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We have a three-part philosophy that drives
our research, and our Internet programs CareerLeader®, CareerLeader-College™,
and TalentRetainer™.
Part I Your Interests
We believe strongly that interests, not
skills, should be the foundation for people's careers. We've seen
people make poor career choices for lots of reasons -- bowing to
family or societal pressure; trying to "harvest" one's careers too
early, before gaining the needed experience and savvy; or being
seduced by money or status.
One of the most common, though, is people
making career choices because they're good at something -- regardless
of how interested they are in the work. A common conversation goes
something like this:
Us: "What are you doing now?"
Client: "I went into engineering (for example) because I was good
at science and math."
Us: "Were you ever really interested in engineering?"
Client: "Not really, but I was good at science and math, and people
told me I should go into engineering, and it was easy for me, so
I became an engineer -- and now I'm not very happy doing it."
Of course your skill level has to
exceed some minimum level to be competent at anything, but it is
really interests that are most important. Your "competitive advantage"
is your interest in what you're doing.
Part II Combining Your Motivators
and Abilities With Your Interests
We also believe that the combination
of your interests, motivators, and your abilities are the
"hidden nugget" that is often overlooked in setting your
career course. Your motivators (financial gain, altruism,
security, etc.) and your abilities (communication, quantitative
analysis, action-orientation, etc.) are very important as modifying
influences to your interests, and the profile of all three factors
is what makes you -- and should make how you approach your career
in business -- unique.
Sometimes people will say "but
I already knew that job security is motivating to me, and that my
best ability is communication (for example). Your tests did not
tell me anything new." If you have reflected deeply on your
career motivations and capabilities, you may not be "surprised"
by any test assessing either factor. Our response to that point
is: "Fair enough, but did you know that the combination
of your interests, motivators, and abilites means you should investigate
jobs in Marketing, and that jobs in Sales are to be viewed skeptically
(again, for example)?" Taking all three elements together provides
a holistic and comprehensive picture that no other assessment can
provide.
Part III Navigating Corporate Culture
and Avoiding Career Breakdowns
Many aspects of career satisfaction
-- such as being motivated by peer recognition, for example -- often have more
to do with your employer's corporate culture than with the company's
industry or the functional role you hold. This factor may be critical
in determining which company or business unit is best for you, even
though it was all three factors (your abilities, motivators, and
especially your interests) which led your search to look at that
industry or functional role in the first place. Our CareerLeader®
family of programs will help you to realize which corporate culture
will give you the best chance to excel.
Lastly, we all have personality features
which can be strengths, or weaknesses, depending upon the circumstances.
At times, the "right" feature in the "wrong"
situation could lead to a major breakdown in your career's forward
progress. We help you to uncover which of these career Achilles'
Heels pertains to you, so that you can be aware of those aspects
of who you are in order to make sure that the "wrong"
situation doesn't lead to career ruin.
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