…Easy to do if you’re not looking for that right-colored marker! I was recently vacationing with friends in Maine…We were walking on a beautiful path…yellow, purple flowers, wide, tall trees, twisting trunks, birds singing to each other… and then, I noticed right where the path would turn slightly, these lovely piles of stones (or cairns as I learned).
Ahhah, I realized! These are our guideposts! These stones blended so nicely with all that we were surrounded by. They were easy to miss if you were not looking for them! …But were delightful and clear markers if you were!
In the same way, there are clear guideposts that lead us to our career goals and next steps! But we have to keep our eyes open for them!
Finding what energizes us – and what we are naturally drawn to – gives us valuable information – and guideposts towards that right career fit!
Whether you’re assessing your own experiences (on and off-the-job) or someone else’s (that you read about or after meeting the person), LOOK FOR YOUR REACTIONS!
Are you intrigued about what you learn? Excited?
Do you want to learn more?
Do you want to try out the particular role (or job)?
Or do you shake your head and think, “This is not for me!”
THESE ARE YOUR CAREER GUIDEPOSTS and will help you recognize what’s important to you in a job:
- those skills that you will really enjoy using – problem-solving, writing, research/gathering information, creating, etc.
- skills that you’re interested in developing
- a strong mission that you feel…Finding a company that shares that mission can be a positive experience for you
- whether you prefer working outside or in an office setting
- whether you prefer working alone/more independently OR as part of a team/more collaboratively
- whether you would enjoy working in a large organization with lots of different opportunities OR a small family-owned business in which you might have greater ownership over a particular department
ALSO KEEP IN MIND! Once in a company, you become a known entity…Companies are much more willing to give opportunities to individuals that they trust, who have proven themselves to be dependable, hard-working, great team members – whatever your strengths are!
We never know what a particular job will lead to. Maybe it starts as a very basic position. Then someone with greater responsibility leaves and that person’s interesting responsibilities suddenly are given to you!
My last full-time agency position was with MHANYS…It started as a part-time position, monitoring a few small employment services contracts…and evolved into organizing seminars widely attended by local and out-of-town professionals!
Keep looking for those guideposts and keep an open mind!