We're Got an Early Onset Career Crisis: How to Cope
By GalTime .com. Posted on .
By Danielle Miller, GalTime.com
It looks like the job market is bleak for new college grads and young professionals. A new report says one out of two young college grads is either unemployed or underemployed in jobs that don't fully use their skills.
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Many professionals who do have jobs are struggling to keep those positons. The uncertain job climate has led many recent college graduates and young professionals to question their career choices and objectives, bringing about a career crisis very early in their professional lives.
How is this new generation of young professionals supposed to combat the pitfalls of entering into such a competitive and aggressive job market soon, if not immediately, after graduation? After spending a significant amount of time and money on continuing education, what is the best defense against joblessness and the hopelessness that often accompanies it?
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According to Michelle D'Avolio and Nicholas Baldo of Massachusetts based North Suburban Life Coaching, "Many recent college graduates are experiencing frustration over working so hard in school only to graduate into a flat job market as well as confusion over which alternate job path(s) to take."
Women who have been in the workplace for a several years are experiencing career confusion as well.
"Women who are employed have also sought out coaching to deal with the accompanying stress brought on by increased workloads. As corporate buyouts and downsizings occur, employers are expecting their staff to pick up the workloads that laid off employees had in addition to their own workload. Those that remain employed fear for their jobs if they do not tow the new load," explain D'Avolio and Baldo.
They've also noticed several patterns over the past few years, involving self destructive feelings in women who are unemployed or unhappy in their jobs. These women habitually feel:
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- Trapped, ambivalent and pessimistic over whether to stay at a current job or seek other employment, given the limited job market
- Fear and anxiety around pushing back when unrealistic workloads and deadlines are imposed upon them, which is leading to burnout on a very large scale
- Weak and in a "child" role if they need to move back home
- Bleakness about their future independence and financial responsibilities
In an economy where recent graduates can't count on jobs and young professionals don't feel secure or fulfilled in the jobs they currently occupy, the only defense seems to be further education.
