A question many people ask themselves is, “How do I determine the best career for me?” The bottom line is, most people fail to focus on their best skills and talents. They forget, or do not understand, that career success is an inside job. They blame their boss and employers (and others – including their parents) for their careers being less than satisfying and rewarding.
Recently, I was talking with a friend as she shared about her cousins’ human services jobs. When she started making disparaging comments about her occupation, I said, “Stop it! Every job provides value in our world today. It doesn’t matter if it’s a social worker, a realtor, a server at a fast food restaurant, or a corporate executive. Each is important – and provides a service to so many.” There was a pause before she responded, “Thank you. Really, thank you. You’ll never know how much I needed to hear that!”
8 Common Errors in How We Choose Our Careers*:
1. Doesn’t require too much effort. This usually leads to job-hopping due to boredom. After a while, too many different jobs will limit getting better paying ones. Find work that keeps the mental engine revved and the laid-back style engaged.
2. Money, money, money. Most people want to make a lot of money, for a variety of reasons. By focusing on the dollar signs, we forget that our core behaviors, thinking styles and occupational interests (along with life experiences) may not support our successes in those careers. When we fail at these high-paying jobs, our future work prospects may become limited.
3. Great job title. Career success is an inside job! (Yes, I’m repeating this phrase!) Focusing on job titles or other external factors to determine our occupational choices usually gets in the way of finding work we enjoy doing on a daily basis. The fact is, people will be more impressed by our true happiness — it doesn’t have a job title!
4. Because the boss recommends it. Many times companies don’t put a lot of forethought into promoting or transferring their employees. (See The Most Expensive Mistake Executives Make, http://wp.me/p2POui-Ug) When people hit their proverbial career ceiling (aka Peter Principle), they feel the need to leave their employers. These employees usually look for similar work and often are not successful there either. It’s an expensive lesson for everyone.
5. Because of mom and dad. Following blindly in our parents’ footsteps or attempting to fulfill their dreams of becoming college grads, usually does not work. Not everyone needs a college degree to be happy and fulfilled. Many people who attend college never graduate (they change majors, run out of money, or lose interest) and incur debts that can negatively impact them for the rest of their lives, and possibly their parents too.
6. Friends or other’s recommendations. Remember, career success is an inside job. (Are you getting it yet?) While it’s important to learn from others’ experiences, it’s also important to remember they are not us! Studies show that when people have the interests, core behaviors and thinking styles that fit, they are much more likely to succeed! One study conducted by the Harvard Business Review found “job fit” to be the ultimate career success indicator.
7. Failure to conduct due diligence. Use objective information to develop reality checks with intuition. Conduct network meetings and attend educational venues to determine the right career options. For example, people who are talented working with numbers do not necessarily make good CPAs or CFOs, particularly, when they lack the interests to do so.
8. Entitlement. Many young Generation Y’s and Z’s have been brought up to believe they can do anything they want. While trying out different careers can be fun, it can lead to disillusionment when they believe the next job is the ultimate “right one” and it’s not.
The solution is, find a career path that fits you: The Pathway PlannerTM uses the same assessment information (based upon the world’s largest validation and reliability studies) that thousands of companies use to hire with predictive success. (For further information, contact http://SeibCo.com/contact)
This educational and career planning tool helps you discover what career possibilities best suit you at any age (ages 16+). The key (like anything) is to get into action! Read through your results and learn about different career paths that may work for you. Next, investigate the realities of those types of occupations by networking. As opportunities in those professions open up for you, prepare for a job-winning interview.
SeibCo provides the how-to-do-it in the book, It’s Time to Brag! Career Edition, (Time2Brag.com). To get started, contact SeibCo today: http://SeibCo.com/contact
*Resource: Crown Financial Ministries (reported by Business News Daily (August 21, 2012)
©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2015 All Rights Reserved
Jeannette Seibly is an award-winning and internationally recognized business advisor. For the past 23 years, she has helped thousands of people work smarter, enjoy financial freedom, and realize their dreams now. She has an uncanny ability to help her clients identify roadblocks, and help them focus to quickly produce unprecedented results. Each client brings their own unique challenges, and her gift is helping each one create their success in their own unique way. Along the way, with her commitment, she helped create three millionaires.