I tell young people to career coach themselves! I ask them if they know an older adult who hates his or her career. Most of them do. Then I ask them how they think that could have happened. Certainly, their adult friend didn’t plan it that way during their career coaching. After some discussion, the students decide that maybe this person didn’t have a plan at all.
I’ve interviewed hundreds of successful adult professionals in my work. I’ve asked each to recall what he or she planned to have as a career when he or she was in high school. Then I ask if that is what he or she is doing now. My question for the students is what percentage of those older professionals are doing what they planned.
What percentage are doing what they planned?
The answer is low, only 2%! And they usually fall into two categories, teachers and nurses, which is interesting. I’ll get back to that in a minute. Meanwhile, why use career coaching if it isn’t going to work? And how do you career coach yourself successfully? Here are some keys:
- Do what you love to do. What are your hobbies, interests, and passions?
- Consider your plan as a way to get to your career, not as a fixed document with an end point.
- Don’t be driven by others. Go where you want to go.
- Plan to go somewhere that excites you and inspires you.
- Don’t be too specific, you’ll need flexibility.
- Prepare a contingency plan, because you’ll need that too.
Teachers and nurses often pursue their careers because of their passion for helping others. They feel their passion strongly. The rest of us have to dig deeper to find what our passion is. Take the time to do that. It’s the key to a successful and fulfilling career.