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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Five Categories of Transferable Skills

1. Communication: the skillful expression, transmission and interpretation of knowledge and ideas.

2. Research and Planning: the search for specific knowledge and the ability to conceptualize future needs and to devise solutions for meeting those needs.

3. Human Relations: the use of interpersonal skills for resolving conflict, helping and relating to people.

4. Organization, Management and Leadership: the ability to supervise, direct and guide individuals and groups in the completion of tasks and fulfillment of goals.

5. Work Survival: the day-to-day skills that assist in promoting effective production and work satisfaction.

Identifying Your Skills, Talents and Personal Qualifications

It can be challenging and sometimes uncomfortable to talk about the things we do well for fear of sounding too boastful. Yet, it is only through understanding our attributes that we can find the job that best suits our individual needs; and our our first priority is to meet our needs without alteration! The ultimate challenge is to find highly creative ways of doing this without being a burden to our loved ones and without doing so at another’s expense.

Regarding the job search, our approach should be, “You can talk the talk as long as you walk it!” That being said, it can still be difficult to pinpoint which skills best reflect who you are personally and professionally. Like many of your colleagues and loved ones, you have not been taught to “boast yourself up,” and to explain the myriad of skills that you possess or to clearly express your profound aptitudes.

Developing Your Skills Language

* Job-Related Skills. These are the skills you need to do a specific job; the ones you have developed in your current or past jobs. A plumber, for example, needs to know how to install pipes and repair fixtures, especially for water, drainage and heating systems. These are all skills that he or she would need to repair sinks. When people are asked what kind of skills they have, they most often respond with job-related skills such as these.

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Adaptive Skills or Self-Management Skills. These are also known as personality traits or personal characteristics, and are the skills you use on a daily basis. They assist the development and maintenance of your relationships and help you adapt to various situations. They are the skills that make you unique. For example, honesty and motivation are traits that employers look for in a valued employee, to assist them in determining if he or she is a good match for their organizational culture. Many job seekers do not emphasize these skills in resumés, but employers look for them.

* Transferable Skills. These skills can transfer from one job or occupation to another, which is important because of how rare it is to find an identical job to a previous one. Writing clearly and the ability to organize things are two examples of transferable skills that you can use in almost any work situation.