|
The Changing Values Landscape of the U.S. and How It Impacts Midlife Job Searchers, Part Two
The values landscape of our nation is changing, and with it your personal values landscape is changing as well. What does this mean and what does it have to do with midlife?
Researcher Dr. Paul Ray says that the predominant values set held by Americans has been one he terms Modernist, with roots in the Renaissance. Modernists presently represent 88 million U.S. adults, or 47% of the population, but the numbers of Modernists are shrinking as those who hold these values are increasingly leaving this subculture and choosing instead the values of one of the other two subcultures ray has found, the Heartlanders (representing traditionalist values) and the Culture Creatives (representing newly emerging integral values, never before seen in human history). Heartlanders represent 29% of the population, or 56 million adults, while Culture Creatives represent 24% of the population, or 44 million adults.
Those with a Modernist perspective tend to value religious and lifestyle pluralism, career achievement stepping stones, consumerism, a "winning" lifestyle, capitalism; tolerate societal fragmentism; and welcome the technologization of life. Many Heartlander values are the polar opposites of Modernist values: simplified and unified lifestyle options; an emphasis on putting families, not careers, first; buying in accordance with budget and values; a family-oriented lifestyle; a deemphasis on individualization and capitalism; a great desire to heal the fragmentations of American society; and a dramatically lessened interest in and dependence on technology. Now, what about the Culture Creatives? Who are they and what do they believe? Ray names this subculture this way because this is the group that is coming up with the new ideas that are transforming society as we know it. Culture Creative values tend to be person-focused and environment friendly and include: psychology; spiritual life; self-actualization; self-expression; mastering new ideas; social concerns; and women's issues.
Dr. Ray sees American society as approaching what he terms a "Great Divide" in which the mainstream Modernist subculture is shrinking as members move instead into Heartlander or Culture Creative camps. Midlife acts as your own personal "Great Divide" and challenges you to choose your own values. Are you a Modernist? Will you remain one? Or are you really more of a Heartlander and just beginning to recognize yourself? Or are you a Culture Creative who never before could name what you knew you were becoming? What about your present family and friends? Or your family of origin? Or the people in your faith community? Are you surrounded by likeminded others or those with contrasting values?
Review the informal lists above and see which subculture feels most like you. Consider reflecting on the questions raised in the last paragraph to help you explore your own personal values landscape. If you are surrounded by supporters, then no matter which category you live in, the changes ahead will be easier for you. If, on the other hand, you are surrounded by those of other subcultures, then not only the societal changes ahead but your own midlife changes will be more chaotic as well.
Most critical of all, though, make sure you incorporate your Modernist, Heartlander, or Culture Creative values into your resume summary, cover/follow-up/thank you letters, and interview responses. By doing so, you dramatically increase the odds that you'll end up working next to likeminded others, which, in turn, should assure you some measure of career satisfaction over the long-term.
Cheryl Lynch Simpson is a Spiritual Director and Solutions Coach who helps women discover and create the life they've always wanted to live. Cheryl is the author of over 30 print/Internet articles and the founder of Coaching Solutions For Women, a coaching website that produces and showcases career, business, and life solutions that improve the life balance of today's busy women. For a complimentary copy of her latest e-book, Ten-Minute Stress Zappers for Women Service Business Owners, visit http://www.coachingsolutionsforwomen.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Jobs City of Rochester (.gov)
Careers Washington State University
Careers Freedom of the Press Foundation
Careers Gwinnett County Public Schools
JobFeed NSW Department of Education
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Pre-Interview Web Research
You have obtained an interview -- congratulations! You feel prepared to discuss your strengths, your accomplishments, your willingness to work hard and learn quickly, and your ability to fit seamlessly into the employer's needs. But.
Unlimit Your Life!
Do you have a tendency to think in absolutes?Is everything good or bad, black or white?This type of thinking can severely limit your options. Or worse, prevent you from getting an accurate picture of what'spossible.
How Much Can You Earn Working As A Proofreader?
