As a child, you were probably asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Although some people have very distinct talents that will naturally lead into a career, most of us didn’t have a clue. However, we expect that by adulthood, we will finally have an answer.
Choosing a career path is the most difficult and frustrating obstacle for my clients to overcome. They want to know where they are going and how they are going to get there. For some, there are too many choices – they suffer from BSOS (bright shiny object syndrome). Others are afraid to make a decision – what if it’s the wrong choice, what if they try and fail, or how will they transition into a new career path? And then there are those who are trying to live up to someone else’s expectations.
If you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up, you can’t move forward. How are you going to reach your goal until you decide what that goal is? As a result, you slow your advancement, typically resulting in less mo*ney, and you don’t get the satisfaction of having a career that you love.
You will experience more success and satisfaction when you align your career path with your strengths, interests and experience. Rather than starting over from square one, unless you truly hate your work, build on the foundation that you have already laid.
Interests
Think about your interests. What activities do you enjoy most in your professional and volunteer work? Are there other areas that you have direct or indirect contact with that you would like to explore? What other interests do you have?
Make a list of all your interests while keeping in mind that not everything can be incorporated into your career. A forty-five year old accountant, who loves baseball, probably shouldn’t quit his job to be a professional baseball player. But maybe he can hold a position in the finance department for a baseball team.
Strengths
We all have talents, whether we have identified them or not. If you don’t already know what you naturally do well, it’s time to find out. Think about activities that you consider easy. Often we don’t pay much attention to them – we just assume they are easy for everyone. If you have past performance appraisals, review them to determine which areas you consistently scored high without much effort. If you still need help, ask someone you trust to tell you what they consider to be your strengths. Sometimes what’s obvious to others isn’t quite so clear to us.
You should also identify the tasks that are challenging for you. You never want to select a career path that requires you to spend more time shoring up your weaknesses than developing your talents. Pursuing the things that come naturally to us will result in less frustration and more enjoyment and success.
Experience
Finally, look back over the course of your career. What experience have you gained from the positions you’ve held as well as your volunteer work. Include your direct and indirect experience. For example, a marketing manager doesn’t just have experience in marketing. He or she probably has experience in management, budgeting, human resources, and corporate communications, as well. Break it down and you will see just how much experience you actually have.
Once you have all of this information down and you look at it together, you will begin to see the options available to you – options that you never thought of before. All that is left for you to do is to make a decision and start taking action.
The greatest benefit you will derive from confidently selecting your career path is empowerment. You are taking control of your future instead of taking what someone else has to offer.
Coach’s Challenge:
If you haven’t mapped out your career path, figure out what is holding you back. Is it fear? Do you have so many varied interest that you can’t decide what you enjoy most? Are you doing what is expected of you instead of what you want to do? Or have you been content to coast along in your career?
If having is a successful career is important to you, make a commitment to yourself to make a decision and take action. Start by making a list of your interest, strengths, and experience and then notice the options that are available to you.
Do you want to know where you are going and how you are going to get there? Then it’s time to take action with a step-by-step system to uncover your interest, strengths, and experience so you can put yourself on the path to success. Contact Jill to find out more.
