Career...ON Purpose!

"Success is not an accident. You have  to do it on purpose." Carrie Green

Thanks for continuing to read the "ON Purpose" blog series dedicated to ALL whom are on quest to find meaning, purpose and are at a loss...may this blog be a resource to you and your quest for meaning. 

1. The first blog introduced us to the series: Fill-In-The-Blank...ON Purpose
2. The second blog went deep and set the stage for a fruitful life: Life...ON Purpose!
3. The third blog took a turn toward our careers - in more detail around the "clock" - 80K Hour Clock...ON Purpose! 
4. This blog continues the series and focuses in more detail on careers!

Reasons Why We Need to be More Intentional in Managing Our Career:

1. Multiple career changes should be expected - 4-6 career changes are NOT out of question!
2. Job security is dead - you are paid for your service - you should not expect anything more!
3. Loyalty no longer matters - you are paid for your service - you should not expect anything more!
4. 1099 contract workers are 4 out 10 - welcome to the GIG economy where OVER 40% of workers are now 1099 contract workers! (Bureau of Labor Statistics - BLS) 
5. Employers ask workers EVERY DAY for new ways to improve efficiency, productivity, and profits - CHANGE is the new normal.
6. Most of us struggle to cope with change - close to 70% of change initiatives fail (IBM/HBR)
7. ~70% of the workforce are NOT engaged! (Gallup)
8. 2-out-of-10 workers are ACTIVELY disengaged! (i.e. wish HARM on the companies where they work) (Gallup)
9. Depression, addiction, and suicide is now epidemic for those in their THIRD / FOURTH quarters of their careers! (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
10. If you don't, no one else will! - It bears repeating.

If you've taken the time to focus on your "Life ON Purpose" and completed the 7 Step Exercise, you are ready to address your "Career ON Purpose"! For everyone else, you should be prepared to complete the PRE-Work!

So, as was done in the blog "Life...ON Purpose!" I prefer to provide building blocks to address this topic!

CAREER...ON PURPOSE!

PRE-Work!

PRE-WORK - Review YOUR outcomes from "Life...ON Purpose!". The outcomes will set you on the right path toward being able to be MORE strategic in your 80000 hour career journey and will allow you to manage your career till the very end! 

What's needed to address YOUR "Career ON Purpose" (output from your "Life...ON Purpose!")

• PRE-Work 1: Identified what's important to YOU!
• PRE-Work 2: Know your "Why-ering"!
• PRE-Work 3: Aligned outcomes with your values
• PRE-Work 4:  Understand / embrace your wiring

The results of the PRE-Work will allow you to NAME and CLAIM who you are as it relates to your life. Now with that as the foundation, you can begin to look to "connect-the-dots" toward your career. You should better understand / appreciate YOU! In other words, you know yourself! Now you have the opportunity to MAP YOU toward a career. began by thinking about where you are now, where you want to be and how you’re going to get there. 

The Career Managing Process Has Four Steps:

Step 1: Map!
Step 2: Seek!
Step 3: Thrive! 
Step 4: Evolve!

Step 1: Map!

"Pay attention to the things you are naturally drawn to. They are often connected to your path, passion, and purpose in life. Have the courage to follow them." Ruben Chavev

Objective: NAME / CLAIM What YOU Are Working With!

Once you have thought about where you are at now and where you want to be, you can work on getting to know your skills, interests and values. 

Ask Yourself:

• What did I NAME from the PRE-Work?
  • Understand what's important to ME!
  • Know my "Why-ering"!
  • Appreciate my values!
  • Embrace my wiring!
• How do the results align and connect with my career?
• How am I prepared to CLAIM it when I do my work?

Seek to Understand - NAME / CLAIM! 
This step is about exploring occupations and learning areas of interest to you.

You should be prepared to dig to understand your:

• Aptitude
• Skill
• Practicality

Once you have some idea of your occupational preferences you can research the specific skills and qualifications required for those occupations. The great thing is there are websites and assessments that help you investigate this deeply!

Examples of Tools Used to Help You Understand:

• Strong Interest Inventory Assessment - one of the world’s most widely respected and frequently used career planning tools. It has helped both academic and business organizations develop the brightest talent and has guided thousands of individuals—from high school to college students to mid-career seeking a change—in their search for a rich and fulfilling career.  (For more on assessments, SEE: Assessment Summary - Picking Your Scissors...)
• MyPursuit.com - Research more than 350 career paths and occupations. The site answers questions relating to Job Duties, Salaries, Education, Career Assessments, Top Cities, and 5,000 Colleges and Universities. 
• MyPlan.com - helps students and professionals plan more fulfilling lives by making well-informed decisions about their education and careers. Whether you’re deciding on what college to go to, choosing a major, planning ahead for your first career, or thinking about making a career change, MyPlan.com can help you explore options and bring clarity and insight into figuring out what’s right for you. 100% independent and unbiased.
• O*NET OnLine - an application created for the general public to provide broad access to the O*NET database of occupational information. It offers a variety of search options and occupational data, while "My Next Move" is a streamlined application for students and job seekers. Both applications were developed for the U.S. Department of Labor by the National Center for O*NET Development.
• WetFeet - a career advice website and publisher for driven, career-minded students and young professionals looking for tools, tips, and inside information to help them plan their careers and ultimately achieve career satisfaction.

