By now, if you’ve read a few of my blog posts, you might
know some things about me. First of all, I love sitcoms. Second of all,
working for the Career Center has made me see themes about personal
career development in places that I would never think to look. I think you can
guess where I’m going with this, but in case you’re the Joey of your friend
group, I’ll make it clear: here are examples of how some of my favorite TV
characters of all time battled career changes and self-doubt, withstood the
trials and tribulations of the working world, and came out on the other side as
successful (and, just as importantly, funny) individuals. Of course, I’m willing
to admit that there are some questionable logics in these characters’ rise to
success, but if we suspend disbelief for a little bit, we can truly appreciate
the lessons that these characters have taught us.
*SPOILER ALERT*: What follows may spoil some major plotlines
in the TV shows Friends, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation. More importantly
though, if you haven’t watched every single episode of Friends by now, you need
to re-evaluate your TV (and possibly life) choices.
Case 1 – Rachel Green, Friends
In the first episode of Friends, we meet Rachel as the naïve
runaway bride who moves to New York in an attempt to prove that she can make it
in the real world without her parents’ or fiancé’s money. Despite her culture
shock (the episode where she turns all her white laundry pink… classic), Rachel
transforms from a coffeehouse waitress to a smart and successful executive in
the fashion industry. How does she do it? To be honest, Rachel owes her friends
big time – from helping her mail resumes to leaving exorbitant tips despite
her ineptitude at pouring coffee, the rest of the Central Perk gang was a big
support system for Rachel over the years. Rachel teaches us that it’s important
to have a support network in place, and that this network is crucial to
keeping your sanity during the job search process. When Rachel gets turned down
for a job she desperately wanted (The One With All The Poker), her friends play
along when she suddenly decides to up the betting in the poker game in an
attempt to vent her frustration. So no matter how much you questioned her
haircut, be sure not to question Rachel’s career development, because she got
by with a little help from… well, you know.
 |
| The things I would do to be in one of these group hugs. |
Case 2 – Leslie Knope, Parks
and Recreation
If I had to pick one TV character that I idolize over all
others, it would be Leslie Knope. So high-achieving, so persistent, and so
optimistic no matter how much the world tries to smack her down. In the
last two seasons of the show, Leslie goes from working as deputy director of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks and Recreation Department to running the Midwest branch of the National Park Service to being
elected the governor of Indiana – twice. If you watch the first season of Parks
and Rec, you might doubt that Leslie will ever make it so far, regardless
of her dreams to be the first female President. But Leslie shows us that if you
persist, follow your dreams, and never stop striving towards perfection, you
can accomplish anything. This sounds like a lot to ask from anyone, so if you’re
looking to channel just a little bit of Leslie Knope into your life, try to
adopt her enthusiasm for her work. If you don’t have any enthusiasm for what
you’re doing (or what you think you want to do), you might want to consider
going out into the world and exploring your options – just like Leslie helped
her former intern April Ludgate to do in season 7 (refer to my post on the quarter-life crisis for details on that). At the very least, if you eat as much
sugar as Leslie does, you might be able to power through that next all-night
study cram.
Case 3 – Jack Donaghy, 30
Rock
Leslie Knope may be my TV character idol, but if I had to
pick a real person that I idolize over all others, it would almost certainly be
Tina Fey. She became the first female head writer of SNL, wrote and acted in Mean
Girls a.k.a. one of the most culturally relevant movies of the 21st
century, and wrote, produced, and starred in a hilarious and wildly successful
TV series. Much of the show features Fey, dubbed Liz Lemon, and her boss/mentor
Jack Donaghy, a corporate business shark with ruthless determinism. When Jack
starts to become disillusioned with his career, however, he plans to tank NBC
in a last-ditch grab for power. Eventually, he names Kenneth, an NBC page, CEO
and decides to leave on a journey to find his purpose in life – a journey that
lasts about 30 seconds before he has his next great invention that catapults
him back to the top of the business world. Jack reminds us of how foolish it is
to give up too easily – the next great career move could be right up ahead, but
if you give up, you could miss it. While it’s important to be aware of the
infinite directions your career path could take, careful consideration is also
necessary before you jump right into something new (in Jack’s case, a boat on
which he plans to travel the world).
 |
| As someone who has worked on a farm, I take slight offense to this. But it's still really funny. |
If you’ve really been paying attention to my blog posts, you
know that I, like many of my peers, also love watching Netflix. Of course, I always
regret doing it, because it’s so easy to get sucked into watching 4 hours’
worth of television and then I have 2 hours to do all of my homework. But the next time you click that little
red ‘N’ (or, if you’re feeling old-fashioned, turn on the actual TV), think
about what your favorite TV character would say to you about their career. You
may be able to learn more from Michael Scott than you’d think. (Just kidding.
You should probably ask Jim.)
Until next time,
Sean Boyden
Class of 2017
