Niche Clarity Program

Career Article

Twelve Ways to Sabotage Your Quest
for a Fulfilling Career

It's Tuesday morning after a long holiday weekend. How does it feel to be back at work?

Do you wish you had a more fulfilling job or career? If so, you are not alone. Over 60% of employees are dissatisfied or unengaged at work.

Most people in this situation long for a job/career that's satisfying, engaging, and meaningful.

The problem is most people don't know how to go about finding such a career. In the thirteen years I've worked with clients craving a career change, I've listened to many new clients tell me how they've spent years trying, but failing, to find the kind of career they want.

Do any of their strategies remind you of your own career change tactics?

Passive Strategies

Each of these strategies has a passive component to it. In a sense, you want your new career to find you...without you having to take much initiative.

1. You spend a lot of time wishing you had another job OR you spend a lot of time dreaming about a particular career. But for all your wishing and dreaming, you don't take action to implement your ideas.
   
2. You believe 'The Answer' will appear one day-- so you keep waiting. The truth is, meaningful careers evolve as a result of exploring your interests and trying out new experiences.

By Default Strategies

You are doing a bit of leg work to determine your next career move, but you don't have a plan of any sort. If a new opportunity arises, you leap on it ...without checking whether it makes sense for you.

3. You fall into jobs. When opportunities present themselves, you jump at the chance to leave the job that isn't working--without fully examining the realities of the new position.
   
4. You choose a career because the people around you think it's a good move. Whether the money and status are good or the job is consistent with your education, other people think the job is a good fit, so you take it.
   
5. You get caught up in the 'I Could Do That' Syndrome. You meet someone at a party who tells you about their career. You try it on, check it out, and run into a snag or meet someone else whose career seems more interesting. You are so busy trying on everyone else's career, you don't know what really works for you.

Half-Baked Strategies

You have a direction, but you aren't asking yourself enough questions. With a little more planning and forethought you could transform your ideas into a workable career. If you then find the career is not a good fit, you've saved yourself from an
unnecessary disaster.

6. You attempt to identify a new career based on one interest or skill. Perhaps you are good with people or you like to work with numbers. Unfortunately working with one clue doesn't give you enough to go on.
   
7. You jump headlong into the new career you've chosen without testing the waters. As a result you know nothing about the job and it's potential. In fact, you don't even know whether you'll enjoy it or not.
   
8. You target a career that looks great from a professional point of view. The problem is taking the job forces you to live a life you don't want. In the final analysis, how good is that job?

Giving Up Too Soon Strategies

You may already have a viable career idea, but you are your own worst enemy. You are limiting your success by basing your decisions and actions on beliefs that aren't valid.

9. You talk yourself out of job/career ideas faster than you can research them. As a result you discount possible careers based on the unsubstantiated assumptions you have made inside your own mind.
   
10. You are afraid to commit to a career direction for fear you won't be able to enjoy any of your other interests ever again. Have you ever looked for ways to combine your interests to meet several needs at once?
    
11. You give up on your career idea as soon as you hit a bump in the road. Rather than look for creative alternatives, you tell yourself to give up your dream and just accept the job you have. As time progresses, however, you get so frustrated with your situation you realize you have to do something! You start the roller coaster ride one more time—until you hit the next bump.
    
12. You don't reach out for help--you are bound and determined to figure this out on your own. Unfortunately, if you have been wrestling with the riddle of your next career for some time, you may not be able to step beyond the scenario that runs through your mind like a continuous loop. Your best strategy is to look beyond yourself to see yourself, your interests, and your future direction from an entirely new perspective.

Do you see yourself in this list? Have you been hoping for a career change for longer than you'd like to admit?

There Is Hope

Even if you see yourself in several of these strategies, there is hope. It's not too late to make a change.

Now that you recognize that your strategies aren't getting you where you want to go, you have a choice.

1. You can continue being miserable, wishing and hoping your future will be different from your past.
   
   OR
   
   
2. You can choose a new strategy--a strategy that
   supports you in proactively and consciously creating
   a fulfilling career that enables you to be yourself
   and live the life you want.

Since I left my corporate job 13 years ago this week, I've assisted hundreds of clients in transforming their careers. Over time I noticed that certain tactics resulted in new directions faster than other tactics. The Career Clarity Program, my 8 Step program now in its 5th Edition, helps people breakthrough to new levels of clarity and action regarding their career.

A Career Clarity Success Story

I've worked with many clients who have completely reinvented themselves and their careers. Periodically, I'll include a Career Clarity Success Story in this
eNewsletter to inspire you in your quest for a fulfilling career.

Today I share Ed's story. After spending ten years trying to 'figure it out' on his own, Ed and I started working together. His journey from Semiconductor Marketing to Inn Keeping is inspiring and shows that even when things look bleak, there's room for a breakthrough.

(This success story was recently selected as one of six stories published in the 1st Edition of Coaching Success Stories eBook by Milana Leshinsky. --The following is an excerpt from the full story.)

Before:

'When Ed first came to see me, he was quite unhappy with his work as a Product Marketing Manager for a hi-tech company in the Silicon Valley. In fact, he'd been unhappy for quite some time. Although Ed's career had progressed quite well over a 20 year period, his value system was becoming more and more at odds with the demands of the corporate world.'

'Ed had been trying to find a new career on his own for at least ten years. Although he hadn't hurt himself financially by staying in a job he didn't like, he did experience huge losses at a personal level due to his unrewarding job and work environment. His self-esteem had plummeted, his health had suffered, and his standing in his field had steadily declined.'

During:

'As Ed and I worked through each step of my Career Clarity Program, we began to clarify what worked best for Ed in terms of his work environment, his work colleagues, and his lifestyle. We also explored his passions and interests and began brainstorming new career options that fit his needs and his personal style. On the surface, all was going well. Ed had definite interests that tied to the values he couldn't express at work. As a result of the brainstorming phase of the Career Clarity Program, Ed determined that his number one choice for his next career was to own and operate a Bed and Breakfast.'

'As we defined his ideal work situation, however, I began to notice Ed knew more about what he didn't want and what he didn't think was possible than what he truly desired. For instance, Ed stated quite emphatically that he and his wife would never sell their home in the Bay Area, nor would they ever move. Their living location was non-negotiable, which made it impossible for him to pursue his ideal work.'

After:

'Now, five years later, Ed and Dawn continue to own and operate the Butterfield Bed and Breakfast in Julian, California (NE of San Diego) they purchased in 1999. They recently purchased a neighboring house to add a private cabin to their B&B complex. Thankfully their Inn survived both the 2002 and 2003 fires in the Julian area.'

To read how Ed moved beyond his limited thinking, read the Coaching Success Stories ebook. Ed's story begins on page 4.

All the best to you on your quest to create fulfilling work for yourself.

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