Ask yourself:

• Which occupations interest you and ask yourself "How do my skills and interests match up with these occupations?"
• Where are the gaps?
• What options do I have to gain these skills or qualify for these occupations? 
• What skills do I need?
• Where is the work?

At the end of this step you could have a list of preferred occupations and/or learning options and will begin to have a clearer idea of your work or learning goal and your individual preferences. You can use this information about yourself as your personal ‘wish list’ against which you can compare all the information you gather in Step 2: Seek!  Your personal preferences are very useful for helping you choose your best option at this point in time, which you can do in Step 3: Thrive!

A Note About Goals - Be Prepared to Set SMAAAAART Goals! 

You will be well served to set "SMAAAAART Goals" as your journey unfolds and evolves. SMAAAAART stands for: 

S - specific - state exactly what you want to accomplish (who, what, where, when, why). Other "S" possibilities - significant, stretching. 
M - measurable - how will you demonstrate / measure your progress? Other "M" possibilities - meaningful, motivational.
A - agreed - parties should be of the same mind-set toward a goal.
A - attainable - yeah, we heard of WAGs (wild-ass goals) but don't go too crazy...see point above.
A - achievable - see above.
A - accountable - it's great to have goals. It's also great to be accountable to achieving the goal. 
A - action-oriented - is there any other kind of goals / objective worth working toward if it did not involve some sort of action?
R - realistic - a sensible and practical idea of what can be achieved or expected. Other "R" possibilities - relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented.
T - time-based - WHEN will the goal be achieved? Other "T" possibilities - time-bound, timely, tangible, trackable. 

Step 2: Seek!

"Your career is what you're paid for, your calling is what you're made for." Steve Harvey

Objective:  AIM YOU!

Part A - Seek to Know - AIM!

This step involves comparing your options, narrowing down your choices and thinking about what suits you best at this point in time.  

Ask yourself:

• What are my best work/training options?
• How do they match with my skills, aptitudes, interests and values?
• How do they fit with the current labor market?
• How do they fit with my current situation and responsibilities?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
• What will help and what will hinder?
• What can I do about it?

At the end of this step you should narrow down your options and have more of an idea of what you need to do next to help you achieve your goals.

Part B - Seek to Have Others Know You!

Brand YOU! 

If you don’t develop a personal brand, employers and colleagues will do it for you. You need to identify your gifts, skills, passions, strengths, values and turn these lists into a branding statement you can use in interviews and presentations.

Ask yourself:

• What's my brand?
• How am I known? Is this OK with me?
• What is my online reputation? Is this OK with me?
• How am I nurturing and building my network?

Step 3: Thrive! Master YOUR Building Blocks.

"You can't do a good job. If a job is all you do..." Unknown

Objective: Master YOUR Building Blocks.

In the blog "Gladwell's 10K-Hour Rule & Our 80K Hour Career..." the concept of mastery was discussed. Step 3 is where you take this to heart. 

Once you've zeroed in here's what you'll be best served to do: 

• Enhance your current skills;
• Look to add new skills;
• Pay attention to reputation (especially online);
• Continue to build and nurture network;
• Build value inside and outside your organization.
• Keep your tools current / valued / top tier
• Regularly update resume / LinkedIn profile, work samples and other application materials.
• Keep the above documents dynamic and ready when an opportunity presents itself - pounce!
• Network to next opportunity(s). 
• Do NOT rely on the once traditional path: i.e. respond to a "Help Wanted" ads; on-line Job Boards; and waiting for the phone to text or ring.

Step 4: Evolve!

"The day you stop evolving, is the day you cease to exist." Mark Myette

Objective: Keep evolving!

Plan the steps you need to take to put your plan into action. Use all you have learnt about your gifts, aptitude, skills, interests, talents and values together with the information you've gathered about the world of work to create your plan.

Heck! Depending on where you are in you 80000 hour career journey, chances are you've spent 1000's of hours getting to that point! You SHOULD have a STRONG idea about what you bring, how you want to apply yourself, and perhaps, how you want to be remembered! 

Honestly, this should be the fun part! 

Shape Your Destiny 

Think and plan ahead. Be prepared for new opportunities (or layoffs) by taking classes, participating in industry organizations, mentoring others, and working your career plan. All too often I have seen folks get "blind-sided" by changes. Ironically, there were probably signs...like a breeze BEFORE the storm...the wind chimes start getting louder...and yet, they ignored them. DON'T BE THEM! 

Ask yourself:

• What actions/steps will help me achieve my work, training and career goals?
• Where can I get help?
• Who will support me?

​Call to Action!

• Take CONTROL of actively managing your career ON purpose!
• Lean in and MANAGE YOUR 4 Quarter Career Management clock!
• Understand what's important to YOU!
• Know your "Why-ering"!
• Align with your values
• Identify your wiring
• Name / Claim What YOU Are Working With!
• Seek! AIM YOU!
• Thrive! Master YOUR Building Blocks.
• Evolve! Keep evolving! 

Let Me Know!

What a labor of love doing this blog series has been! I hope you have taken some nuggets from it! If you have, please feel free to share with me and your fellow readers!

My best in your quest!

Mark

​I believe each of us is a gift. I create trusted relationships where individuals, teams and leaders NAME, CLAIM and AIM their gifts to achieve optimum ​performance.

​Interested to Learn About Yourself or Your Team? Mark is a Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Facet5 and TotalSDI Facilitator and happy to discuss your situation.

​​SEE Summary List of Other Blogs!

let's talk!