Have you ever noticed that when you talk about your professional life to others, you talk about your “job”, “how’s your job going?”, “are you looking for a job?”. I was talking to someone the other day during which she lamented that too many young people are using their college education to prepare for a job as opposed to understanding themselves and the world so they can find a profession that is really right for them. I thought that was a keen observation.
I think most of us have heard of Amy Chua in the last couple of weeks, made into a phenomenon because of her book on being a Tiger mother and purporting a superior child raising approach that is attributed to an ethnic identify. I must say that I have felt sucked into this “storm” of controversy, feeling very mixed about Amy Chua’s public statements and ownership of the attributes of a Chinese mother.
As a child of Chinese immigrants, I know (as do others like me know), that we have been taught to repay our parents’ sacrifices with our filial piety, respect and societal success. I would say my father and mother would place “living our life purpose” at the top of the list (ok, maybe after filial piety). It may not be characteristic of the Chinese family. But then again, neither my father or mother followed the path of least resistance.
You can sell effectively to the extent you really understand the wants and needs of a sought-after employer, as if it were a “potential life partner”. It’s like the early stage of a romance. Think about how much research you do on a person (talking to others, reading that person, etc) so you can “show up” in an appealing way. The job search “match game” is not that different.
