Career Lessons Learned from Actor Luke Wilson: 

Even though I’m not much of a movie buff, my husband and I usually watch one together on the weekend. A recent pick was the indie film Tenure, which at first I thought was a so-so, run-of-the-mill comedy. But the surprise ending carried a meaningful message about choosing an ideal career path, which really resonated for me as a career coach.   

Tenure takes place at a fictitious New England college. Charlie Thurber (played by comic actor Luke Wilson) is the most popular English Literature professor on campus. He loves his job and his students love him. He even coaches a new professor (played by Gretchen Mol) to loosen up in the classroom and bond with her students. Even so, Charlie longs for tenure, which would bring him job security and a sizeable pay raise.

When one of Charlie’s literary articles is finally accepted for publication in an obscure online resource, the Dean and the academic committee grant him probationary tenure, with ONE condition: he works closely with a designated colleague to get more articles published; or his tenure would be revoked.

 I wondered: Would he accept the conditional tenure? Is he going to become a prolific academic writer, while continuing to be a great teacher? 

The answer came to me in a surprise ending: Charlie is walking down a school corridor into classroom, but not at the college: at a high school, as the new English Literature teacher. When he introduces himself to his students, his winning personality has them at “hello.”

Clearly, Charlie took a leap of faith by rejecting the tenure track in favor of what he did best and enjoyed: teaching English Literature and making it meaningful for his students. He knew literary article writing was not his strong suit and that he would be fighting an uphill battle to get articles published. He would have exhausted himself in the process, compromised his teaching abilities and put himself at risk for losing tenure and his job.

The lesson learned is this: When the job you’re doing is something you’re good at and that you enjoy, you bring your professional best to your employer, coworkers and clients. No one wins when you struggle to be someone you’re not, doing tasks that burn you out, in exchange for a paycheck and the lure of job security.  

Your assignment: Go through your career history and create a list of all the job tasks you’ve ever done. Put an X through your least enjoyable activities and put a circle around your favorites. Keep this list top of mind before accepting your next position, and you’ll choose wisely like Charlie.

© 2010 Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin. The Career Success Coach.  All Rights Reserved.

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About the Author:

Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin is a career coach in private practice, who works with executives, managers, and professionals who are ready to make a change in their employment situation, but don’t know what that change looks like or what their next steps should be. She uses a proven, 8-module career coaching program to help her clients identify and land ideal career positions much faster than they ever could on their own. Joellyn will be happy to discuss your situation on a free call. Contact her at 508-459-2854, joellyn@career-success-coach.com or visit http://www.career-success-coach.com to learn more.

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You’re finally ready to make that long-awaited job or career change. When beginning your search, you might say to yourself: “I want to see what’s out there;” or “I’m willing to look at anything which will pay a decent salary.”

 Leaving yourself “open” to many kinds of jobs might get you employed quickly. But in the wise words of baseball player Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” This might be a job you accept impulsively, only to find out it wasn’t what you thought it would be, causing you to quit within a few weeks or get fired for poor performance.

If you want long-term career satisfaction-not just another job-you’ll have to do some serious research and decision making. Don’t rely on a potential employer or a recruiter to do this work for you; if you do, your career goals become theirs – NOT yours!

To help define what your ideal career might look like, use this 10-point checklist:

1.  Company size: Do you want to work in a large company with opportunities for growth up the corporate ladder? Or in a small company with consistent yet satisfying responsibilities? Or would you consider self-employment?  

 2.   Deal-breakers: What tasks have you done in past jobs which you want to avoid? What type of company or workplace culture would you never work in again?

 3.  Environment: What type of workplace culture is right for you? Do you prefer an environment that is controlled and predictable – or unstructured and variable? Do you prefer to work independently or under close supervision?

 4.  Fulfillment: What work will call on your strongest, most enjoyable skill sets, so you’re challenged and happy at work? In which industries can you do your best work?

 5.   Location: What city or rural location do you prefer? What might be your commuting time or travel requirements? Would you work from home?

 6.   Personality Type: How do you prefer to focus your attention (with people or by yourself), take in information (using hard facts or ideas), make decisions (based on logic or people and values) and orient your environment (organized and planned or spontaneous and open)?

 7.   Salary: What are your 5-to-10-year income goals? What benefits package will satisfy you?

 8.    Specialization: What areas of expertise can you master, so you’ll always be in demand?

 9.    Values: Which values – emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, spiritual, work/lifestyle — must be present for you to be your best in your work?

 10.  Work Preferences: Are you more energized by working with information, people, or things? A combination of all three? In which order?  

 According to Law of Attraction principles, you’ll draw into your life whatever you give your attention, energy, and focus to. Once you get clear on all 10 areas above, you’ll have a much better idea of how your networking contacts can help you in your search. Plus, you’ll be pleasantly surprised when career opportunities which meet these criteria start showing up for you!

 © 2010 Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin. The Career Success Coach.  All Rights Reserved.

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