Job search might help us unmask true selves

By Amy Lindgren

For the AJC

Has job search changed you? If you have been doing it for long, the answer is almost certainly yes.

How could you not be changed by wanting something you don’t have, getting by on less than you need, or putting hopes and plans on hold?

Of course, not all changes are negative, even when the process is unpleasant. Take the downsizing mentality many have adopted. With less money in the household, the normal response is to reduce expenses. Once you have adopted this new lifestyle, it can be difficult to imagine the old one. It just doesn’t make sense to overspend on ephemera when the money could go into something of lasting value.

And there’s another change I’ve been seeing: financial values. It used to be that owning a home and investing in the market were accepted ways of increasing net worth. Now we’re not so sure. So where should the money go? At this stage, the question is mostly theoretical, as people don’t have enough money to worry about those larger questions. But that picture will change, making it very interesting to see if we revert to old patterns or forge new ones as we all get more jingle in our pockets again.

Another change I’ve seen in people as they go through a lengthy period of unemployment or underemployment is to their self-esteem. Surprisingly, not all of the changes are for the worse -- quite a few people seem to actually improve their mental health in some way during this transition.

It makes sense if you think about it. On the one hand, the loss of a job can spell disaster for career progression and finances. But for many people, the loss also presents a new beginning, a challenge in a career that was dead-ending, or just a new opportunity to restructure work-life balance.

In some eerie trick of timing, many of my clients also report that their layoffs happened just ahead of a critical family issue, such as a parent’s sudden decline in health. Without the job loss, they tell me, they couldn’t have found the time to handle the burden at home.

And so, whether from the added challenge of a family or health issue, or from the challenges of unemployment alone, some people report actually improving their sense of purpose or confidence during this time, or at least feeling at peace with their situation. Many also report a change in their career goals, perhaps from the corporate world to something more people-centered if they discovered caretaking skills, for example. Or sometimes, from a somewhat slow-paced career to one that is more hard-charging if they gained an acute awareness of time passing.

It’s exciting when people experience positive changes, and frightening when they seem to lose ground, but both circumstances mean the same thing to a career counselor: This worker is not the same person who lost a job x months ago. The new career plan has to be built for the new person’s hopes and dreams, not for the career trajectory the old person was on.

Autumn, with its abundance of ready metaphors, is a good time to broach this subject of change and career planning. You can think of a new start, as in back to school, or of regeneration, as in leaves on the ground, or even of focusing inward, as in long winter nights at home.

I’ve always been captured by the confluence of Halloween and All Souls' Day as back-to-back observances. On the one hand, we have a tradition of hiding our true selves behind masks and costumes -- or is that a tradition of honoring our true selves as we slip on that Superman cape or princess tiara? I’ve never been sure if we were masking or unmasking on this day, but I’ve always loved it.

But like any good holiday, the following days balance the account, in this case with the sobering news: We’re all going to die, and now is the time to honor those who already have. In the career counseling world, the somber reminder of mortality inherent in Nov. 2nd's All Souls' Day coincides with the onset of another observance: Career Development Month.

Make of that what you will, but I’ll end with this thought: If you are at odds with your career, and you have any appreciable time left when you need to be working, you will have to deal with this issue. Might as well be now as later.

Set aside time for reflection in November, make an appointment with a counselor, or lay your plans to start fresh in the new year. Whether you’re donning or doffing that mask to reveal your true self, you’ll want to get the project under way.

Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.