Three things I wish someone told me about finding the right career
What to do when you have no idea what you want to be when you grow up
I had a horrible time figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I was not one of those people who knew early on that I had a distinct calling. When the time came to choose a college major, I reasoned my way into a career choice.
Since I was good at being a student, I figured I might as well pick a career that required grad school, especially since more education usually means a higher salary. I zeroed in on law school, no doubt influenced by the fact that law was a hot field at the time. Since I couldn’t imagine defending or prosecuting criminals, I set my sights on corporate law.
I decided that a business major made sense since I was interested in corporate law. I chose accounting, which I figured could be my fallback plan if I decided not to go to law school.
It was all very logical, and I liked my classes-the only problem was that by the start of senior year, I’d realized that neither occupation was a fit.
Though I could happily sign up for three years of law school, I wasn’t so sure I actually wanted to work as a lawyer. And my plan B of becoming a CPA was out too since an accounting internship had revealed how little I enjoyed bean-counting.
I had to find a new career path ASAP.
If you’re still trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up, or you’re working in a field that doesn’t feel like the right fit, here are three things I wish somebody told me when I was trying to figure out the type of work that best suited me.
Look for clues
Many years after I faced my career path dilemma, I came across a concept that might have helped me discover the occupation that best suited me.
St. Ignatius of Loyola said that, besides giving us talents and skills, God also plants desires in our hearts so that we will be drawn to some things and averse to others. He believed that if God means for us to do something, he designs us so that we are attracted to that pursuit and can endure its less pleasant aspects. In other words, if God hopes that somebody will be a doctor, they won’t be a person who can’t stand the sight of blood.
Had I known about this concept, I would have looked for clues and trusted my gut a lot more.
If I bothered to notice, the choices I made in small decisions revealed my true preferences. I picked up a communications minor sophomore year because the required courses genuinely interested me.
I wrote for my college newspaper and eventually chose to become editor-in-chief instead of taking a Big Eight accounting internship, which said a lot if I had paid attention.
I loved the summer internship I landed at a magazine because of my newspaper writing experience. Some people hate to write; I thoroughly enjoyed playing with words all day.
Had I been paying attention, all these signs pointed to my affinity for words, communications, and creativity.
Once I picked up on these clues, I started pursuing a career in marketing — a field that required many of the skills I enjoyed using, like writing and thinking creatively.
If you don’t know which career to choose, or you have a sense that you walked down a career path that’s not right for you, I highly recommend reviewing how you enjoy spending your time and what skill sets you most like to employ. What you gravitate towards, even in your free time, says a lot.
Don’t let other voices drown out your inner voice
Nobody makes career decisions in a vacuum. Multiple factors can influence our choices.
When I was trying to find my career path, plenty of voices in the culture echoed some version of what Gordon Gekko said in the 1987 film Wall Street: “Greed is good.” It was easy to get sucked into zeroing on having a “successful” career and not pay much mind to other factors I should have considered, like enjoying and finding meaning in your work.
I also felt the weightiness of living up to my potential. I was always a good student, and the pressure got kicked up another notch when I was elected “Most Likely to Succeed” in high school.
My mom had done a great job of encouraging me to pursue higher education. But things got a little turned around when I initially screened my career options based on whether they required a master’s degree or more.
That’s why it’s essential to never let a parent’s voice, an influencer’s voice, or anyone else’s voice—drown out whatever it is your inner voice might be saying. No matter how well-intentioned other people are, they won’t be the ones reporting to your place of employment every day. The most helpful thing you can do for yourself is to really tune into what your own inner voice thinks about your career choices.
Paying close attention to what your heart desires—and not letting it get drowned out by so-called conventional wisdom, other people’s opinions, or what the media says you should want—gives you the best shot at landing you in an occupation that’s right for you.
Expect a series of small discoveries instead of one giant epiphany
Some people will say that fate, good fortune, dumb luck, or “the universe” ultimately determines where you end up. I prefer to believe that God does in fact have a plan for each of us–though often it seems like a secret plan he keeps locked in some heavenly file cabinet because he wants us to decide for ourselves what to do with the choices in front of us.
When I was desperately trying to figure out which career path was right for me, I would have loved to have had a singular, clear-as-day epiphany about what I was meant to do with the rest of my life. Alas, it did not work that way for me. If you are blessed with a single light-bulb moment, you should be grateful.
But if you don’t have a clear career vision, take heart and make peace with the fact that figuring it out will be a process. Assess your skills and talents. Find a job or an internship that puts you in the vicinity of where you think you’d like to be.
Once you’re there, keep your eyes open and notice whether another role within that company holds greater appeal. If you land somewhere and discover that work isn’t a fit for you, at least you’ve crossed one possibility off your list.
Don’t be afraid of adjusting your course. All you can do is keep trying to orient yourself to what seems to be the right direction.
And for heaven’s sake, don’t overwhelm yourself by thinking your entire career or ultimate happiness hinges on any one job. Just get started, keep asking yourself what the right next step is, and eventually you’ll get to where you belong.
If you’re searching for a career that fits you, these Books of Wisdom could help (click the cover to sample their content):
Joanne, well done sharing of your journey and guidance for others. Like you, I did well in school across the board so nothing stood out in particular. When I went into college, I thought I would go for Accounting because of perceived job security then took one college course in it between my junior and senior years of high school and nixed that idea.
Then I thought about psychology, which interested me, but didn't want to listen to other people's problems all day
I ended up taking another college course over that Summer in Marketing and loved that it married psychology with business, so that ended up being my major too!
Years later, layoffs, trying out some other careers and little signs of other interests in coaching others to be their best and health and wellness in general eventually led me to the digital health space and becoming a Board-Certified Coach.
And I imagine I will evolve again :)
Joanne, Such good advice! Especially this: "Don’t be afraid of adjusting your course. All you can do is keep trying to orient yourself to what seems to be the right direction". I started out passionate about being a ballet dancer, but even if I had succeeded, that career would have been over by about age 35. I shifted direction several times before I settled into a 40-year career in costume design. Also, women's careers last many more years than they used to, due to the culture's adjusted attitudes towards the value of women's work.