Career Lessons from Dad

In celebration of the men whom have helped shape my life and how I view the world of work, I wanted to write about how fathers shape our view of careers. I have been one of the fortunate people in the world to not only have been influenced by a father, but also two grandfathers.

One lesson from both of my grandfathers, was to work regardless of the cards you have been dealt in life. To say my mother’s father was born into poverty and as a teenager had to leave school at the conclusion of the eighth grade and enter the world of work. It was no longer feasible for my mother’s father to afford to attend school and to not work and support his family. He was an intelligent man that found himself a young adult during the Great Depression. As a young married man with a family, he worked two jobs and did so through most of my mother’s childhood. He worked as an office clerk during the day and in the United States Post Office at night. I did not know him during his working life, but I did see his hard working traits during his retirement. He was always busy with projects, learning, and especially with crossword puzzles. My paternal grandfather was an immigrant to this country. He came to the United States at the age of nine years old. He completed high school and attended college, earning his degree with the hopes of being a physical education. Unfortunately, due to World War II and related discrimination, he was unable to find work in education. To support his young family, he took a job at a factory and ended up working in there until his retirement.

My father also was a hardworking man, but in a different way than his father. A career lesson from my father is to value relationships. My father came of age during the era of the Vietnam War. He enlisted in the United States Air Force and gained technical knowledge that he was able to use in his career in sales. He worked in sales until his retirement. His career was different from his father’s career because it was not always in one place, but was in the world. My father’s world of work involved traveling, meeting people, and developing relationships. Throughout his career, he understood that people and relationships are important. The network he built allowed him to earn a living by making sales and finding jobs.
 
The above three men shaped how I view work. None of them were the type to give career advice, but instead be role models for work.  Each circumstance slightly different, but each important in my understanding of work. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers in the blog-o-sphere.  ~
Karen Cirincione
Email: kcirincione@gmail.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/karenjcirincione
Twitter @kcirincione