Finding new work

Did a reading for a woman who had drastically changed jobs (from high end finance to working in an art gallery,) only to discover that the new job did not suit her at all. 

Would she find better work?

She drew the Knight of Swords / Chariot  / 3 of pentacles

Right now she is angry, and riding with that anger but not going in the direction she wants.  However,  if she just lets her intellect guide her, and pull those opposing horses in the right direction,  she will get to creative and harmonious work.

I do love how the cards answer her question.  

Often when we take a risk,  we expect it to pay off immediately.  But the transition from high finance job to art gallery sales was too big a leap.  Also,  she focused on the word art,  but the job focused on the word sales,  and she found that she loves art but hates selling.   

So that's her Knight of swords,  she felt almost duped by the decision she had made.   However the Chariot is a card of strength of will,  where she pulls her will on her future and then she gets to what she wants.  The three of pentacles is an excellent outcome card around the area of work/career. 

We were both pleased by the outcome and I look forward to seeing how it all went,  when she comes for her next reading. 

(The readings are all real, and the cards drawn are all true,  but I change some identifying details to make sure that everyone's privacy is respected.) 

Moving on

A client I've known for years now came in to ask me which new job she should take,  she had three possible options and which one would be best...  

On the one hand I was delighted that she had real choices,  but I was also surprised.  A year ago when we had our last reading,  she'd really loved her work,  the actual job and the friendships she had in the office.

This 2022 was tough for many of us,  but hers had been especially so.  After a protracted and terrible illness,  her sister had died.   Today her father is very ill.  And her friendly, loving work had not even sent a sympathy card,  had not acknowledged her loss at all.  Then they hired another person,  who worked a the same level as she did,  for a much higher pay range.  When she had asked for parity,  they said no,  no negotiations,  just no.  

So she went to look for different work,  with hours that would allow her more time with her father.   The cards liked Job B (I never let you give me details,  just Job A, B or C and then let me tell you what the cards tell me,  so I'm not biased.) She's got her second interview with them soon and has high hopes.  It even pays significantly more.

But I was annoyed for her about her old/current job.  They had a happy, productive employee and if they had just reached out in a human way,  they could have kept her.  But because they didn't,  they are losing her. Sometimes I wish I could do readings for companies!  It would be so simple to correct,  but now they have to train someone new and lose all her institutional memories and knowledge.  It's just a waste.  

Still,  my client is happy and I hope to hear from her again and see how it went... 

All tarot cards from the lovely This Might Hurt deck

Questions

A while ago I did a reading for one of my repeat clients - a woman in her 40's with great energy, a bright smile,  but work situations had not been easy for her.  She kept drawing the Page of Cups R,  she feels out of sync,  they don't 'get' her,  she offers her quirky,  out of the box sensibility and they just look puzzled. 

So one day she comes and asks,

Should I wait till I finish my MBA before changing jobs?

And she drew 

Fool R / Strength / King wands R

The fool never means you are being foolish. Rather it is the start of a new journey,  the very first card of the tarot,  where you walk out with a song in your heart and you don't know where you are going.  But her fool is Reversed.  She is not progressing,  and she is not journeying.  Instead, she feels stuck.  

She is strong and capable,  there is no doubt about that,  but her King of Wands,  fiery, passionate,  outgoing, is also reversed,  her bright energy dimmed,  her anger growing. So I said,  no,  stop waiting.  Waiting is blocking you and slowing you down.  Rather,  turn your Fool the right way around,  and move forward,  then your king will also turn and you'll have the kingship you deserve.  

She liked that very much,  she knew her job was pulling her down,  but was scared to move with so much on her plate,  but the job was not easy and her plate was already too full,  a new job could actually energize her more.  She did change jobs and it did work out better for her. 

That's why I like repeat clients.  I get to see how the tarot was used and if the predictions worked! 

Work Energy, Love Energy

Sometimes people come to me for a reading,  and their work cards are all great - bright and glowing,  with energy and movement.  But their love cards are stagnant, with no flow there at all. So I say,  work is easy right now, put your energy there and you will get quick rewards.  Maybe you should ease off looking for love and focus on your work.  

One of my clients said to me,  you've been saying that for three years.  Really?  I checked my notes and she was right,  her work cards are always Aces,  connecting, networking,  getting promoted,  all of that comes effortlessly to her. But love doesn't.  So I said to her,  what are you doing at work,  that you aren't doing in relationships?  And without hesitating she said,  "I know my value at work."  But with people,  with men,  she was not as confident. 

So we spent the session talking about transferring some of that confident self knowledge from work,  and putting it more into play with dating.  She can instantly recognize if a project has potential, needs nursing,  needs to be scrapped. Can she do that analysis on every 3rd date?  Maybe she is rejecting too soon,  or nursing the connection along too much,  or not scrapping it when it is clearly going nowhere. But if she gives herself this task,  go on three plus dates with anyone,  then do an analysis, and see if that gets her more of what she wants. She thought that was an interesting idea.  We'll have to wait and see if the cards get warmer once she starts doing this.

