Finding the right career and then making the most of it isn’t easy. Thankfully, there are some movies around which help teach us lessons which can be a big help in our careers. The following movies might help you in one way or another.
1. The Pursuit of Happiness – Selling Isn’t Easy but Dedication Pays Off
This is a great film which is based on a true story. The character played by Will Smith suffers a terrible time of it in the first part of the movie. He desperately tries to sell some sort of bone density scanning machine to doctors and medical centres but he doesn’t bring in enough money with this job.
As his life starts to fall apart his wife leaves him and he needs to sleep rough with his young boy. However, he finds the inner strength to go on an unpaid stockbroker course. His dedication to learning all about the trade even while his life is a mess pays off, as he starts to gain the trust of clients and earn money.
Hopefully you will never find yourself in such a desperate situation as the one this character was in but dedication and hard work can help progress your career no matter what your life is like.
2. Julie & Julia – A Change of Career is Possible
Amy Adams plays a call centre worker who is unhappy in her current career. Her true passion is cooking and this is where she finds comfort and happiness in the evenings after tough days at work. To track her progress she sets up a blog as she sets about learning French recipes from a book.
This part time hobby turns out to be the chance she needs to move into a career which she enjoys more. She ends up with both a successful blog and a new way of working for a living. If you aren’t happy in your current job then you can take inspiration from this movie and look to do something better suited to your skills and personality.
3. The Devil Wears Prada – You Don’t Know What a Job Is Like Until You Do It
Anne Hathaway is the actress who plays a college graduate starting a new career as assistant to a fashion magazine editor. As the film starts out she hates the fashion industry and its shallowness. Despite this, it seems safe to imagine that she never expected all of the back-stabbing and massive egos that she found once she started in her new job.
While this may be an extreme example, it is safe to say that you can’t know what a career is like until you try it. This can work both ways, of course. You might be really excited about a new role and then find that it isn’t all you hoped it would be or you might be pleasantly surprised by how good it is. If you find what looks like the ideal job on a job finder site then giving it a go is the only way to see whether it is the career you need.
4. Jerry Maguire – You Can Be Good at Something and Be Nice too
Is there anyone in the acting business who plays the role of arrogant, obnoxious brat better than Tom Cruise? In this highly rated movie he was a slick and frankly unlikeable sports agent until he suffered a breakdown. After this, he decided to turn over a new leaf and become a more honest and pleasant person at work.
Making the change wasn’t easy, as he got fired and then had a hard time persuading his old clients to switch over to his new agency. However, by the end of the movie we can see that he is still good at what he does as well as being a nicer person too.
Even if you aren’t as dishonest as Cruise was as the start of the film you should still take the time to try and be a better boss or colleague at work. It is highly unlikely to harm your career and it will make you feel a lot better about yourself too.
5. Working Girl – Progressing in your Career is Possible
If your lasting memory of this movie is of tragically big hair and 80s fashion then there is a more useful message in there for you to pick up on. Melanie Griffith is a fairly humble office worker but she is smart. When she realises that her boss was planning to steal one of her ideas she decides to make the changes necessary to further her career.
By the time that the closing credits are rolling she has her dream job and has shown that she will be a far better boss than the one who tried to steal her idea. What we can learn from this film is that progressing in your career is possible, even though it isn’t usually easy.