Part III: “Setting Out to Explore” using the CareerFinder™ Method
by Angela Loëb
During the career changing process, some people encounter the multiple-direction dilemma. They see different possibilities and have a hard time making up their minds.
Take your time and remember to check in with your inner wisdom as you do your researching. Author of Zen and the Art of Making a Living & How to Find the Work You Love, Laurence Boldt, says, “You may not think so, but you really do know what you are here to do. Many of you are carrying around a great secret that you have yet to let yourself know.”
So, getting back to this multiple-direction dilemma, what do you do when you could go several directions? There are 3 main types that Jay & I talk about when we teach The CareerFinder™ Method, and we refer to them as either “scanners,” “specialists” or “overlappers.”
Scanners have trouble settling into any one thing because once they’ve mastered something, they yearn to move on and learn something else. They’re always scanning the horizon, looking for the next thing to tackle. If you’re a scanner who’s beating yourself up because you can’t settle on what to investigate, then you probably haven’t yet realized that this is something you should respect about yourself. The curiosity to move on to master a series of new things is a gift. How can you use this? If you were an entrepreneur, you’d probably be a serial entrepreneur. Start a business, work it until you get bored, sell the business and move on to the next. Listing all of your interests and sequentially planning your career path would be a good idea. “First, I’ll do this, then I’ll do that and after that I’ll do…”
Specialists like to be devoted to one field and are driven to be very good at what they do. The desire to explore at all means you must be very ready to make a change in your life. If, during your exploration you feel particularly stressed by having too many options to choose from, then you might be a specialist. Scanners would delight in having so many options. Specialists might find it overwhelming. Your very nature of wanting to be focused on a single point might be causing you to panic about having more than one career path to investigate. It’s very normal to have more than one possible direction to explore. “Too many” is relative and is usually in the eye of the beholder! Go ahead and take some time to reflect on what’s happening with you, and be patient and gentle with yourself. You will find the answer, and you will settle in. Right now – just for the time being – we’d advise you to see your specialty as “exploring.”
Overlappers are drawn to several possible overlapping paths. If you’re an overlapper, we challenge you to think outside the box, meaning we want you to consider the possibility that your options don’t have to be eliminated or incorporated into only one single path. You could consider what is known as a “portfolio career” in which you do several possibly overlapping career activities. You might also consider how one or more of the paths could still be done as a volunteer endeavor or as a hobby. An example would be when someone has a regular job with one or more employers while freelancing on the side. How would a portfolio career look for you? Use your imagination without critiquing whether it’s realistic. You’re still in the exploring stage at this point. You can consider the feasibility later.
Remember that when setting out to explore, it is wise to keep your mind and heart open. We urge you to consider all the angles and be open to the possibilities that reveal themselves.
Happy Hunting!
Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and co-owner of Great Occupations. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, “pajama learning” webclasses, personalized consulting sessions, as well as through The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more at www.greatoccupations.com.
Attention Career Changers: Check out our upcoming workshop, “Destination: New Career!” coming up on October 23rd at www.greatoccupations.com/destination-new-career/ and click here to read our press release that went out earlier this week!