Career Vows for the New Work World
In Western culture, the month of June is one of the most popular months for couples to get married. But the tradition of the June bride actually began in ancient Roman times. The month of June is named for the Roman goddess Juno. Juno, who was the wife of Jupiter, was connected to feminine vitality and fertility, and was also considered the equivalent of Hera, the Greek goddess of love and marriage.
A job, in many ways, is a lot like marriage. In some ways, it’s better, since you receive a paycheck, but in others, it’s worse as there are, especially as of late, constant changes. Overall, both involve a selection process and vows we make to help make the experience positive and fulfilling.
When a couple makes their vows to each other on their wedding day they express how they intend to relate to each other, how they intend to navigate the path of life together, and what meaning they intend to give to their marriage. These vows are a promise to work hard at living out this intent, no matter how challenging the path ahead might be. They commit to this journey as an extension of their love and commitment to one other.
What if we decided to make our own set of commitment vows, to our career self in the New Work World? What would yours be? To have and hold from this day forward, to love and to cherish, to grow and learn with, and live our days going forward in our career as our very best self? What would that look like? How would making those vows to self allow us to experience more joy by defining a new relationship with our careers that would be expansive and growth-oriented? Let’s take a look at these “Career Vows” using the five steps of the Faremouth Method™ to see what it might look like to make our own set of promises. These are pledges we make to our working selves, invitations to live out our best life going forward in the New World of Work.
1. Do a Self-Inventory
Inscribed on the altar in Greece at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, are the words “Know Thy Self.” And as all the dating gurus will tell you, in order to find and attract the right marriage partner you have to know thyself and be in alignment with who you are and value yourself. The same is true in a career. If you are not secure with your gifts and talents and can’t articulate that in the correct manner in an interview, your chances of landing the job are slim to none. What if we all vowed to throw out all the negativity and the “I Can’t” messages and started reprogramming our mindset with “I Can” and “I Will”? What if we did a mental reset in the months to come towards positive determination and decisiveness to find that right job and also help others thrive along the way? Would these new positive career vows possibly produce a better “match” and more positive results?
2. Ask Better Questions
With the digital world even more dominant in our personal and professional world, we are all asking questions about how to get the best results. In the era of online dating, we sometimes find good matches by asking the correct questions and screening carefully. Chances are you also know of plenty of couples who have met through mutual friends. What if in addition to your online job search you also reached out to networking associates that could possibly expand your chances of getting interviews and made a list of who you knew that could assist you in finding new employment opportunities? What if you researched career advisors who might have a specialization in your particular field to invite positive results and expand your exposure and negotiating power? How would that vow to yourself to expand your reach of contacts widen the scope of possible employment opportunities?
3. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
I remember watching the Dr. Phil show many years ago and him telling a person on his program who was complaining about not being able to meet dating prospects that, unfortunately, “Mr. Right is not going to come knocking on your door.” Now that the vaccine is becoming more widespread you might choose to safely step into more social situations. Venturing into new territory in the social scene is often what is necessary to meet solid prospects. The same is true for your career. If the industry you have worked with for many years is not hiring at this time, how can you step out of your old mindset and transfer those skills into another industry that might yield positive results? How can you make a vow to yourself that you will take more career chances and venture out a bit into new territory that is reasonable and in demand?
4. Take Your Time and Do It Right
Since I grew up in Detroit, I am always reminded of the famous Motown Song by the Supremes “You Can’t Hurry Love” when I think of this step. In the search to find a great marriage prospect we might have to “Kiss a lot of frogs before we find a prince.” And in the same way, we might have to submit many online resumes and go on several interviews in this New Work World before we secure employment. What if we made a vow to ourselves that we would do whatever it took and not get discouraged to land that dream job?
5. Be a Hunter
It’s a real treasure hunt of sorts to meet Mr. or Ms. Right in the dating scene, but if you find someone wonderful then it might be well worth the effort. What if in our job hunt we vowed to not get discouraged if we don’t land the “Prize Buck” on our first hunting expedition? What if we had the mindset that we would enjoy the friends we might have made along the way? You never know, that HR person who didn’t hire you for that particular job you interviewed for might move to a new company where your industry and skill set is a better fit. And because of the way you vowed to be grateful and appreciate all opportunities, because of that great thank you note you sent, what if you impressed them and they resurrected your resume for another job at their new company?
This June, be determined to take your career to have and to hold, from this day forward, to a new exciting level using a brand new positive and determined mindset. Remember Juno, the Roman Goddess and wife of Jupiter when you are seeking your own fertile ground in the months ahead and make your own set of commitment vows to make your career search one of endless possibilities!
Mary Ann Faremouth has been a regular contributor to the USA Daily Post since April of 2020.
