Category Archives: Storytelling and Career

Continuing some thoughts about this entry about John Kotter’s article on Forbes.com, I realize that definition through story is certainly not limited to companies. My interest is in how we define ourselves through story. Doing so, I’m convinced, can help us propel our careers forward. I am always looking for … Continue reading →

I have uploaded a draft of my dissertation. It’s the one that also went to my faculty adviser last week. I’ve had very little feedback on it, so I can’t vouch for the quality, and it may end up changing a lot depending on what my committee says. The download … Continue reading →

A source of consternation during my dissertation research was the lukewarm reception that focus-group participants gave story-based job-search media, such as resumes (especially resumes), cover letters, and interview responses. Perhaps, as Seth Kahan posits below, my focus-group participants were reacting in a “conventional” way — as opposed to a storied … Continue reading →

Michael Margolis contributed this quote from “This American Life” host Ira Glass to the Working Stories discussion group: “The most powerful thing you can hear; and the only thing that ever persuades any of us in our own lives, is when you meet somebody whose story contradicts the thing you … Continue reading →

In somewhat of an intersection between story and the job search, Amy Kimme Hea writes in Kairos (Fall 2004) of “A Making: The Job Search & Our Work as Computer Compositionists.” Kimme Hea is a faculty member in Rhetoric, Composition, and Teaching of English program at the University of Arizona. Her reference to herself and her field as one of “computer compositionists” was not one I was familiar with. She found herself frequently asked about the job market and job search for other faculty aspirants in her field.
Kimme Hea writes:

Finding such productive and insightful ways to discuss that making, however, is profoundly difficult — linearity, imposition of the ends justifying the means, and other factors can all conspire to form the most purposeful, logical story about our work and our lives. [Donna] Haraway (1992) urges us to recall that “[l]ives are built; so we had best become good craftspeople with the other worldly actants in the story.”

The “making” refers to Haraway’s assertion that nature “is made through discourses and practices,” and Kimme Hea’s discovery that her job-market success was “about the making and unmaking of my life as an academic interested in composition, technology and critical theory.”

She has thus created a hypertext work that uses her own story as a backdrop to inform and guide others in the faculty job search.

Kimme Hea goes on to describe the sections to which the main page of this work links (I found the grad students section most informative, and while targeted at her own field, relevant to other teaching disciplines). Continue reading →

My dissertation research starts in earnest soon, so I’m seeking: – former job-seekers who recently successfully changed jobs or careers – individuals employed by organizations in the process of major change or that have recently undergone major change Interviews will take place in Central Florida locations, and local interviewees will … Continue reading →

In contrast to a previous entry, which discussed a column by “Ivan Tribble” in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Bloggers Need Not Apply,” Debbie Weil takes the complete opposite position in her article “Seven Tips for Blogging Your Way to a New Job,” in which she states: “If ever … Continue reading →

In my last entry, I cited a case in which blogging had been at least tangentially helpful to aiding a blogger in getting a new job.

Others have noted the benefits of blogging for career success, as in this piece by Tim Bray:

You have to get noticed to get promoted.

You have to get noticed to get hired.

It really impresses people when you say “Oh, I’ve written about that, just google for XXX and I’m on the top page” or “Oh, just google my name.”

No matter how great you are, your career depends on communicating. The way to get better at anything, including communication, is by practicing. Blogging is good practice.

Bloggers are better-informed than non-bloggers. Knowing more is a career advantage.

Knowing more also means you’re more likely to hear about interesting jobs coming open.

Networking is good for your career. Blogging is a good way to meet people.

If you’re an engineer, blogging puts you in intimate contact with a worse-is-better 80/20 success story. Understanding this mode of technology adoption can only help you.

If you’re in marketing, you’ll need to understand how its rules are changing as a result of the current whirlwind, which nobody does, but bloggers are at least somewhat less baffled.

It’s a lot harder to fire someone who has a public voice, because it will be noticed.

Now, along comes a screed by the pseudonymous Ivan Tribble in the Chronicle of Higher Education questioning the concept of blogging for those in academia who are in the search or plan to seek tenure-track teaching positions. Tribble’s words are a bit worrisome to me since I will soon be in the academic job market. Continue reading →

Christian Crumlish posted a blog entry in April 2005 about needing a job. While the initial post was aimed at some networking and broadcasting the need for the job, the total of three posts (here’s the one in the middle) became a mini-narrative of searching for the job, culminating with his blog entry on his attainment of the new job in June.

He seemed to realize along the way that it was wise to keep a little quiet about the search. I asked him to what extent he feels posting on his blog helped him obtain his new job.

His response:

It helped, I think, although it did not directly lead to the job I ended up taking. That came from a craigslist ad I responded to. I do think that my blog presence and my visibility (googlability) was a factor in gettting my new job, as my firm is looking to get its name out among the web savvy audience and they feel I can help with that. I’m very happy I put my job search into the public, because I think it strengthened my network. A lot of people gave me advice or passed along leads or sent my resume to their recruiters/HR people.

I kind of critiqued his initial post as I would a resume — since that’s what I do to make a living. Continue reading →

In an earlier entry, I described the presentation by storytelling author and expert Annette Simmons at a storytelling conference in Washington, DC, in April. I mentioned how Annette had pulled an Oprah-like act of generosity and given each audience member a copy of The Story Factor Composition Book (pictured) and the accompanying CD with a sample of the first two lessons that go with the composition book.

I finally had a chance to listen to the CD, and it was a delight to again listen to Annette’s Carolina twang. I’ve reviewed several audio products in my work for QuintCareers, and they are usually quite didactic and lecture-y. Annette’s is, conversely, completely conversational. The first two segments are about 20 minutes each, which seems like about the right length, and they are full of illustrative stories. I have to say that in all the research I’ve done about storytelling in the last year, proponents talk a lot about the value of story, but there seems to be a dearth of examples of actual stories. Not the case with Annette’s CD, which also offers some old-timey, twangy musical interludes that sound exactly like what you’d hear sitting around the campfire listening to stories. Continue reading →