The second question - finding work

After love,  the other most common question that people have when they come to me is about work.  

If you have options,  I ask you to give me no information,  just think about Job A,  Job B,  Job C etc and we draw cards and the discuss.  I laughed when one client drew the devil for his start up job and the 8 of pentacles for his much more stable,  still in a great industry,  job.  I told him I was glad I didn't know so it didn't look like I was guiding him to the more conservative,  reliable job.  And that it's clear that start ups can be the devil to work for! 

On a more practical level,  I tell job seekers to make sure their linked in pages are bright and shiny and up to date. It's now industry standard for most job searches. For more information on that,  go here.  And once it's gorgeous, put a link to it in their email signatures,  so it's on every email they send out and it makes it effortless for anyone networking for them to pass the information on. 
Clients have also recommended ZipRecruiter and Indeed.  

What I tell people is that job hunting can be exhausting,  and I recommend you do it,  really focus on it,  for 4 hours a day - preferably from 9 am to lunch. And then you give yourself the rest of the day off,  guilt free.  You can't actually job search for 8 hours daily,  all you will feel is burnt out and depressed.  Check sites,  answer emails,  find networking events. And then go to the gym,  have drinks with friends,  have fun.  Allow yourself to have a life as well as look for work.  

Linked In data

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how OK Cupid had used its enormous cache of information to analyze dating trends.   This week, LinkedIn put out its own data analysis of resumes and college degrees to see which colleges got people into which jobs – something that has solid real world data and so is enormously interesting.  I often do readings for people looking to change jobs or careers.  Having worked at a dating agency and in recruitment, I know well the tension of these ‘interview’ situations, and find having more facts at your fingertips always helps. 

Saying what I see…

I had a reading the other day where a girl asked me about work – it was clear that her current job no longer excited her and it was time to move on.  She had a job in mind and I always say tell me as little as possible, so that the cards can speak more clearly, just think of it as Job A. 

The cards were not good – tower / 7 cups /10 pentacle reversed.  I shook my head and her face just fell – she had been on several interviews with them already and the vibe had felt so right!  I hate giving bad news to people, but I always say what I see in the cards. 

We had a long talk about other job options and how she should position herself.  Then the next day I got an email from her – she spoke to them and they are suspending Job A for the time being, hiring no one… but she told me that because of our reading she felt able to handle the conversation and she knew that she would get a better job soon – the cards were clear on that count too – she ended with the Queen of Pentacles. 

A good tarot reading won’t always tell you what you want to hear,  but it should help you handle what happens better…

How do the cards know?

Recently a client came to see me, whom I had not seen for several years.  Three years is a long time,  the old cards would no longer be relevant,  but I looked them up anyway (I used to make notes,  I now make a postcard of every reading,  photograph it and give it to you,  so you have a copy of all the cards you drew and so do I.) 

The old cards were all about work, she was at a career junction then.  This time, there were no work cards at all,  and she was ‘a little freaked’ in her own words,  to see the 3 of swords at her core,  and a scattering of swords throughout her reading.  How did the cards know?  she asked me.  Last time they were so sunny and optimistic about work (and accurate, she landed a great job) and now it’s all about heartache and pain, how did they know that? 

I said that’s what the cards do: they reflect your energy, where you are at right now.  People sometimes say to me,  well the cards will say that about anyone, and I say no,  if your love life is great, you draw great love cards,  if your work is awful your cards show that too.  The cards really do shift according to what is going on in your life at this point in time. 

For those worried about her future – she drew the Ace of Cups, the current relationship was no good,  but love is not far away for her!

Work questions

The New York Times has a column The Corner Office, where they ask business leaders about leadership and management. 

In an interview with Chris Barbin,  he mentioned “One of my favorite interview questions is, “What are you most proud of?” It’s a fascinating question if you just end it there. People will say, “Well, what do you mean, in business?” And I’ll just say, “No, what are you proud of?” You can always tell when people kind of make-up answers to impress you. Another one is, “What do you stink at?” Some people will say, “Oh, I take on too much and I work too hard.” Then I’ll say: “That’s a pretty common answer. Give me something better.”

I speak to a lot of people about work changes, and I think these are good things to think about before the interview, but they are also interesting things to think about life.

sculpture from Bondi to Bronte beach walk

Three of Pentacles

It's funny, this is the card of harmonious work, and I'm having terrible technical difficulties with this post - first I couldn't get the images loaded, now I can't get the text... Not much harmony here!

However, when you get this card, it means that there is cooperation, harmony, similar goals and an understanding of how to get there. People love getting this card when they are looking for work because it means not only is work coming, but it will be fulfilling, interesting work - a career position not just a job.

When you draw this card you feel competent and part of the group. I like the skipping rope version which allows for a sense of play as well - but again, all three people are essential to this game and share in it equally.