Careers: Creating A Coat-of-Arms

"CAREERS ARE LIKE TV - If You Don't Like What You See, Change the Channel"

Thus ran the cute little ad in the weekend career section of my local newspaper.

It seems a sacred tenant these days that new graduates will face the prospects of three or four careers and up to a dozen different jobs. The question that's left to be answered is whether these changes will be "reactive" - forced upon them by loss of job, dead-end stagnation or shifting personal attitude - or "pro-active"; e.g., positive changes created by market opportunities, upgraded personal skills portfolio and yes, heart-tugs. In other words, will the career professional be a "victim" or a foreward-thinking opportunist?

I've often considered (and spoken whimsically to educators about) the value of a Coat-of-Arms as a vocational guiding icon. Hold on a sec - we're not (necessarily) talking about shields, arrows and axes here; rather, I'm referring to self-creations of the student that display their core values and aspirations. Symbols and other metaphoric representations, like a company's mission statement and values statement, have power: they are overarching talismans that when adhered to (or simply remembered!) provide a guiding light that can help ensure the transitioning professional is always in touch with his or her "critical success factors" - be they money, creativity, adventure, public service, life balance, subject matter expertise, etc. The iconic symbols and phrases of a coat-of-arms can also provide, in times of turbulence, an anchor of inner peace: we don't lose track of who we are and what we stand for (or desire).

Sounds crazy, I know - just imagine yourself, as a career/guidance counselor, sitting down with your young charges and telling them to go get some canvas, wood, metal or fabric; and proceed to adorn it with figures, colors, scenes and quotes using whatever melange of ink, oil, or other application that calls to them... Ridiculous, indeed - but any more so than all those corporate mission statements which start off with "We strive to"... or "We are committed to..." blah-blah-blah - mantras which, incidentally, are so rarely followed in this chaotic age of globalization and TMI ?