Ep 12: How Would Characters From The Show "The Office" Get Remote Work?

podcast May 18, 2022
how characters from the show

 In this fun episode, I talk about how four characters from the show "The Office" would transition to remote work.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • How each person can go on a different remote work journey
  • Where each person should start depending on their goals and where they are stuck

Here’s what you can find in this episode:

[:45] The inspiration for this episode and how characters from the office are in some ways symbolic of people that I work with in real life. 

[4:55] Stanley is an older worker and in 2005 this was more likely than people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and even 70s because apparently, Stanley is 71 on the show. These days we know that there are fewer older workers in offices, for reasons like ageism and the Pandemic causing people to retire early.

[7:15] When Stanley tried to leave Dundler-Mifflin he gets blocked because he is so confident in his current job, that he can't imagine what else he could do. This happens to a lot of people I work with—they have a strong skill set and it's hard for them 

[8:33] I would encourage Stanley to start with a skills inventory so that he can see his skills objectively. I share how to do a skills inventory with one single sheet of paper.

[11:39] Angela is another character who is thought of as "cold" but really she's very competent and just wants to get work done. Women get a bad rap in the workplace for being all kinds of things, but Angela gets stuck by having one job type on her resume, and she would like to move up in her career. She's never going to get promoted at Dundler-Mifflin. So she wants to leave but she has this one job type on her resume. She would do the type of skills inventory that focuses on the skills for special projects, so we would focus in on a narrow set of her skills that align more with a higher-level role. 

[15:40] After we do this exercise we can pull those skills into her resume and on her LinkedIn profile. It's important that Angela (or you) have a profile on LinkedIn because that's where employers or clients are going to look. We can add those skills on the resume in a few places. Then she can identify results or things you can measure on her resume as well.

[14:42] Deanna, another member, offers her observations on how Paul sounds like he could do life coaching. 

[15:33] We did deeper into exactly how Paul structures his day and we break it down so we can see his skills every step of the way. Paul starts to get into the groove and starts thinking of more things. Due to having fewer clients now, he is looking to supplement his income.

[19:54] Andy is the next character who really was misplaced in his role. But really he's a lot of fun, playing music, making up poems. He's really an ideas guy and probably feels held back by working in a corporate setting. He's likely an entrepreneur who is stuck. He starts a lot of things and could use help with direction. he could probably start a side business. 

[21:50] He has taken a confidence hit and feels a little lost. He could use someone to help him execute his ideas. For him, we would explore his interest and we would identify the things he likes and ideas for him. Using his enjoyment of music and original ideas, he could probably make a great copywriter who can bring ideas to life for himself or someone else. 

[24:10] Then I would encourage Andy to come up with service packages at different levels with different price points. He could charge for different service packages. This could work because he would enjoy the work because there is enough repetition with the right amount of creativity. 

[26:10] Phyllis is the last character who fits the "nice lady" role at the office and she is going to retire. She's decided that she still wants to work. She wants to retire but still work and offer value. She doesn't know what she wants to do and hasn't touched her resume in 15 years. She doubts her ability to work remotely and would she has to take a pay cut.

[28:45] She needs to update her resume, get on LinkedIn and then figure out what her freelance rate should be. She probably needs to remove some jobs that are outdated on her resume. She could start her work history in the 90s (not the 80s and earlier). She could also create a functional resume instead of a chronological resume. She should also put the "open to work" badge on Linkedin and include keywords LinkedIn as well.

[31:55] I would love to hear your thoughts about this episode. Do you feel like you relate most to Stanley, Angela, Andy, or Phyllis, or a combination? Click here to DM on Instagram and let me know. 

Resources for this episode:

Episode #110 - Click here to hear more about the "mash-up" remote work model.

Episode #11 - Click here to listen to a skills inventory example with Paul

Looking for more inspirational ideas? Sign up for my free training:

How To Get Remote Work Tp Have A Flexible Lifestyle 9Without Running Out of Money), https://www.camilleattell.com/remote-training

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