Casting Off:
Whether Smooth Sailing or Rough Waters
Navigating Your Job Search Is an Adventure
by Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of Career Trend
An avid sailor, I really am but a sailing neophyte who began sailing only last year. Analogous to many of my career transition clients, middle age and change have collided, discharging emotional sparks – the highs and lows one experiences under wholly new circumstances to create an unpredictable environment.
Last year, my (then soon-to-be) hubby and I watched Fools Gold – a movie whose backdrop emotes tropical sanctuary and, well, a sense of calm and freedom. We were hooked.
It was mid-February amidst a harsh Midwest winter – bitterly cold, brown, uninspiring. A new idea was anchored, and within a couple of weeks, we were shopping used sailboats. Within one month, we owned our first ‘girl,’ a 28-footer; and within five months, we had sold her and upgraded to a 34-foot rig named Sea’s the Day. Amidst all this we planned a wedding, relocated my home and office and managed a record-breaking year of business.
As with many career transitioners feeling stuck in the drudge of a stalled career, or those who are struck in the fall-out of a layoff, I felt like I was charting a whole new course in my life, reaching for the ropes, aligning myself with the experts (my new dock-mates and lifelong captains of their vessels), negotiating with my hubby how to best perform as his sailing first mate — studying, learning and listening.
Exhausting, it was do-able; at times, both invigorating and frustrating. An excellent prelude to marriage, learning to sail ensured we had a leg up on conflict management (LOTS of quarrels when learning the sailing ropes brought on by the differences in how men/women process and respond to physical and mental rigors); plus, we both had prior marriages that had run aground and wanted to navigate a better course for our future couple-dom.
The “Just Do It” Nike slogan is a fit for me, so jumping feet first into these sailing waters meshed with how I spearhead change. I often encourage job-searchers to gain career change traction this way—just step right into the uncharted waters and begin sailing—
reaching for the ropes extended by experts and other resources afforded them in this new age of online information accessibility.
Like my clients being faced with the new vocabulary of job search: branded resumes, e-resumes. LinkedIn profiles, cover letters, job-board postings, recruiter relationship building, behavioral interviewing, reference checking, networking, etc., I struggled with this foreign sailing language: starboard, port, deck, forward, stern, bow, mast and more. Over time, little by little, the language became more familiar, and my ease with sailing grew. New ports were reached, problems were resolved and goals achieved were celebrated.
One of the hardest parts, though, was physically hoisting the sails while hubby-to-be piloted us into the wind (or vice versa) without slaying each other (his favorite line: “Are you trying to kill me?”) or otherwise causing major mayhem and destruction. A nearly broken leg (his, not mine), a dramatically ripped sail (devastating – those canvasses are expensive to replace!), visible scratches on the boat hull’s paint … and more, describe highlights of our season-long adventures. Again, change is not easy, and similarly to my own experience with radical change, I often encounter weary and bruised (but not broken) job transitioners seeking a life-line to rescue them from possible career-search drowning. Their tenacity and determination to succeed coupled with their willingness to learn and grow and listen, allows them to regain their sea legs and continue their journey.
At times, I have stood anxiously—sometimes fearfully—on the bow of the boat, performing a mental check-list to prepare to cast off for a day of sailing adventure, droplets of sweat forming on my brow. I then relate to what I sense my career search clients go through every day—this stepping out into uncharted waters uncertain of the outcome, hopeful for a safe course and destination.
By Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, Master Resume Writer
Owner – Career Trend
www.careertrend.net
“Your Value Into Words”
Ed. Note: Maybe it’s because winter in Minnesota never seems to end, but when Jacqui sent this picture, I had to put it into her article. And yes, I know that it encroaches into the sidebar information, but I like the effect. That’s Jacqui and Rob, someone else must be driving.
10 users commented in " Guest Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter W/Sailing Advice for JobSeekers "
Good stuff, Jacqui! The winds she’s talking about braving are the Kansas winds, by the way, and there’s a reason they are the stuff of stories.
It is the perfect metaphor for these times. Any sailor knows it’s better to be challenged, to be tossed around by the wind, than to sit still and die of boredom. That’s the whole purpose of sailing, navigating wind and waves. This economy, and employment in general, seem just like that. We’ll be fine, but we have to step up to the challenge.
I can really see you helping clients with your attitude.
I found this article very informative and entertaining. What a delight it was to read!
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You draw lovely parallels between sailing, marriage and career change that make it easy for people to understand the “weathering” (seasoning) that takes place.