What Hurricanes Teach Us About the Job Search

It’s not the furious winds or the raging sea that matters.  What matters is the set of the sail and mastery of the sailor at the helm. Whether one is fired from a job, diagnosed with cancer, or forced to evacuate a hurricane, it’s always our emotional state of mind – our attitude – that determines how successfully and dignified we address and resolve our issues. 

Most recently, Hurricanes Helene and Milton two-punched the west coast of Florida. Flood waters visited many homes and businesses, including three feet of salt water that occupied my son’s home in Tampa during Helene. A week after Helene, everything that was on the first floor was on the side of the road, from the refrigerator to every piece of furniture, flooring, and all things soaked. Two weeks later, like everyone else in the area, he was forced to evacuate as Hurricane Milton followed Helene as an even greater threat. What do I take? What will I return to? Where will I stay and for how long? How much will this disaster cost me? When will things return to normal? Etc., etc. 

Job Seekers experience their own hurricanes

I have always suggested that, as a profession, we don’t give enough attention to the range of fear-based and destructive emotions job seekers’ experience from being unemployed. We write résumés, teach interviewing, and coach good and valuable employment-related stuff. But if we don’t address the emotional issues at the beginning, the process of recovery and ultimate success becomes one of unnecessary struggle.  

Successfully recovering from a diagnosis, a hurricane, or a job loss requires a peak-performing state of mind that optimizes one’s energy to recover, heal, and move on. From a purely emotional and psychological perspective, it’s been stated that the pain of losing a loved one and the pain of losing a job are similar -exploring the concept of “grief.”  I think we can add the loss of one’s home and possessions to that list.  

Investment of energy

All of us, including job seekers, have a limited amount of energy to employ in the course of a day. The goal is to optimize positive energy to create a better future. Negative energy, spending our limited resources on the problem and not the solution, will delay or destroy hope for a successful  and timely recovery.  

Not unlike the emotions one experiences evacuating from, riding out, and recovering from a hurricane, job seekers are dealing with their own emotional storms. Every job seeker is going through their own internal hurricane – from simple discomfort (category 1 hurricane) to total and all-consuming fear and suffering (category 5 hurricane). In the end, how job seekers invest their energy and direct their mindset during life’s storms determines 1) the speed of success and 2) The class and dignity displayed while in the process of achieving success. 

The “Identity Factor”

To be clear, I speak and coach from experience. I lived 31 years on the east coast of Florida and rode out six category 2 and 3 hurricanes in 2004 and 2005. Forget all the category one hurricanes and tropical storms I hunkered down for, or prepared to live through. And in 1992, we evacuated our home when Hurricane Andrew (cat 5) came to town and destroyed everything in its path south of Miami.  

From a health standpoint, my new bride, Ellen, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Aggressive Breast Cancer in 2003 – just four months after we were married, and was given a 35% chance of living two years. Then she endured a year of almost inhumane treatment. So I know, from a real life and death scenario, that mindset plays the starring role in outcome. It helped save Ellen’s life, now 20+ years cured and a yoga teacher.

Oh, and I was fired by one of my closest friends in 1992 and found myself unexpectedly and uncomfortably unemployed. I became a full time job seeker at age 39. And this is what I ultimately discovered: When we are forced to deal with adversities like hurricanes and health issues, we still have our identities firmly in place. In fact, perhaps even more so. When hurricanes, diagnoses, and other life altering stuff happens, moms and dads rise to the occasion and become the family heroes and protectors. We still believe in ourselves and our abilities to recover, regardless of magnitude. We still have jobs to return to once the disruption ends.  We still have each other to lean on and find comfort in, and can cry together, rebuild, and celebrate together in the victory.

Not job seekers.  

When most hard-working people find themselves unemployed and on the job hunt, something far worse than being jobless takes place. They lose self-respect. And I’m not sure there is anything worse that could happen in life to an individual, never mind in times of crisis. 

When I was fired and officially unemployed, I suddenly became a failed father, a humiliation to my spouse, and pretty much a useless human being. Wherever we go, we get the question, “So, what do you do for a living?” Unlike any challenge or confrontational issue I had ever faced in my life, I had never questioned my identity or relevance. I suddenly felt like a satellite in the wrong orbit, spinning out of control. And that’s how the vast majority of job seekers feel. We help them with job search tools and strategies, but don’t do a good enough job helping them address the main obstacles – seeing themselves as a failure… as a dad, as a mom, as a human being – not just in the workplace.  

A written plan 

When we evacuated south Florida for Hurricane Andrew, it was awful. Beyond an inconvenience, we had no idea what we’d return to; if there would be anything to return to. But we had each other. And most importantly, we had hope. When we had to evacuate or, the dozens of times we had to prepare for an oncoming hurricane, we had a plan. When we lost power for over a week, we had a plan. And of course, when Ellen was diagnosed with breast cancer, the next day in the midst of fears and tears, we created a “Get Cured” plan. 

Job seekers have no plans

When I lost my job, I unknowingly had a plan. It was called: “Winging It.” Think about it… successful pilots, military leaders, sports coaches, interior designers – even you and me going shopping – have a well thought out written plan (shopping list) with goals and specifics needed to achieve those goals. Not job seekers. Ask a job seeker to show you their written rapid employment plan – with daily tasks, weekly goals, and the different strategies they chose to land a job quickly. You’ll be hard-pressed to find one. 

My son’s house in Tampa is totaled – three feet of water complements of Helene, and a tree crashing through the roof thanks to Milton. But he has a plan, he has a team around him, and he has hope. And everyone I know or have studied who has successfully dealt with a health issue, has had a plan, a solid team around them, and hope. 

Job seekers have no written plans, are going at it alone, and have little hope of rapid success. This is where empowerment coaching opportunities exist to help job seekers find hope in their futures… and believe in themselves to achieve their vision.  

Empowerment coaching 

1. Job seekers, like those who lost everything in the hurricanes or who are going through serious healthcare issues, must focus and invest 90% of their resources (time, money, energy)  on solutions, recovery, and successful outcomes – not the problem itself.  We attract what we focus on.  When we focus on success, we will inevitably achieve it.
2. Employ the Socratic Method and ask courageous and recovery/healing-driven questions… not ‘why me?’ / ‘self-pity’ questions.  It’s a law of human nature:  The quality of questions we ask, determines the quality of answers we get – and the speed and quality of recovery and success we achieve.  
3. Vision creates hope.  If we can see success in our mind’s eye, and believe it, we can achieve it.  In my opinion, there is nothing more important than a hope-filled vision.  When job seekers envision themselves in exciting new jobs, when cancer patients envision themselves cured, healthy, and playing with their grandchildren, and when those who lost their homes in the storms envision a better future with all the trimmings of yet-to-appear blessings in disguise… those blessings will appear.