Thinking of a career as a proofreader? Then you will most likely want to know about salaries. Are you hoping to hear that you will make thousands and thousands of dollars a month in this field? It is very possible that you will barely make a few hundred when you are first starting out.
The Squirrel Effect
An industrious black-tailed ground squirrel has his home beneath a stump not far from my office window. I've been watching him squirrel away provisions for winter.
A Cover Letter Tip Guaranteed To Land You More Job Interviews!
Looking for a new job?I'm about to reveal one of the most powerful cover letter tips you'll ever discover. This little-known secret can dramatically increase your job interview requests all by itself.
Job Hunting Tips: Containing Anxiety
It hangs from the ceiling above your bed while you toss through the night hours. It waits inside the door of every employment office you enter.
Is Your Job Search Guided by the Controller or the Controllee?
I'll define what I mean by these terms."The Controller" is a job seeker that is ruled by doing everything right.
Factual Employment Screening Part 1
We have all heard in recent years that the need for a substantive policy of conducting pre-and post-employment background checks exists in more than just defense contractor and fiduciary-based enterprises. Today, with the overwhelming preponderance of employer liability litigation, and with negligent hiring being the focal point of round-table discussions of some of the plaintiff's firms, the need for thorough background checks has been substantiated.
Job Offer Negotiations: Getting What You Want
You have worked hard at finding your next job. You have come through many obstacles and have reached your career objective.
Interview Tips, How to Get the Job You Want
Enter into a state of relaxed concentration. This is the state from which great basketball players or Olympic skaters operate.
Make em READ Your Cover Letter Using This Killer Secret!
Got your attention? Great. That was my intention.
Moving From A Weekend Hobby To Career In The Arts
Building a career as an artist takes hard work. Because the field attracts so many talented people, jobs in this field remain competitive.
Preparing For Your Job Interview: What You Need To Know To Be Successful
In the limited time an interviewer has with you, their mission is to know you and assess your worth, especially in relationship to the other candidates interviewed. Asking you questions is the way they accomplish that mission.
Believe And Get Hired
Good things seem to come in bunches, especially in a job search. Ever wonder why?Example: ever know someone (perhaps you?) who, after many weeks in a fruitless job hunt, suddenly hit a "hot streak" and landed two or three interviews in a matter of days?What happened? What changed? Did the job market suddenly improve? Perhaps.
Who Do I Have To Kill To Get A Job?
I have had more than my amount of trouble in getting a job. I did everything I was supposed to do.
Personal Grooming: 8 Top Reasons Why You Can't Take It For Granted In Your Career
Most people when they landed "the dream job" after an interview or even got "the deal" of the lifetime in their businesses, sadly to say tend to slack on their grooming habits and it even goes to the point that they are wearing their pajamas going to the office. It seems that's very extreme but it happens.
Protect Your Business by Performing a Background Check
The success of a business endeavor involves a concerted efforts of financing, strategic planning, product design or service positioning, marketing, sales, and customer support. One of most important aspects of doing business is the people you deal with everyday - your employees, your partners and your competitors.
Handing in Your Resignation and Serving Notice
Have you made the right choice? Before deciding to resign from your current position and move to a new employer, you should weigh up as objectively as possible all the relevant factors: remuneration, working environment, location, travel demands, training and development opportunities, promotional prospects, and your future bosses.Consider also what impact a job with the new company would have on your resume.
Using Recruiters: How To Get A Step Ahead Of The Crowd
When there is an opening to fill, a company has four basic approaches at their disposal:? Advertise the position on Internet job sites? Network? Probe the Internet for viable candidates? Use recruitersWhen a company advertises an opening on an Internet job site, they receive hundreds of resumes. It simply is too long of a process and financially prohibitive to review every resume and move through each step of the interviewing and selection process to fill the opening.
Dazzle Interviewers With Your Achievements
Attention Job Seekers: Tasks and Responsibilities are BoooringHo hum. The interviewer sits there drumming her fingers on the desk trying to look interested while you drone on about your duties and responsibilities at your last position.
|