Your Career Bias Is Kind of Like Nose Blindness

Ever seen the TV “nose blindness” ad from a well-known air fresher? It’s the one about the guy who has officially gone nose blind and can no longer detect the offensive odors lingering in his bathroom. To him, it smells fine. But what his guests smell is something more akin to a construction site porta-potty.

Career bias reminds me of that ad. Let me explain.

To understand job bias, let’s first define bias. At the most basic level it just means favoring one side or issue over another or having a preference for one thing over another. When applied to a career, or job, it means favoring one job or career path over another.

After spending over 40 years as a recruiter I believe just about everyone is guilty of career bias. And it dramatically impacts their long-term career success.

Three Critical Biases Impacting Your Job Choices & Future

Short-term vs. long-term thinking. By that I mean looking at a new job opportunity through the lens of what you get on day one vs. twelve months and beyond. What are the job challenges, what will you be able to learn, and whether this opportunity would fast track your career growth? This is a blind-spot bias.

Openness to unplanned job opportunities. When a recruiter or hiring manager from another employer contacts you about a new job opportunity, your quick reaction is, “I’m not looking for a new job” without even being open to explore this opportunity. They don’t presume that you are. They have identified you as a worthy person to at least have a career discussion. That’s also a blind-spot bias when this opportunity might be your dream job. It could be better both short-term and long-term, in a variety of ways!

The type employment. Society pushes us to get college degrees and seek “good jobs” as a way to earn approval from others. Were you ever advised to consider self-employment rather than a job? I doubt it. People believe that working for a company means they’re in charge yet are held hostage by the pay that's offered along with benefits. Remember in most US states you’re subject to “employment at will” laws. That means your employer can terminate you at any time for any reason, except an illegal one, or for no reason without incurring legal liability. Not an ideal position to be in as many have found out in this age of pandemic.

How to Take Charge of Your Career, Pay and Happiness

The single biggest predictor of happiness with your career is being internally motivated to do your work. When the work you are doing matters to you, you’ll put in the effort to do a good job. Stop caring so much about what other people think. Doing work that is internally satisfying to you brings true career satisfaction. Here are three ideas for you to ponder.

Take ownership of your career. When you work for an employer, know that you’re in essence ‘renting’ out your talent and abilities for a fee and benefits. You can be laid-off or  put into a job you don’t like at any time (employment at will). Take control of your personal and professional life by making your own decisions and future.

Build wealth for yourself. It’s extremely difficult to build wealth in most jobs. Especially when you’re ‘employed at will’ and can be fired or laid-off at any time.  Contrary to a lot of popular thinking, there is a well-known path to having more long-term control in your life and build a valuable financial asset. If you are sick and tired of making money for others, owning a small business allows you to keep more of the margin.

For those with an entrepreneurial spirit. I’m referring to owning your own thriving small business. Did you know that small business accounts for over 99% of all business in the US? There is a pathway forward that is available to just about anyone as explained next.

A Potential Pathway to a Better Lifestyle

It’s up to you of course to determine which path you take to achieve true job satisfaction, your ideal lifestyle and financial freedom. However, I’d like to introduce you to one pathway I believe will check many of the boxes for a lot of people. This is where bias comes in again. Are you open-minded to really explore an opportunity if it had the possibility of being your dream career?

If so, I’d like to introduce the idea of small business ownership achieved through becoming a franchisee. Funding is available, and many small businesses are thriving even in this time of pandemic. Importantly – don’t think about a franchise as a ‘burger and fries’ or food business. There are 4,000+ franchises, many of which are very reasonable to own, unlike many major franchises.

Here's a blog post about the reasons many people are leaving Corporate America and how they're accomplishing that.

Here is an important lesson in our FREE Job Seeker eCouse on owning your own business.

Here's another lesson in our FREE Job Seeker eCourse on the Myths of Franchising.

A great and free way to see if this is for you is to explore the idea with a highly regarded Franchise Consultant. They do not charge a fee to consult with you, nor are the good ones a pushy salesperson. Bradford Consulting is not a franchise consultant, but as a recruiter and career advisor, we would be remiss if we didn’t challenge you to at least be open to explore this highly desirable career path. What we can do, is put you in touch with what we believe is one of the best Franchise Consultants in the industry.

Set up a call with Carl Bradford, and we’ll mutually determine if it makes sense to take this step in your career. I will not pressure you in any way. I only wants what’s best for you and if I can help you get enough information to make an informed decision through a highly regarded Franchise Consultant, I will introduce to that person. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Can you put aside any bias you may have to ensure this isn’t a blind spot for you? If you can, let’s talk.