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Consider the possibility that Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion may offer guidance to women in career transition.
1. The Law of Inertia, also known as Newton’s First Law, holds that if an object is at rest, it will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it. Any change in velocity, which includes speed or direction, is acceleration.
It is a career management truism that your career will stagnate, whether you are employed or in transition, unless you add value to it through activities such as:
- Continuing education
- Networking
- Assessment of accomplishments
- S-W-O-T analysis (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats)
- Assessment of your brand, strengths, emotional intelligence, and personality type
(e.g. 360Reach™, StrengthsFinder, EQ, MBTI)
For women returning to the workforce after an absence of several years, inertia can be a powerful force indeed.
2. The Law of Motion, also known as Newton's Second Law, is a formula that tells us how much force is needed to move (or accelerate) an object that has friction. In the real world, friction is a force that slows an object, so more force is required to keep the object moving.
Looking for a job or changing careers is fraught with potential rejection and is frequently stalled by low self-esteem and fear of failure - perhaps this is the friction of career management. I suggest that it is a Law of Career Management that effort and acceleration are needed to overcome friction or self-defeating behaviors and thinking:
Newton says: Force = Mass x Acceleration
Karen says: Effort = Fear of Failure x Acceleration (see # 1 above)
While I don’t like to generalize about gender-based characteristics, I have observed that women are far more likely to sell themselves short or remain on the runway, reluctant to invest in themselves or apply acceleration to the equation.
3. The Law of Reciprocal Actions, also known as Newton’s Third Law, is the well-understood concept that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
As a philosophy major, this principle sounds like the outcome of effective and reciprocal networking.
Networking is not to be confused with using people:
- Successful networkers nurture their network over time, so that when they “need” help, it is as natural as a law of motion to seek out connections.
- Effective networking is reciprocal, with an emphasis on “giving.” “Receiving” is then a natural consequence or reaction.
Warm networking is the good old-fashioned method that women are usually quite adept at: meeting, greeting, talking on the phone; sharing news and remembering important information, like company names, project details, etc. The Web 2.0 world has made it easier to be successful in handling a full-rack of connections.
With social networking tools, it is easier for active career managers to be attentive to the interests and needs of others, and to know that even if the reaction isn’t immediate, the initiation of contact will eventually lead to a tangible result. The social media tools do not take the place of good old-fashioned networking: Web 2.0 makes it easier to network effectively with more people.
Bottom Line
Newton’s Laws have explained motions observed on Earth and in space. It also offers a useful framework for understanding some career management issues affecting women: beating the Law of Intertia by taking small steps in getting started; using the Law of Motion to pick up speed; and, finally, following the Law of Reciprocal Actions to expand our network, helping others which - in the end - helps ourselves.
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© Copyright, 2009, Karen Katz. Used with permission.
Job-Hunt's Women's Job Search Expert, Karen Katz, founder of the Career Acceleration Network (CAN), LLC, is a career coach and counselor with many years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience. Like many women, her career has followed a dynamic path, including early corporate success, followed by time off for family and re-training, and finally, discovering a niche that offers work-life balance. Karen also manages her own blog and website as a textbook of sorts for her clients.
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