Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our monthly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
What do you feel is the biggest mistake job-seekers make in terms of planning their careers.
A:
Failing to plan is a big one. Another mistake is when people
underestimate their abilities and fail to "think big" enough. This is
a key piece I assist people with and has a lot to do with how I came
up with the name of my business, Dream Big Coaching Services.
Many people don't allow themselves even to acknowledge how big a game
they'd like to play in their careers, for fear that it won't happen.
For example, someone I know has an audacious, wonderful business idea
that she's not pursuing because she can't see exactly how she'll get
there, and there seem to be a number of obstacles.
But so what? This business idea is amazing and is perfectly suited to
this person. She owes it to herself to at least sketch out what would
be the first steps, or even what would be the last steps. She might
have years to realize this dream, and planting the seeds now is a
smart strategy. She can work on the steps one at a time, and face
obstacles as they occur; she doesn't have to figure them all out now.
Thinking big about our careers is about recognizing all of our
incredible abilities and talents and finding the energy and drive to
push a dream forward. One of the best results from this process is
learning we have so much more potential than we ever imagined, and so
much less to be afraid of.
Q:
What consequences have you seen when people don't plan their careers well?
A:
What I see frequently are people who enter a particular profession,
work hard at it for 10 or more years, even when it fails to be
satisfying, and then allow themselves to burn out.
When they burn out, they're stuck, because they have no ideas for
what else they might want to do, little energy to generate ideas,
little optimism that they'll be able to move to something more
satisfying, and a high sense of urgency to do something, anything, to
alleviate their current career pain. They feel trapped and powerless.
And it will take them longer to change jobs or careers because they
haven't updated their resume, haven't met any new people, and haven't
thought in a very long time about what they really want.
Another consequence I see is when people feel trapped by the
lifestyle to which they've become dependent. Typically these people
are in well-paying careers they've been very successful in, yet at
the same time they feel ambivalent about the nature of the work
itself. It's not related to what they've imagined themselves doing --
the career just kind of "happened" to them as a result of their high
level of competence.
They have big financial responsibilities and people who depend on
them to keep bringing in this level of compensation. They feel that
their career options are severely limited by the lifestyle that
they've chosen to maintain. They believe they have to choose between
being happy in their career and providing for their family's financial security.
Being promoted and being highly paid are very seductive reasons to
pursue a career path, but without real engagement, the seduction ends
abruptly at some point. If you are in tune with what contributes to
your career happiness and follow a path that supports that, you can
avoid blindly following the money and the pain that can bring.
Q:
What's the biggest myth about job-hunting?
A:
I think the myth that has the biggest impact on the most people is
that job-hunting is something you do only when you really want out or
because you were laid off.
When we job-hunt all the time -- and by this I mean dream, aspire,
plan ahead, meet and talk with people, learn new skills, prepare a
current resume, and learn about other functions or companies we're
interested in - we are in a much better position to make a move when
we want or need to. It can be difficult to find the time to manage
our careers constantly and be "on the hunt" for what's next, but
devoting even an hour a week to the process will go a long way.
Job-hunting before we are truly unhappy or burned out is also a much
more pleasant experience, and gives us a sense of control and
empowerment over our careers. Too often people feel discouraged or
defeated as they search for a new job while in the middle of a very
stressful situation at work. They can feel desperate and make career
decisions for reasons they regret later.
Q:
Thinking "outside the box," what's the best way for job-seekers to
figure out what career will give them the greatest happiness?
A:
Experiencing career happiness has a lot to do with the extent to
which we get to use our key strengths on the job. When we are using
our natural strengths we are more likely to experience "flow," that
is, a state of being during which we feel fully immersed in what
we're doing. Feeling an energized focus and success in the process of
our work correlates very highly with career happiness.
The VIA Inventory of Strengths is a free
online assessment, developed by nationally recognized positive
psychologists, that reveals your top character strengths. A few
examples of these 24 strengths include persistence, social
intelligence, fairness, and humor. The assessment is a great starting
point for job-seekers to identify what they really care about and
what makes them feel engaged.
People are happiest in their careers when they are using they skills
they really enjoy using, which feels very different from using skills
that we're good at, yet don't enjoy. If it's difficult to come up
with a list of enjoyable skills on their own, I recommend that
job-seekers use O*NET's Interest
Profiler, another free assessment that measures six types of
occupational interests: realistic, investigative, artistic, social,
enterprising and conventional.
O*NET offers another free assessment I think is really good at
uncovering your work values -- the
Work Importance Locator.
Both of these assessments from O*NET offer suggestions for specific
careers for you to investigate, based on the results.
But beyond assessments, job-seekers need to take an honest look at
their current and past career experiences and see what they can learn
from them. What was going on when they felt really engaged? What
elements of their experience felt toxic? Through this process themes
emerge, such as "I really dislike working for a company larger than
100 people", or "I love to see a project through from start to
finish." Job-seekers can keep these lessons from their careers in
mind as they evaluate a new opportunity.
When job seekers have a brief, yet powerful list of their key work
values and the key skills they enjoy using, they're in a good
position to accurately discern whether a particular job opportunity
is likely to lead to career happiness.
Q:
What's the biggest mistake job-seekers make that your advice could correct or prevent?
A:
The biggest mistake I see job-seekers make is they spend too much
time applying for job openings that are posted online and not enough
time maintaining and developing their network of contacts.
For some people I work with, networking is very difficult. They don't
know who to contact or what to say. They're not sure what they can
offer in return.
I advise people to start with their immediate circle of contacts and
work out from there. Make a list or print out a list from your
address book of every friend, relative, and current and former
professional contact (to whom you are comfortable revealing that you
are conducting a job search) that you have.
Call them (rather than email) and let them know what it is that
you're looking for and if they have any suggestions for who else you
might contact who knows about that industry or knows someone in the
company you're targeting. Ask them to ask their friends if they know
anyone. Then follow up, stay connected, have coffee -- whatever seems
appropriate.
The key is to stick with it, follow up with people, ask what they
need, and do whatever you can to assist them.
I also advise people who are trying to break into a new industry not
only to attend its professional association meetings but to become
involved in the association on a committee or task force. This is how
you will become known - by making a contribution and being visible.
If you just want some information about the industry, you can simply
attend the meetings and talk with people casually. But if you are
passionate about breaking into an industry, starting by making a
contribution is a very effective and authentic way to make useful
contacts and develop relationships.
Heather Mundell is a certified professional coach and founder of
Dream Big Coaching Services,
a national life and career coaching company based in Seattle, WA.
Heather's clients are successful professionals who desire career
happiness. She blends extensive individual coaching experience with a
background in corporate HR leadership to help her clients with career
planning and career change.
Heather Mundell is a certified professional coach and founder of
