5 Movies for Career Growth 🎥

When you think of career growth, you probably think of boring career seminars, long articles and self-help books.

But personal growth can be way more fun than this.

It can be as entertaining as watching a movie 🍿

Film (movies and TV) have long been regarded as tools that influence human beings - in both bad and good ways.

Continuous social research has shown that film shapes our thinking and political preferences, also shifting our cognitive ability.

It can even show us how to resolve problems in real life and motivate us.

When I was in high school I remember watching Coach Carter one summer evening.

As a young basketballer struggling to manage studies and play nationally, the movie was an eye-opener on how both could be possible if I set my eyes on it.

I was inspired to work harder at my game and give equal time to classes - and it worked wonders.

So if you’re struggling with your job search, grinding at work to get a promotion or just pushing through an online course - take it easy this weekend, give yourself some time off and put on a movie.

Here are five of the best movies for career growth:

The Intern - A light-hearted watch

What happens when a 70-year-old joins a young fashion startup as an intern?

We always thought interns are young college students doing unpaid work to build experience for their job search.

The Intern flips that mindset, and is packed with heartwarming moments around work, family and relationships.

Lesson: Put yourself in uncomfortable positions, and be okay with starting again from scratch. Also, the importance of work-life balance.

Up In The Air - Learning to deal with challenges

Fast-paced, Dealing with changes, Resilience

This is a movie about a travelling executive whose job is to fire people. Yes, you read that right. Other companies hire him to fire their staff.

But it packs in a lot more than that.

It follows life on the road, working with a young colleague on the job, some romance and realising that no job is truly safe when his firm decides to fire people on video call rather than in person.

Oh, and it features George Clooney.

Lesson: Importance of human connections that technology can’t replace.

Coach Carter - When you need some motivation

Insanely motivating and thrilling

A sports shop owner decides to coach his old high school’s basketball team, but the players have an attitude problem.

A moving movie about hard work and patience.

The coach not only makes them better basketball players but better students and overall good human beings.

“Starting today, you will play like winners, act like winners, and most importantly, you will be winners.” ‒ Coach Ken Carter.

Lesson: Play and act like a winner, face your deepest fears and work as a team.

Pursuit of Happiness - For when life gets hard

Working harder when life gets hard

This movie needs no introduction. And I bet most of you have already watched it. It still remains a classic and motivates me whenever I watch it.

Feel like it’s too late to switch careers? Feeling stuck in your current job? Grab some popcorn and re-watch this gem.

Lesson: With focus and determination you can get through your hardest times.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - To tap into your imagination

A movie about a shy photo analyst working who is always daydreaming and zoning out.

When he loses the photo slide to be the cover for the magazine's last issue, he sets out on an action-packed journey to find the photographer.

This film is incredibly inspiring and there’s a lot to learn from Walter Mitty and his quest to find the missing picture.

Lesson: Stop Dreaming and Start Doing

Ready to crush your career?

It is tough finding your foot in the professional world. There are a lot of roadblocks; self-doubt, not knowing what to do, and dealing with rejections.

Watching these inspirational movies will give you the boost to work on your personal movie.

Write your own story and be the lead actor in it 😉

Catch you next week!