Yesterday’s post was my shortest, and perhaps my funnest, post. I gave a few Job Search is to ___ as Career Management is to ___ examples, and there were about a dozen others who chipped in with their own. There were a few that just had me laughing, like Mike Murray’s:
Job search is to dating as career management is to marriage.
and Nancy Babyak’s:
Job Search is to takeout as Career Management is to a well stocked Pantry.
I loved all of them… however, I think my absolute favorite is Erika’s from Qvisory:
Job Search is to a Stephen King novel as Career Management is to that great literary classic you’re always meaning to get around to reading.
Isn’t a job search just freeze-you-in-your-steps scary! And oh my gosh, that literary classic that we never get around to… just like career management! Priceless, Erika!
But I do want to follow-up with one thought… and I’m honestly surprised that no one called me out on it. If you read through all of them, including mine, you get the idea that “job search” is bad, and “career management” is good. Or “job search” is dumb, or a waste of time, etc. and “career management” is what we should all be doing.
It wasn’t my intention to insinuate that job search is… bad, dumb, useless, etc. It’s simply a component of career management, isn’t it?
So here’s my point, and I’ll use my first example to bring it out:
Job Search is to sprint as Career Management is to marathon.
Is a sprinter better than a marathoner?
They both have high-performance shoes.
The both eat diets optimized for their training and performance.
They both where the right running gear.
They both need to drink the right amount of water.
They both….
You get my point. They are both athletes, and they both perform to the job. They have trained specifically for their role. I doubt a marathoner and sprinter could trade training regimes for a few weeks and still perform like they should. They are specialists. Neither one is better, neither is worse.
In our CAREER MANAGEMENT, which is what WE have to be in charge of our entire career, we must understand the rules, techniques, tricks, tactics, etc. of the JOB SEARCH.
Understanding what it is, how to succeed in it, and what we need to do, and, training for it, will help us so that it is not scary, or bad. The job search simply a thing that we can master.
Thanks a ton for the laughs, this was really fun!
Job search is to RedBull as Career Management is to Oatmeal, Exercise and Sleep.
which means I’m old enough to need oatmeal to help counter the effects of poor management of the others!
Jonathan, that is awesome!!
…and the fun part is that the rules of the game, the landscape and the prize are always changing. It certainly makes career management a lifelong experience.
Jason, I really liked how you were able to heighten the importance of managing one’s career. When you are actually looking for a job, career management takes a back seat. Can I illustrate?
Job Search is to food as Career Management is to dining out.
Job Search is to quench my thirst as Career Management is to a bottle of Perrier.
Job search is to money to pay bills as Career Management is to 401K.
Job search is to fighting the enemy from your fox hole as Career Management is to reviewing a mnaual on military protocol.
It was a great contrast/compare question. 🙂 Thanks for tabling it!
Sincerely,
John P. Coffey, President
JobTabs, LLC