What Brendan Fraser can teach you about job hunting

What is the difference between a horror story and an action adventure?

On the left is a movie about an evil spirit that is way more powerful than ordinary mortals.

On the right is also a movie about an evil spirit that is way more powerful than ordinary mortals.

Here’s the big difference:

When the victim is helpless and overpowered, it’s a horror story. When the protagonist can hit back, often on equal terms, it’s an action adventure.

Which movie would you rather be the protagonist of?

What does this have to do with job hunting?

Last week, a developer at my client gave her 2 weeks notice, because the environment had become too toxic for her. Later over lunch we got to talking about her job hunt. About how inefficient and frustrating the process can be. She was feeling pretty low - after all, even bringing up the topic can make any developer’s blood boil. But giving in to hopelessness is no solution either, so I brought up the horror-vs-action analogy.

So what do you do if you feel you’re in a horror movie? How do you turn it into an action adventure?

You take action. You focus on what you can do, and trust that it will all work out.

When the Mummy screams at you:

You scream right back.

Or as Dr. Viktor Frankl would put it: