4: The Everyday Objects Exercise

In the previous activity, we made observations on a penny. But what do observations on a penny have to do with career development?

A penny, or any everyday object, can reveal an entire web of industries, occupations, and skills once we learn to look more closely. Everyday objects, like a penny, can represent a microcosm of the labour market. All everyday objects have a work history. Think about all the jobs that had to occur for us to have and use a penny. A penny doesn’t just magically appear; it is a product of a succession of jobs held by people. Identifying and reflecting on that succession of jobs surprises clients with a new way of thinking about all the work that is available in the labour market.

The Everyday Objects exercise was developed by Gray Poehnell and Norm Amundson to help identify these connections. It is available in their book Hope-Filled Engagement and is adapted below with permission from the authors.

1. Consider Industries

To get at all the jobs that are needed to make a penny, you need to think broadly first and identify all the industry/sectors that could be involved in its development.

Take a look at the list of broad industries and sectors below as seen in the North American Industry Classification System. Add a checkmark to any that you think relate to jobs that are connected to the making and use of the humble penny.

Manufacturing

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

Public administration

Finance and insurance

Transportation and warehousing

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

Professional, scientific, and technical services

2. Identify Possibilities

Pick one sector from those you selected above. How many different jobs within that sector can you list that would relate to the creation of a penny?

Here are some questions to help you get started in this brainstorm:

  1. What are all the jobs needed in this sector to create, maintain, and administer this everyday object?
  2. What are other related jobs that play an indirect, supporting role?

How many jobs did you come up with for this sector?

Click on each sector below to see jobs related to a penny that our Learning Team identified through this exercise.

  • Tool and dye worker
  • Forklift Driver
  • Millwright
  • Assembly-line worker
  • Machinist
  • Quality Controller
  • Metal Refining Furnace Operator

  • Heavy Equipment Operator
  • Site Manager
  • General Labourer
  • Mill Maintenance Helper
  • Safety Coordinator
  • Senior Construction Lead
  • Metallurgy Technician
  • Geoscientist

  • Policy Analyst
  • Legal Counsel
  • Senior Procurement Officer
  • Social Media Specialist
  • IT Operations Analyst
  • Senior Project Manager
  • Administration/Data Management
  • Quality Assurance Specialist

  • Manager – Financial Planning and Analysis
  • Accounts Payable Officer
  • Customer Experience Representative
  • Security Officers
  • Teller
  • Financial Manager
  • Cyber Security Analyst
  • Branch Advisor
  • Senior Financial Advisory

  • Trucker
  • Dispatch Operators
  • Forklift Driver
  • Warehouse Worker
  • Packing Handler
  • Stock Controller
  • Inventory Controller
  • Shipping and Receiving Operator

  • Graphic Designer
  • Artist
  • Type Specialist
  • Sculptor
  • Engraver

  • Chemical engineer
  • Surveyor
  • Mining Engineer
  • Senior Project Geologist
  • CAD Designer
  • Mechanical Engineer

Rather than jobs being seen as separate from each other, the Everyday Objects activity illustrates that the labour market is web of interconnections that have multiple career pathways in between. Thinking about this interconnectedness provides clients with a picture of how the labour market works and the number of opportunities available for their consideration.

When this activity has been done in groups, most people are surprised by the number of jobs associated with an everyday object like a penny. This exercise shows that:

  1. We often know more about jobs than we think we do.
  2. The labour market is filled with jobs that are interconnected.
  3. A multitude more possibilities open up by thinking about sectors rather than restricting to job titles alone.

 

Equally important to keep in mind is that opportunities can come from unexpected places. Sometimes opportunity exists in the wake of industry downsizing or the disappearances of a product like the penny.

When the penny was eliminated, there was no longer a need for several jobs (e.g. the artist who made the design or the tool and die maker who made the cast), but there were also new needs. There was the need to have new or adaptations to existing cash registers, for example. Thinking smartly about LMI means seeing the world through a lens of opportunity – looking for information in the most unexpected places.

Click here for an Everyday Objects exercise worksheet that you can use to facilitate this activity in your own practice. We used the example of a penny here, but any everyday object can be used for this exercise.

Click the Mark Complete button to continue.

Previous Topic
Back to Module
Next Topic