Unemployment can present a daunting, discouraging, and formidable challenge to a job seeker.
As a professional writer, I have had the privilege of preparing 12,000+ résumés for people from every walk of life. Over 25+ years, much of my work has involved helping people pursue better jobs, professional opportunities, and challenging career transitions. Economic conditions may change, unemployment may rise or fall, and opportunities may expand or contract, but when we are personally facing the loss of a job or an uncertain career future, the challenge can feel overwhelming. I have no profound insight into what the economy will do next, but I do have something to say about navigating difficult times.
That challenge calls to mind a time when I was learning to ski. My instructor had taken me up to a foreboding slope peppered with moguls and challenging terrain for any skier. She apparently felt I was equal to the task and, with a positive “Let’s go!” took off down the slope ahead of me. I, on the other hand, stood transfixed by the moguls below, and the more I focused on them, the bigger they became. Fear enveloped and immobilized me, and before I knew it, my instructor was at the bottom of the slope. Realizing that I was immobilized by fear, she rapidly ascended the chairlift and soon rejoined me at the top of the slope. When she arrived, she reassuringly said, “We’re going to get down this hill together this time. But to do it, I want you to promise me that you aren’t going to look ahead. I just want you to follow me, and we are going to master this slope one turn at a time.” Relieved that she had returned to rescue me, and realizing there was no other way out, I followed her instructions. I didn’t look ahead at the formidable moguls. I kept my eyes fixed on her, followed the tracks she made ahead of me, and one turn at a time, we got down that slope. When I reached the bottom and looked back at the steepness of the hill, I couldn’t believe that I had just accomplished what I had thought was impossible.
I believe that story offers a metaphor for navigating difficult times. We cannot always control the size of the moguls in front of us, but we can choose where to focus our attention, whom to follow, and how to move forward—one turn, one challenge, and one opportunity at a time.
