Unlocking Career Satisfaction: How Serena Found Her Calling
The Dilemma š¤
Serena came to me with a problem many face after college: she realized her marketing job wasn't a good fit, but had no idea what career path to pursue instead. She had followed the typical approach of picking a major she was generally interested in but found the day-to-day realities of her marketing role underwhelming.
The Breakthrough
As a 20-year career coaching veteran, I've seen this situation play out countless times. We tend to choose careers based on broad interests, failing to account for the fact that jobs require performing various tasks and activities. You may enjoy writing, for example, but dislike other common responsibilities of a marketing role.
The solution? Re-evaluating how we select careers to prioritize finding roles aligned with our strengths and preferred ways of working.
The Career Decoder Solution š»
To help clients like Serena, I developed the Career Decoder Quiz. This free assessment identifies your top three "workplace personas"āthe preferred ways you create value and feel most satisfied at work.
There are eight main value-creating modes people operate in, such as analyzing data, leading teams, creating new ideas, and more. While we all use a mix of these modes, most of us gravitate towards and derive more satisfaction from our top three personas.
Serena's Aha Moment
For Serena, taking the Career Decoder was an aha moment. Her results showed she most enjoyed:
Analyzing information to solve complex problems
Coming up with creative ideas and innovative solutions
Persuading and influencing others
Suddenly, it made sense why marketing had felt like a poor fitāher role involved few opportunities to deeply analyze issues or think creatively.
A Fresh Career Path š£ļø
Armed with these insights, we explored career options that better aligned with Serena's top workplace personas. Roles like management consulting, product management, and operations analysis emerged as promising potential paths.
By prioritizing finding work that played to her strengths of analysis, creativity, and influence, Serena was able to identify new career directions she felt inspired and energized about pursuing.
The Bottom Line
If you're struggling to find career fulfillment, spend some time reflecting on the specific tasks, activities, and ways of working that bring you satisfaction. Don't just choose based on general interests.
Taking the free Career Decoder is a great first step. By uncovering your unique workplace persona, you'll gain powerful insights into the types of roles and responsibilities that could finally unlock career satisfaction.
Go get āem!
J.T. OāDonnell
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