Occupation:______________________ ?

On February 18, 2022, my dad passed away unexpectedly. It was a surreal experience and frankly my mind hasn't fully accepted that he is no longer with us. As an only child, I pushed my feelings to the side and stepped into "fixer" mode, guiding my mom through all of the various tasks and decisions associated with the loss of a loved one.

Just prior to the start of the calling hours, the undertaker asked me to come into his office to review some paperwork. One of the documents was the death certificate, which had been partially completed but needed some additional information. I went along filling in the form until I reached this line...

Occupation:_______________________________________________________

It stopped me in my tracks and my brain had to come off autopilot to think of an answer. You see, my dad wasn't defined by one job. Though he was of that generation, being born in the 1940s, he didn't start a job after high school and then stay there for 20, 30 or 40 years. He worked in electrical engineering, spending many years at Raytheon. My grandparents owned a supermarket, where he and my uncles worked for many years. He owned restaurants, a chain of video stores, a vending machine business and much more. After selling the market he built his insurance and investments business. With my mom they also launched a very successful mobile notary service.

Back to the task at hand... how do I fill in this line?

How do you take 60+ years of business experience and summarize it with one word? I offered up "businessman”, but the undertaker said that wasn't specific enough, so we settled on supermarket owner.

With everything else that has been swirling in my head, this simple interaction with the form keeps jabbing at me. It's partially the thought of condensing all of my dad's accomplishments into a single word, although I know why it is being asked. Somewhere a group of data scientists is adding this information to their mortality model, looking to connect death rates and ages with different occupation.

More so, this interaction reminds me of the hypocrisy in our workplaces. As managers, we offer opportunities for stretch assignments, learning new domains, acquiring new skills, and working with different groups of people. Team members who embrace these chances often learn more about their roles, the organization and can often discover passions that they never knew they had. They develop skills that can be leveraged for success in their current position and other positions in the future. All great things, right?

Why is it then that these same managers, when hiring someone new, suddenly forget the value of diverse experiences. A candidate could have a toolbox full of exceptional skills, tools that can be used for just about any job - yet if they don't have a 12" spud wrench their resume is tossed aside. When was it that transferrable skills no longer became transferrable? At what point did recruiters and hiring managers decide that being successful in a variety of roles was a negative thing? Who decided you can only have one occupation and that’s how you will forever be labeled?

If you are in a position of reviewing resumes, screening candidates, or hiring new employees, I urge you to be open minded. Let go of the "20 years of experience in carving wooden clogs" mentality. Think about the skills that the candidate needs to have to be successful, find out if they are a good fit for your culture, seek to understand if they have the aptitude to learn new things. Change your way of thinking and you will find a whole new batch of candidates. There are great people looking to bring their years of experience to your companies, please give them a chance.