International Journal of Choice Theory® and Reality ... - CTRTJournal

Pathways to Employment and Personal Happiness Can Be Found By Attending to
Employers’ and Our Own “Quality Worlds”
Thomas S. Parish, Ph.D., CTRTC
Thomas K. Burdenski, Jr., Ph.D., CTRTC
Abstract
Concern is presently swirling around the increasing national debt, increasing taxation, and
the implementation of various cuts in the national budget. Unfortunately, no one seems to
be paying much attention to the biggest problem of all, i.e., staggering unemployment.
Notably, if more jobs were available, and more people could effectively secure those jobs,
incomes would be subsequently generated that could offset all the various problems our
nation is currently experiencing. The present article, therefore, will seek to address the
matter regarding how we might more successfully become gainfully employed, and thereby
reduce the roles of the unemployed and replace them with wage-earning tax-payers, which
should help to overcome the other critically important issues noted above.
_________________
Unemployment is a critical concern around the U.S.A. today, with current estimates
somewhere between 9% and 15% nationally, depending upon the sources used. The
unemployment rate is roughly double what it was four years ago (Harmon, 2011). It takes
the average unemployed American 40 weeks to find a new job, a new high. There are
currently 14 million Americans actively seeking employment and the competition has grown
stiffer with millions of high school and college graduates entering the job market this past
summer. Half of all college graduates in the last five years are working in jobs that don‘t
require a college degree. In addition, another 10% to 15% are currently employed, but
consider themselves to be underemployed and are therefore often looking for new
employment too.
Notably, however, William Glasser (1989) has provided important insights that should
readily help those who are unemployed/underemployed to gain new employment if they
would keep a few basic points in mind. As Dr. Glasser has often said, when doing Reality
Therapy we need to discern what the client or patient definitely wants, i.e., we need to
determine what‘s in their ―quality worlds.‖ Well, so it is when people are seeking
employment. More specifically, those seeking new employment opportunities need to
identify what the employers prioritize, and then make every effort to satisfy said employers‘
wants and/or needs.
One way to accomplish this task is to concentrate on the INTERVIEW, and be sure that
those wishing to find employment read over the attached checklist (see Table 1) well before
going into the employment interview, and then use it again after the interview in order to
evaluate how s/he did during the interview. By so doing, one‘s chances for finding desired
employment in these difficult times are much more likely assured. In fact, it has been
generally reported by those who have used this form that the more ―yeses‖ checked by
them regarding their fulfillment of the points listed on the checklist, the more likely it was
that the job in question was offered to them.
Notably, though, no one should actually be seeking to work for anyone unless such
employment satisfies the following three points:
International Journal of Choice Theory and Reality Therapy • Fall 2011 • Vol. XXXI, number 1 • 44