What is Christian Job Search?
First of all, is there any such thing as Christian job search? And, if not, should there be?
As we stated previously , when it comes to job change, Christians do it the same way as everyone else. They write a resume, check the help wanted ads, send out resumes along with cover letters (usually the same resume to everyone along with a “customized” cover letter. They network and they settle on any job they can get with almost any firm, as long as the pay is sufficient. Sometimes they settle for way less than they could earn and work for firms whose values are greatly different from their own. (This is known as underemployment .) This traditional job search method focuses on their knowledge gained through education, their skills developed on the job or through special training, and their experience gained in former work situations (even if the field in which they were formerly employed was unsuited to their talents and strengths). And, of course, they post their resumes on various job board, like Monster or CareerBuilder and others.
For many this traditional method works. They get a job, often doing work to which they are accustomed, even if it is not the best work situation and is incompatible with their God given talents. And, for virtually everyone, this is the ONLY way to change jobs.
There is another way and it works well, not just for Christians, but for any person of faith (and increasingly for anyone who understands the psychological principles that support the new way).
What is the new method for job change? And how does it work?
Just as the old method focuses on the stated needs of the marketplace (is externally focused), the new method (see 24 Hour Job Change ) is based upon the unique talents and strengths of the individual, their unique, intrinsic, God-given strengths.
Let me give you one example:
Dave, since leaving the military, had capitalized on his knowledge and training as an accountant to move up through the ranks to become chief financial officer for a mid-size manufacturing firm. He hated the work and went to three consecutive career counselors trying to switch fields. They gave him the standard battery of tests, checked (and revised) his resume, and told him he was best suited to be an accountant.
Dave was desperate, his publicly traded firm was under pressure to perform and his boss, the CEO, had been telling his division managers to beef up the sales figures (borrowing anticipated business from the next month) and to control expenses (withhold invoices from current expenses). The over-reporting of sales and under-reporting of expenses to Dave, the CFO was making the bottom line look great, artificially. But Dave was suspicious. When he found out about it he confronted the CEC and, after the assurances that it was just a temporary “error” and it would be straightened out in the next period, Dave began to consider his limited options. He had already signed off on a few months misstated earnings and if there was an audit he would be the one to take the bullet for his boss.
When Dave and I met (after one of my job change seminars ) he knew he had to act fast. In total Dave and I worked together on his situation for six one-hour sessions. We discovered talents and strengths that Dave had suppressed (since they did not fit his job description) and I showed him ways to market those strengths. Six weeks later, Dave was in his new field as a cartoonist, doing accounting/bookkeeping services on the side for a dozen or so small businesses. And he was the happiest he had been in years.
Christian career change is possible for anyone who takes the time to understand their God-given strengths. It takes about 24 hours (24 Hour Job Change) to understand and begin implementing the process. It is based on biblical principles and supported by research findings from the worlds of business and psychology. It uses proven test instruments that are different from most IQ and interests based tests.
The difference is remarkable and the results can be astounding. It worked for Dave and it works for many others. It is not yet the standard method for job change. But it does return a degree of career control to the individuals, as they begin moving in the direction of expressing God’s will for their lives in their work.
Should there be a method of Christian job search that applies universally to all people, based on their intrinsic, God-given strengths. We think there should be. Wouldn't you agree?
