, administrators, custodians, public relations specialists, computer operators and a host of other positions needed in most hospitals around the country.

Health care services would not exist if a medical degree was a prerequisite to working in the industry. The same principle holds true of ministry-related work. Yes, there are critical positions that require specific Bible background and training. But there are hundreds of other work opportunities that depend on many diverse backgrounds and skills -- perhaps the abilities and experience you've developed.

So don't rule out the possibility of using your job skills in a Christian organization just because you don't have a seminary degree. Your strengths may just be what a certain ministry needs.

What obstacles, if any, would keep you from considering using your job skills in a Christian organization?

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8: If God Is In It, My Job Search Will Go Quickly

Why is it that we tend to equate God's involvement in our job search with quick results? The career seeker who lands a job in one month is singing "Blessed Assurance" and "Amazing Grace" on Sunday. However, the job hunter who has not bagged his prey after six months sits bewildered in church singing "Search Me O Lord." He's convinced, like Job's friends, that unconfessed sin in his life is keeping the door of career opportunity closed.

Find the Scripture that equates God's care and provision in life with quick results. This was certainly not Abraham and Sarah's experience. The Apostle Peter would surely argue against the belief in a quick-fix God.

Yet even these obvious conclusions don't keep those of us in job transition from desiring an immediate end to our uncertainty. Times of job transition stretch our faith, call forth any latent perseverance we possess and demand that we face a difficult truth of life. Real progress, especially a journey in between jobs, takes time.

The measure of God's blessing in your job search is not how long the transition lasts. The sooner you let go of expecting to find a quick end to your searching, the sooner you'll discover God's blessing in the midst of the journey.

What things did you learn about God, and yourself, the last time you had to wait on an important decision?

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9: I Need More Education

Has the thought of needing additional education ever kept you from considering a career change? It's true that in highly regulated or technical fields such as engineering, education or law, specific credentials are essential to career advancement. If you don't possess these credentials, then further education is mandatory.

However, once you step outside these fields, the marketplace is much more accommodating than you might suspect. With perseverance and the right contacts, you can gain entry to a variety of career opportunities. Many occupations have a "back-door-entry." The back door may be a temporary assignment that showcases your skills. Or, it may be an unexpected promotion during a time of crisis. This figurative doorway that leads to employment is usually reserved for the clever, persistent or flexible career seeker.

The question may persist, "Do I need more education for a specific job?" The way to gain sufficient information to answer this question is to talk with at least three people who work in a career you're interested in pursuing. You may find out the educational barrier that keeps you back may in fact not exist. Don't let unfounded assumption keep you from pursuing new career direction.

"Do I need more education?" To find the answer, do your homework. Get the facts.

Who are the three people who could help you determine if you need more education for a specific career?

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10: My Friends Know Me Best

Contrary to what you might think, your closest friends are often undependable career advisors.

"But they know me so well," you say. Herein lies the problem. It's possible that someone can know you very well and yet not see clearly the unique interest and talents you possess. Frequently, friends assume you would enjoy similar jobs because the two of you share similar values or backgrounds.

This is called "the halo effect," the tendency friends sometimes have to see what they want to see of you, rather than seeing who you really are.

If you do ask a close friend for advice about a career or employment decision, be aware that the person may be transferring his or her own interests and preferences to you. To protect yourself from this possibility, simply ask your friend to cite specific observations that support his or her conclusions. For example, if a friend says you would be great in real estate, ask him to think of a time he observed you enjoying the opportunity to influence someone making an important purchase. If no example comes to mind, then chances are this advice is based more on assumption than real evidence.

Many frustrating careers have been launched on the advice of well meaning but misguided friends. Don't say "yes" to a career or job just because your friends think you'll be great at it. If your friends are truly observant of your work abilities, then their advice will be confirmed by the one person who knows better than anyone. You!

How might you confirm or deny a friend's personal, unsolicited career advice?

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Adapted From: InterCristo Career Concepts