“The Job Search Starts Within”
An interview with Alaina Love of Purpose Linked Consulting and author of upcoming book ‘The Purpose Linked Organization: How Passionate Leaders Inspire Winning Teams and Get Great Results', McGraw-Hill, May 2009.
Alaina Love started her career as a scientist, moving her way into corporate Human Resources for a Fortune 500 company. She had the big salary, the corner office and the C-level succession plan. But as she explained to me in our interview, she had hit the stage in her life where she was evaluating her purpose and her passion and realized mid-career that she needed to leave and now. She realized something that we all know but rarely consider.
Speaking with Love is like speaking to someone who knows a secret – a big elephant-in-the-room secret. This elephant is often the reason why employees are dissatisfied with their careers, why employers complain of low productivity and why Love herself left her high-paying position. When you combine the sad fact that employees are typically unaware of whom they are, what their purpose is and where their passions lie with the fact that most managers don’t usually look beyond whether a candidate is qualified to do the job is the issue here. Love helps corporations recognize and appreciate their employees’ passions, skills and values, and how by doing this productivity increases, turnover is reduced, morale increases and ultimately the corporate culture is ultimately affected. Love herself is also passionate about helping the individual – she believes that if we can understand more about whom we are and what fulfills us, not only will we be happier, healthier and more productive employees, but our personal and family relationships and even how we see the world can be changed for the better.
Love asks me if I remember the opening credits of Forrest Gump – there is a feather that floats and ferries all about, not having a clear place to land. She says this represents how we are with our careers - - that we literally, like the feather, go where the wind blows us. Perhaps people have always told you that you have good phone skills so you get into call center work or perhaps you just continued your summer job stint in sales. But she knows you are likely not happy – unless you are one of the lucky ones who knew right from the start where you wanted to land.
Our conversation moved to the economy and how so many have lost their jobs or have fear about the future of their companies. Love said that these people are acting out of a feeling of scarcity, and that people need to stop and take a deep breath and realize that opportunity is all around us although it may be different from what we might expect.
Love’s advice for job-seekers:
- Don’t panic. If you function from what Love describes as “a mindset of scarcity,” it will make your search much more difficult. Look at the wealth of possibilities around you and look outside your specific background and training.
- During these tough economic times, dig deeper - explore who you are, what you are here to do and give yourself permission to do so. It is not being self-indulgent since ultimately you will have much more to offer your employer and your family when you are fulfilled. Love suggests asking yourself “What do you want your legacy to be?” and “What do I really want to accomplish?”
- Look at the skills you have and don’t undersell yourself. Your skills come from everything you have done, not just from the obvious. I suggest making a list of all the things you have accomplished – if you have a hard time doing this, ask a friend or a coworker for help.
- Examine your passions and what is important to you. If you know what fulfills you and what your passions are, you will be going in the right direction.
- By knowing your passion archetype (Love’s archetypes include the Healer, the Processor, the Altruist and 7 more) – you can effectively determine who you are and what your purpose and passion points you toward. Love encourages readers to purchase her book and try the Passion ProfilerTM and if you are one of the first 20,000 buyers, you will get a code to get a free Passion Profile report which is available from her website. I suggest you act quickly as I noticed that the book is already available for pre-order through Amazon.
Love on what we can learn from the youth of today:
Love says that the younger workers of today have the answer. The Boomers, having been rewarded for their hard work and loyalty, have been realizing that by not following their passion and perhaps choosing a career that was not more in line with their values, they are regretting their choices and trying to make a change late in life.
Often annoyed by the younger generation’s completely different way of doing things, managers and executives are starting to embrace this new way of thinking and are changing their internal culture and beliefs. The old ways are dying and innovation, employee fulfillment and ultimately, happiness is valued. The new generation has been given a gift by their parents – to see life as an adventure and not a life to be endured – they have been taught “do as I say not as I do” and are seeking not only a career with monetary rewards but also personal fulfillment.
Upon completion of our talk, Love says that she is hopeful that things are changing and that through her workshops this weekend and her book, that she can reach people who are ready for her message: the job search starts from within.
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