And what does it mean to me?
Millions of young people around the globe have been experiencing something big. One of the consequences is that they have started to change their view on careers dramatically.
This period of uncertainty, health threats and social disconnect has been -and still is- harsh on all of us.
Research by the American Psychological Association confirms that Americans are significantly impacted by COVID, as one of the factors negatively impacting their mental health, particularly the youngest generation.
People have been missing school badly. The rhythm to go there. The many contacts with others. The hanging around and just chat. The fun and frustrations, the emotions as such.
We’ve started to think about stuff.
Pretty much all learning was switched to online, therefor students were experiencing that they had more time for other things. So, in many respects they have been forced to develop new interests, new activities.
The COVID crisis has a huge impact on how people think about their careers. We think this is a good thing.
We were literally put on a distance from the lives we are used to, and this has put many of us into reflection mode. And, let’s face it, this could be a good thing.
What did or do I really miss? And what do I actually enjoy most? What matters to me? How has COVID influenced my view of the world? These are questions we should ask ourselves to better understand the experience we’re having.
Our view on companies, employers shifts too
Questioning the situation we are in now will also lead us to ask companies more than ever about their ‘why’ (and less their ‘how’). Check this excellent McKinsey article on the topic.
We are changing our view on careers dramatically.
We don’t control the world after all.
We had gotten to believe that our world is manageable, controllable. Controlling our fridge with our smart phone, managing payments with the blink of an eye, getting ready for self driving cars and home delivery by drones, and the knowledge of the world at our finger tips.
Comes a virus that simply paralyses our freedom to move, and dents our economies, and forces us to be home, away from friends and family.
Meaning and purpose come into play.
Social responsibility of companies and climate change had already started to be on top of the list of criteria to pick a job or career.
‘Purpose’ or ‘meaning’ has likely become a more dominant criterion for people to choose their careers.
Research has shown that people who chose a career based on their values are most happy. This Harvard study examined how purpose is a much better indicator for happiness in careers than passion. And check Steve Blank’s blog ‘In a Crisis – An Opportunity For A More Meaningful Life‘. Our view on careers is changing dramatically. And it’s a good thing.
A tool to help you out.
We created Findmino with this in mind. We like to help you ‘find meaning’ when setting career direction. So, how do you make sure you take a path that matches with matters most to you?
That could be going to college. And it also could be going straight to work and learn on the job. And many alternatives paths are emerging, like bootcamp coding schools that even give job guarantees. There is no golden answer.
The journey to find your career path, and explore careers inside out is a rocky one. It takes time. Searching on the web could be overwhelming and time consuming. Systems offered at school are often running behind recent developments in emerging careers or innovative education paths. Your parents most likely want to help, but their knowledge of options is often colored by their own experience. They didn’t have a place to go to get support on being great career coaches.
So we developed a destination on the web for anybody searching for support on career search.
We had a team of people pulling together what we believe is the best online career info on the web. It took them 1.5 years. And they now keep things up to date. With an emphasis on ‘careers of the future‘ they collected useful ‘day in the life’ youtubes, interviews, blogs, podcasts, job- and major overviews and school finders.
And we created a simple assessment that’s based on a scientifically tested career test. It helps to find out what your talents or interests are.
We added a feature for communities and alumni orgs to connect their younger members with more experienced job holders or professionals. So the more experienced can share their career experience; whereas the younger people can share the latest ways of learning and communicating (i.e. the latest tech).
We respect tattoo artists as much as neurosurgeons. What matters is that you take a career path that best serves your personal purpose.
Want to know more?
Sign on to Findmino.com. Free access. No need to download. FindMino is a web app that offers an inspiring place to get sorted on career choice. We put together the best career info that’s available online. In a pleasant way FindMino helps you find your competencies, and to make up your mind on where you want to go.
Also check our blog ‘How to choose a future-proof career‘ about picking the right field of interest.
Comments are closed.