Career growth and development is important for many married couples today. It’s likely that you and your spouse are both interested in growing both personally and professionally. Luckily, being married means you can be each other’s cheerleader and biggest fan along the way.
Today, we’ve gathered some of our best career resources from the blog. Whether you’re setting priorities for the near future or navigating a career crisis, there are helpful tips for you here. We’re covering a variety of situations and solutions, so read on.
Encourage Each Other’s Professional Growth
First and foremost, it’s crucial to support one another’s continued success, whatever that looks like. If you’re both pursuing careers and continual professional development, support each other. For many people, career growth and learning are lifelong endeavors. Whether you’re pursuing an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, a promotion, or a career change, you’re going to need plenty of support. Read more about how to provide this to each other in Careers In Marriage: How To Help Each Other Grow Professionally.
Work Together to Determine Career Priorities
There will be seasons when you and your spouse will need to take a step back and determine what career moves to prioritize. You’re both passionate about the future, but sometimes one of your career needs might need to take precedence. How to respond to that conflict will make all the difference in your relationship. Get more tips on navigating and negotiating this sticky situation in Clash Of Careers: Whose Is More Important?.
Cheer Your Spouse On… Even If You Don’t Feel Successful
Tension can arise when one spouse feels their job, career, or business isn’t as successful as their husband’s or wife’s. Careers and goals don’t progress at the same pace. Even if you feel like your spouse is “ahead,” remember you’re likely on completely different career paths. There may be later times when you feel further ahead in your career! If you want to dig deeper into this topic, head over to Help! My Spouse Has A Successful Career (And I Don’t).
Support Each Other During Job or Career Changes
Taking your career in a different direction or getting a new job can create a lot of stress and upheaval. When these changes occur, it’s important to give one another plenty of grace and time to adjust. This probably won’t be an easy overnight change, and it could even last for a long season. Read more here: How To Support Your Spouse Through A Career Change.
Work Together? Set Healthy Boundaries
Working alongside your spouse in the same company–or as business owners–can be both challenging and rewarding. If you want to do it well, you’ll need to set plenty of healthy boundaries to separate your personal life from work as much as possible. We break it all down in My Spouse And I Work Together. How Do We Separate Business From Life?.
Successfully Navigate a Career Crisis
If you or your spouse abruptly lost a job or faced a significant career crisis, how would you handle it? Economic uncertainty can create anxiety for both of you. Still, even during stable economic times, the fear of a job loss is very real. We share some tips for handling situations like this in How To Help Your Spouse Survive A Career Crisis.
Cultivate Plenty of Empathy
When it comes to supporting one another along a career journey, one thing is certain: you’re going to need plenty of empathy. Our book, Trading Places, is a guide to help you learn to see things from your spouse’s perspective. It will be a great resource for you, no matter what season you’re in. Pick up your copy here.
Are you and your spouse both career professionals or business owners? How do you help one another? How do you decide what to prioritize during busy seasons? Let us know in the comments.
I believe this modern and quite new culture of career making for all is what’s destroying the family institution. I wish my wife was a stay at home mother, but this world is gone. Even among Christians.