Reframing the Career Question

Over the last fourteen years in my current role I have been working in the transition space. Working with students that are leaving high school and looking to go to University. For many of them they have looked at attending University as the start to finding a Dream Job. During the first few years in this role, I had the same philosophy that University = Dream Job. I also went in with the question “What job would you like to have?” Or various iterations that always started with “What…..?”

As I got to learn more about the cohort I was working with, as well as by doing a lot more reading about human psychology, human motivation and human evolution. As well as by observing the changes in the world around us I very quickly changed my thinking.

1. University is not for everyone, and should not have to be for everyone

2. Going to University is not about getting a dream job

3. The question of “What..?” is ridiculous

University is fantastic place for a person, irrespective of age, to be exposed to a plethora of different ways of thinking. Whether it be through academic experiences or, more likely, through the introduction of meeting people that have similar and/or differing opinions to their. This is where their own BRULES and Culturescape can be challenged, this is when growth and learning happens.

This intellectual growth and expansion seems to happen easier in a University environment as the environment is created to foster this. I am not saying that University is the only place this happens, this can happen anywhere and everywhere as long as a person is open to being challenged in the way they think.

This brings about the “What…?” question. Through the numerous conversation I have had with young people there is preconceived notion that they need to know “What they want to do when they finish up at school” There is a fallacy that seems to state by the age of 16/17 a human HAS to know WHAT they want to do. As we all know that this is incredulous yet it still seems to be the foundation for lots of careers conversations at schools and in homes around the world.

I would like to take the Simon Sinek Golden Circle way of thinking. It would be great to rephrase these career conversations, which can happen at any age and stage of life. The rephrase would be “Why…?” “Why would you like to be/do ….?” With the focus that there needs to be deep introspection before giving this answer. For some people this answer may come very quickly, for others it may take some time as they break through the shackles of the Culturescape. Once they can identify the “Why” then the “What” and the “How” become much easier to navigate.

In the same vein, as we are speaking about career conversation. I came across a fantastic summary by Amy Wrzeniewski in Vishen Lakhian’s book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind. Amy states:

A JOB is a way to pay the bills. It is a means to an end and you have little attachment to is.

A CAREER is a path toward growth and achievement. Careers have clear ladders for upward mobility.

A CALLING is work that is an important part of your life and provides meaning. People with a calling are generally more happy with the work they do

That seems to be a beautiful summary of what most of us are doing. Most of us are either looking for then get “stuck” in a Job. Some of us seek to find a Career then get “stuck” in that. Very few get to the stage of their calling because they have not spent time, or been given the opportunity to truly find that.

With these two very beautiful simple models, wouldn’t it be great to mash up the two ideas. The mashup of the Golden Circle and Amy’s summary. To me it would look like this

So once a persons “Why” is found that is essentially their Calling, however in order to get to their Calling. They need to think about “What” Career they have to get that may give them the financial/emotional freedom to get to their Calling. However, before they do that they need to start with a Job which is “How” they can start to get to their Why and their Calling.

This is the model of conversation I have started to have with people I am working with.

The self realisation that I have seen as they realise they don’t really HAVE to know their WHAT just yet. However, it is important to remember that any Job, no matter what it is, can help to get to the WHY/CALLING, as long as this has been cultivated in the thinking.

More often then not a simple reframe in a question can produce unexpected answers.

References

Simon Sinek. https://simonsinek.com/

Vishen Lakhiani : The Code of the Extraordinary Mind (2019). Rodale Books, Random House