Hope.
You know things are bad when career counselors reach out to other career counselors to find out if someone in the network has some words of hope, gems of wisdom on how to help their dispirited clients. As one of these career counselors, who watches the employment statistics and privately wonders how “those people” will find their next work— as the numbers exiting far outweigh the numbers entering. I too look for ways to help.
I would like to think, as I am sure other career counselors do also, that I can offer clients hope—even in these times of accelerating unemployment. I am learning that aside from reminding clients of the importance of networking and being realistic about job prospects, that what is really important is helping clients manage their work transitions. This is about change as much as it is about finding the next gig.
In prior columns I have written about change and recommended the compact, but powerful book by William Bridges, Transitions. While there may be other books on the market—a search for books about transitions on Amazon resulted in almost 400,000 suggestions—I do not think there is a better guide to what takes place during transitions, than Bridge’s gem. (No, I am not affiliated with William Bridges, nor do I get any compensation for recommending his books, although that might be a nice source of additional income if you are reading this, Dr. Bridges.)
Understanding the ups and downs of making life transitions is somehow comforting. Transitions does not offer false hope, but it paints a picture of what lies ahead—and during these uncertain times, I think it may be comforting for those in transition to have this perspective.