Many of us would love to work with our spouse in some way shape or form. Not me.
She is so honest with me that it hurts, and I am not one to crawl in pain all day long. Having said that, she has offered some of the best career advice. She said I should start a business. She surveyed her family and came up with a name before purposing the idea. I have not looked back since, nor entertain any regrets.
Not all spouses have that gift, but I married my wife because of the painful honesty she is loaded with about me. I recommend it if your spouse is honest with you that you invite the truth. I mean, about everything, particularly you. It’s a risk, but it’s a win. Here are my five reasons why you should seek painful but honest career advice from your spouse:
1) After the pain comes the healing. Your spouse is honest enough to tell you that you don’t have what it takes to be a great poet. And even if you were, would it pay the bills? What if you asked others and were told the same thing? Then probably, you’re thankful that the conversation took place.
2) Your spouse can encourage you like no one else. He or she knows what motivation buttons to push. Who doesn’t need someone remembering your strengths?
3) His or her critiques are often open doors to fix relationship issues. Sometimes our spouses critiques are double-edged swords. You asked for his or her opinion, but this particular time it had a ZING to it. Is this an opportunity to look a little deeper to see how deep the issue relates to home?
4) The advice is to protect you from yourself. Areas that used to be your strengths are no longer as valuable, and your spouse indicates that you should move on. On the contrary, the advice may mean, “Win.” she says. “Go win!”
5) Your spouses vision may be bigger, brighter, and bodacious than yours. How encouraging and strengthening is that? When you think supervisor, he thinks executive vice president? You may have to analyze if that is realistic or not, but the point is this is your spouses vision of you.
When you ask for help from your spouse, it is likely you’ll receive reality. At least you can start there. Would you trust your spouses’ career advice? Why or why not? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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About Mark Anthony Dyson
I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers," career consultant, job seeker advocate, career writer, and founder of this award-winning blog. I help the employed, unemployed, underemployed, and under-appreciated find jobs using job search strategies to navigate the new job market. I aim to give a safe place online to those with different needs, cultures, and ethnicities to find their voice in the job market. Thousands have read my career advice throughout the web as I write about everything from job search strategies to the mobile job search. I have published more than 400 articles on this blog and some of the largest career sites such as Recruiter.com, YouTern, and Come Recommended. I've been quoted in major online publications such as Monster, TIME/Money, Fortune, Business Insider and MSN. FlexJobs, JobMonkey, Aerotek, Career Pivot, and CareerSherpa listed my podcast as one of the top podcasts to help your job search. Love for you to sign up for the weekly newsletter. I share the latest articles I've written, new podcast episodes, and answer any questions you may have. The new job search is scary and if you need help, I am here for it!