Job Seeking Advices

I went to an amazing event Wednesday night. Yes, it was filled with luminaries (Marlo Thomas, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Gabourey Sidibe) but that was not what made it amazing. What made it amazing was that I was with people who have my back when I need it and that all around me there were extremely interesting people all highly successful in their own rights…although I’m sure some, like me, weren’t feeling it that night.

I’m in the middle of the project. It is not going as I had mapped out. On many levels it is wildly successful. On one level it is (to me) a failure.

As I sat trying to get away from that reality something really resonated. Perhaps it’s because of this project. Perhaps it’s because I was looking to connect. Perhaps it was the Women’s Media Center logo I was looking at at just that moment.

Or perhaps it’s more universal than that.

At the event we saw a screening of a documentary that had followed Jane Fonda early in her career. She was wonderfully honest telling the group that she has a really hard time watching the documentary. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation for and the opening of a play she was in that flopped with a boyfriend directing her. His behavior makes her cringe, as it did the audience.

After the showing during the discussion that followed the idea of career peaks and valleys came up. Gabourey Sidibe, who is wonderfully self-possessed at the ripe young age of 22, talked of how her career thus far has only climbed. And she mentioned how watching the film reminded her that there would be valleys…and she thought Jane’s honesty now and in the film would most certainly help her through those valleys.

I was struck by the concept of career peaks & valleys. It seems to be a phenomenon that is unique to celebrities. Only it is not. Everyone has peaks & valleys in their careers. But most in the corporate sphere don’t like talking about it. Unless of course you’re applying for a job and they see an obvious valley. Then it needs to be discussed. The peaks are expected, the valleys are some kind of character flaw that you need to explain, tell what you learned and assure them it will never happen again.

And it will happen again…and it’s okay. Without valleys how would we know we’re at a peak? Without valleys when/how would we gather our strength for that climb up? It is time for colleges and corporate spheres to get real and admit that valleys happen along with the peaks. Careers are not straight lines. In fact if a resume comes through that does not have some, then perhaps something is missing in the telling of that career story. And perhaps that is what interviewers should pay attention to, instead of seeking false reassurance we will never have a valley while with their organization.

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