Although I focus on issues that come up working while living with chronic illness, I believe healthy & people with illness face the same issues. Just a different emphasis. As a member of a new community of resume writers and career coaches called the Career Collective, this post is one of many responses to the question, “Are you a cookie cutter job seeker?” I encourage you to visit other members’ responses, linked at the end of my reply! Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.
“Are you a cookie cutter job seeker?”
I’m going to start with a story. “Alan” is 32, married with no children, and has lived with relatively mild rheumatoid arthritis (RA) since childhood. After graduating with a masters in Physics, he hopped from job to job, working on short term contracts and left a job he didn’t like.
But then an interviewer told him that his resume looks sketchy because he’d moved around so much. Living with illness, Alan had been told since childhood he should “play safe” and not take risks. He already believed he’d taken too much risk getting a degree in physics that didn’t translate into a job. That comment convinced him to find a job he could stay in.
He’s worked as a web designer in a bank for 6 years, has been bored and frustrated since the first 6 months and is desperate for a change.
Alan wants a different job and maybe even develop a career path. But he’s afraid to leave a secure job for the unknown because he’s afraid of making the wrong choice. His family and friends tell him he’d be crazy to leave. What if he hates the next job? Where will that leave him ?
Alan feels stuck because he’s trying to force himself into some cookie cutter mold. He’s struggling trying to fit into other people’s ideas of what his resume should look like and how he should live his work life. But he lacks any alternative. He doesn’t know what he wants to be.
In fact, Alan’s fear that he’ll make a bad choice for his next job is grounded. In all likelihood, without sufficient data to make a good choice. He needs to clearly identify what he wants in a career. He needs to see his unique needs. He needs the fundamental element to finding the right job for you: a clear vision of who you are and where you want to be.
There are plenty of online interests/values/needs assessments — and some are quite good. I’ve created an easy to use version designed specifically (but not limited to) people with chronic illness. It’s in my workbook, Keep Working With Chronic Illness.
It can be a scary world for all sorts of reasons – good health or not. But it won’t get safer by limiting yourself to being cut from the cookie cutter mold so you might look like everyone else. Or by limiting your options because others think you should. Go find your own shape and size and flaunt it.
Want to read more on this topic?
- Career By Choice’s Expat Success Tips – Ongoing Career management is No Longer Optional for the Expat in Today’s New World of Work
- Top Margin Gayle’s Blog Sabotaging Your Prospects: Cookie-cutter Style
- CAREEREALISM: Cookie Cutters are for Baking…Not Job Searching
- The Emerging Professional: On the “Cookie Cutter” Approach to Job Search: Do You Need a Recipe?
- Sterling Career Concepts: Job seekers: Break out of the mold!
- Dawn Bugni, The Write Solution: Dawn’s Blog Is your job search “cookie-cutter” or “hand-dropped”?
- Rosa Vargas, Creating Prints Resume-Writing Blog: Being a Cookie-Cutter Job Seeker is a Misfortune
- Heather Mundell, life@work: How Not to Be a Cookie Cutter Job Seeker
- Sweet Careers:Passive Job Seeker=Cookie Cutter Job Seeker
- Barbara Safani Career Solvers Blog Cookie Cutter Resumes Can Leave a Bad Taste in the Hiring Manager’s Mouth
- Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Career Trend Blog: Eating Bananas Doesn’t Make You an Ape
- Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers: How Can a Job Seeker Stand Out?
- Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog:Avoiding Being a Cookie-Cutter Job-seeker In Your Resume and Throughout Your Job Search
- Heather R. Huhman, HeatherHuhman.com: Break the Mold: Don’t Be a Cookie Cutter –
NEWS: Monday Oct 12 is World Arthritis Day. Learn more about living and working (I’m featured here!) with RA at a fantastic new interactive website, NewWayRA.
Gayle Howard says
So true Rosalind. Great post! While no jobseeker should follow the so-called “tried and true” methods of passive jobseeking, using these cookie cutter methods when having the extra challenges of chronic illness is simply not a good strategy. I love your phrase “Go find your own shape and size and flaunt it”–how inspiring!
Dawn Bugni says
Living life by someone else’s rules is no way to live. I hope Alan finds his bliss, from deep inside himself, and goes for it, regardless what others think. “This ain’t no dress rehearsal.”
Brilliant reminder happiness comes from within. Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for sharing Rosalind.
Rosalind says
Yup – love that one, too. Ain’t no dress rehearsal. And, 2 day is the first day of the rest of your life. There’s a reason for these platitudes. They mean something! Thanks!
Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers says
Thanks for sharing this story! It is tough to take a calculated risk, and I really like your “take” on this question. When we allow opinions from other people to dictate our plans, that is certainly taking a cookie cutter approach!
I’m so glad to have you in the Career Collective and look forward to your future posts!
Barbara Safani says
Rosalind,
I think the last sentence of your post, “Go find your own shape and size and flaunt it” says it all. Great insights.
Rosalind says
Thanks, Barbara. What’s terrific about the collective is that there are value laden tips on each one.
Doggie Howser says
If you ever went to a pain clinic you likely had to visit every month in order to receive your prescriptions. This findrxonline what Not only is the price of a consultation very steep (usually around $500 for initial and $250+ for follow ups) but then there is also the cost of expensive shots and medications. There are also many people who need surgery but who can’t afford it. For others who already had surgery and are still experiencing chronic pain there may not even be any solution besides ongoing pain management with strong pain medications.
Often your local physician will stop prescribing pain medication when surgery is recommended but not performed or when pain medication is required for longer periods of time. If you’re lucky you’ll get 30-60 tabs of Vicodin or Lortab which will cost around $140 for the consultation plus a few bucks for the medication itself. Most people don’t realize how hard it is for legit pain patients to find a doctor who is willing to help you out without charging an arm and a leg.
Rosalind says
The issue of getting pain medicine is a huge one both for patients and doctors. And it dramatically impacts a persons ability to function. The problems around treating pain and getting effective treatment are huge, as they are with fatigue and our current system isn’t set up to deal with this. Thanks for pointing this out!
Greg Johnson says
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