Finding Virtue During The Job Search

Normative Ethics includes three different approaches: Virtue Ethics, Deontology & Consequentialsm. Virtue Ethics emphasizes moral character, Deontology emphasizes moral rules or duties, and Consequentialsm deals with the outcome of one’s actions. It is worth asking which approach creates the most value as a point-of-departure during the job search. Should we emphasize getting the most out of our actions (Consequentialsm), following the best moral rules (Deontology) or being benevolent (Virtue Ethics). As a Career Consultant and Personal Development Coach, it is my job to help my clients get the most out of their actions while challenging them to embody the highest level of honesty for themselves and others during that process. This is the first step to helping them find their dream careers because it propels them into stating what they want versus what someone else wants for them. Any other point-of-departure results in a gap between them and what they really want to do professionally. I help my clients eliminate this gap by making sure that each action they take is rooted in benevolence and is virtuous. In order to accomplish this, I help my clients make some very simple distinctions regarding their level of moral character by challenging them to be brutally honest regarding who they choose to be professionally and to take full ownership of what develops for them, good or bad, regarding those decisions.

Virtue ethics finds its roots in ancient Greek Philosophy, which attached three concepts to it that are worth reviewing: arete, phronesis, and eudaimonia.
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