When does work turn into a profession?

That is to say, it is not always the ideal option to take the first job that presents itself. If the work wasn't the greatest possible fit, the hunt for anything better might begin or continue.

As a resume writer, I've seen that this is why many applicants highlight their temporary work experience.

This is connected to an observation I've made: many of my clients are putting less focus on their careers as a whole and more on the positions they've had or are seeking. It's not clear when a job stops being a job and starts becoming a career.

As a career coach, I've encouraged my clients to shift their focus from the job itself to the role it plays in the bigger picture of their professional goals. 

Someone's employability isn't directly proportional to the number of job openings that person sees; rather, it's a function of how they frame their career and the positions they've done, and how they feel about themselves as a result.

Can you define a job for me?

The demand for work is fundamentally individual, therefore it's natural to give one's undivided attention to one's own workplace and its associated circumstances.

Taking a job out of desperation and with the expectation that things would improve with time might leave an employee feeling stuck if the working circumstances are poor or the required degree of expertise is much below what the employee has.

Some of the clients I've worked with as a career coach have developed feelings of hopelessness and resignation after years in a dead-end job. Some of my customers have been at the same company for decades, and their lack of confidence shows in how they speak to me and how they act.

The first order of business is dispelling the notion that a person's current or prior employment encapsulates their whole identity as a candidate.

That's connected to another issue with traditional resume formats: they put too much focus on the applicant's present activities at the expense of a strategic evaluation of the candidate's whole work history.

Even if someone has only had one long-term employment, that position serves as a summary of all the others they have held. A job, or a succession of occupations, is only one piece of the puzzle that makes up an individual's career strategy.

A Career Is...

A person's career grows and evolves with each job they have, and the information, skills, and talents they gain throughout the course of their employment at each place add to their overall professional standing. That's why I take a different tack when composing a CV, putting the focus squarely on the transferable abilities that an applicant has.

Recruiters and hiring managers are more likely to give a candidate's CV a second look if they aren't immediately reminded of their present position. In a competitive employment market, an employer may not take the time to carefully analyse a candidate's chronological CV and attempt to deduce what talents they may have based on their work history alone.

I have found that the most effective way to influence a client's resume style is to assist them better understand how their work fits into the bigger picture of their career, objectives, and strategy.

A person may have a single employment throughout their lifetime, switch between many occupations as their interests change, or switch careers entirely.

The list of my jobs is long and varied: professor, author, resume writer, career counsellor, and more. Although I have had a variety of positions, they are all, in some way, linked to my vocations.

Maintaining a long-term perspective and evaluating each position in light of the knowledge and abilities gained is essential to succeeding in a career.

Even if an employee feels they have reached a professional plateau in their current position, it is still beneficial to their career because it validates their readiness to pursue other opportunities.

My whole professional life, regardless of my official position, has been spent instructing and supervising people. I went from a corporate environment as a manager of training and development to an academic environment with responsibility for leading and developing faculty, along with teaching students instead of corporate employees. With every job held I have viewed it from a perspective of how it contributes to my career, whether or not each job was perfect, imperfect, beneficial, or short-term.

This means that I do not have to ever dwell on a job that was unsatisfying as I am focused on the bigger picture and what I can do to continue to develop my career and occupation(s).

Developing a Career Focus

If you can change how you view your career, even if you plan to change your occupation at some point, you will find immediate benefits. The development of a long-range view will help you to feel in control of you career, even if you are presently working within the least desirable circumstances possible.

Instead of seeing a job or series of jobs as having no value or representing a failure of some kind, you begin to focus on the skills and knowledge you possess and are continuing to develop. The following steps can help you to begin to develop a career focus.

Step #1: Define Your Present Occupation.

If you are frequently changing jobs and there isn't a clear pattern established for the jobs selected, it is helpful to define the bigger picture of what you want to do with your career. If you have been in the same job for some time, or held several related jobs, you may find it easier to describe your occupation. It is also possible that some jobs also define a person's occupation.

For example, teaching can be described as both a job and an occupation; although there are other education-related occupations that a teacher can work towards.

Step #2: Develop a Vision Statement.

Now that you have developed a description of the occupation you are presently working in, it is time to develop a vision statement for your career. This doesn't mean that you have to describe what you will be doing for the next 20 years or that you have to settle on a particular occupation. However, consider what you want to work towards in the long-term. For example, are there various types or levels of jobs within your occupation that you can work towards as you gain additional knowledge and/or skills?

Step #3: Develop a Short-Term and Long-Term Career Plan.

Once a vision statement has been established you can now develop a career plan and this will immediately help shift your mindset and create a sense of control for your career.

As a career coach this helps many of my clients overcome a sense of helplessness in their career, even if they don't have immediate options to explore. A career plan involves establishing short-term and long-term goals that are related to your vision.

While this does not mean it has to be a fixed plan and one that can never be adapted or modified, it does provide a starting point to work from and this creates a proactive mindset.

Step #4: Develop Job-Related Milestones.

With a career plan established I also encourage my clients to develop job-related milestones to maintain a focus on their career plan and vision.

For example, if the short-term goal is to develop new skills as a means of advancing in a particular occupation, a milestone could be a 90-day check-in to determine if those skills are being acquired. If those skills have not been acquired then next steps can be decided upon and range from asking for different assignments on the job, looking for other positions within the same organization, or finding a new job if the current job has reached a point where it offers no further long-term value.

These milestones are reminders and provide an opportunity to reflect on the career plan to determine if there are any changes to be made.

Step #5: Conduct an Ongoing Skills and Knowledge Self-Assessment.

When I first ask my clients to describe the skills and knowledge they have now I often receive a response that is very similar to a job description for their present employment. When you have a career plan developed and a long-range view of your occupation, you will also have a fairly good idea of the knowledge and skills required to advance within this occupation.

You can use this as a form of measurement for your existing skills and knowledge. It also helps you ascertain what you have gained or could possibly acquire from your present job.

Every job held throughout your entire career has contributed to what you possess now and that is what you should consider as you evaluate what you have and what is still needed.

Step #6: Conduct a Professional Development Plan.

It is not uncommon for people to sign up for classes, workshops, or seminars without relating it to a career plan.

You will find it to be much more beneficial to utilize these types of developmental opportunities as a means of furthering your occupation and being strategic in the decisions made to invest your time.

You may have a job that requires professional development and that may mean taking workshops or seminars that do not appear to be relevant or necessary.

However, it is still possible you could learn something or at a very minimum, make a professional connection with someone in your occupation. For the development of your occupation and career it is helpful to establish professional opportunities as part of your plan and include it in your list of career or job-related milestones.

When you are able to view your career from the perspective outlined above you will create a mental shift away from your present job to your occupation as a whole and the goals you have established for yourself.

You will find that this gives you more of a purpose to your career and eventually you will develop a sense of self-empowerment for your jobs and self-actualization as milestones and goals become fully realized. When you decide to change jobs or careers you will speak to potential employers with a sense of confidence in your talents and abilities as you will be presenting your career from a perspective of capability and transferable skills rather than just a need for a job.

A person who has a career plan and goals is a much stronger candidate as they have a clearly defined sense of self. A job doesn't become a career, rather it is part of an occupation that is developed over time and with a plan.