Let Strengths Be Your Guide: A Brief on Making the Big Career Hop
“Who did I want to be when I grew up?” Lately, many people find themselves asking some version of this question. The curious phenomenon known as The Great Resignation is sweeping across the working world as individuals examine their career choices with a closer, more intentional lens. After almost two years of the Covid crisis, the workforce is experiencing a bit of an existential crisis where “good enough” jobs just aren’t making the cut.
But deciding to leave a mediocre or unsatisfying job is the easy part, even though it can feel like an enormous feat for those making the decision! Comparatively, though, the real challenge lies in choosing what comes next. If your current career doesn’t make your heart sing, how can you ensure that the next one will? “To thine own self be true,” seems like simple enough wisdom, but what if you don’t really know yourself? Or maybe don’t quite know which career path is best as you plot out your (hopefully much more fulfilling) future?
As people tackle the hard work of self-inquiry and gather information (and courage) to make the big career hop, they’re looking for ways to better navigate that process and inform their decision. I’m obviously a bit biased, but have found that CliftonStrengths can serve as an excellent compass for making thoughtful choices about a career change. Recent college grads are often gifted Discover Your Strengths as a resource to help pair their natural talents with a career path that compliments their skills. Now, those wanting to make mid or late career switches (and yes, even early career changeups) are turning to strengths for the very same reason. To solve the puzzle of which career way to go, and why.
In this exercise of career discovery, the most crucial step is to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your strengths as they play out at work. Once that’s accomplished, the trick is to determine, with razor sharp precision, the things you like, love, and/or do easily in your current position, and pair that with the things you like, love, and/or do easily that are missing from your job description. By adding up all these pieces, you’ll have a much clearer view of what career choices will be best suited to your natural talents.
Big caveat: CliftonStrengths is not intended to be used as a prescriptive tool. It does not crunch out a “best career fit” answer after examining your unique strengths. It does, however, offer some interesting insights to make that picture of “what comes next” just a little bit clearer.
So, first thing’s first. If you haven’t yet taken the assessment, definitely start there.
Then spend some time diving into the ins and outs of your top five. Start learning which types of careers and working environments your strengths are particularly well-suited to. This is an excellent resource as you start to dig in.
After that, ask yourself the following questions to help guide your thought-process around what that new career might look like:
1. Which of your strengths feel most starved or underutilized in your current role?
2. Which strength makes you happiest when it’s operating at full capacity?
3. Which strength do you find yourself using at work most often and feels most natural to flex?
4. Which strength has made the most impact on your career success thus far?
5. Rank your strengths from one to five, with one being the most important in order for you to feel engaged and motivated at work.
Lastly, Gallup recommends this exercise in your career inquiry process: “During a typical work week, what tasks do you perform with ease, excellence and enjoyment? Make a list of these tasks. You are likely capitalizing on your natural talents to get them done.”
As you embark on this journey, remember… being honest with yourself will be key. That’s the only way to tap into a career that feels truly authentic to who you are. The best job will be the one that makes the most of your natural skillset. That great new career you dream of is one where you can excel in your work and find enjoyment in the day to day. If you’re going to make that big leap, might as well take the time to really size up your options and land somewhere most primed for job fulfillment and continued personal and professional growth.