Why it is important to know your strengths before choosing a career.
Helping people identify their strengths is one of the best parts of my job as a career coach. The way people’s faces light up when they talk about something they love doing or an activity that energises them gives me so much joy knowing they are connecting with an essential part of themselves. Uplift Coaching, is a career coaching service in Mornington Peninsula, and can provide you with the tools and guidance to help you to define what your career strengths are, allowing you to find your path towards a successful career.
What are strengths?
Strengths are qualities, skills, and abilities that you have a natural affinity for. They are not learned behaviours but rather, things that come naturally to you, that you perform well, and get energy from. Think back to when you were a kid in primary school. Was there something you just loved to do to the exclusion of all else? These childhood activities can give you clues about your innate strengths and helps to set the foundation for the many abilities you have as an adult.
Unfortunately, at age 18 when most people are choosing a career path, not many remember or are even aware of what their strengths are. Furthermore, most may not be seeking guidance from a career coach. The standard way of choosing is to finish school and embark on further study or a career based on what (narrow range of) subjects we might have liked at school and how well we did in VCE exams. With so much pressure to achieve the highest score, and little experience in life, there is not the opportunity to really consider what career paths would suit our natural talents and passions. It is not surprising then to find that once we get out into the real world and do the job, we can feel very disillusioned because it is nothing like we envisioned.
Fortunately, modern times no longer ascribes to the one career for life model and there are ample opportunities to make a switch to something new. Because work has invaded so much of our waking lives it is becoming increasingly important for people to choose a career that reflects their strengths, interests, and values.
If you are thinking about or in the process of changing careers or transitioning between roles, knowing where your strengths lie will help you tremendously in making the right career choice. It is well established from research that using our strengths at work means we perform better and feel more fulfilled. I have had many people tell me that they stayed for years in a job that was either difficult or painstakingly boring because they didn’t know what else to do or blamed themselves for not enjoying it in some way. This can really erode our self-confidence over time. When working in a job that does not call on your strengths, it is like forcing a square peg in a round hole, it just doesn’t fit, and rather than stay in struggle-ville, it can be taken as a sign that there is a job out there better suited to you. If this resonates it might be beneficial to talk to a career counsellor and get clarity on how you can find the career that suits you. Contact me here for more information.
Here are some questions to get you thinking more about your strengths.
1. When did you last achieve something you were proud of? What were you doing?
2. What does a great day look like to you?
3. What tasks/activities at work and outside of work make you feel energised?
4. What do your friends and family think you are good at?
5. What skills, through work or school, did you pick up easily?
6. When do you get so absorbed in a task that you lose track of time?
Try to narrow down your answers to specific abilities and generate a list of about 10. Some examples of strengths are creativity, organisation, helping people, courage, persistence, emotional awareness, connector, humour, writing, adventure, diplomacy, competitive, confidence, improver etc.
Once you have a good idea of what your strengths are than you can narrow in on the study or careers choice that compliment your strengths. I hope you have fun exploring yours. Having the support of a career coach or career counsellor can be a great way to get more clarity and confidence. Contact me here to know more.
Amelia McDermott is a Career Coach and Coaching Psychologist, based on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne. With nearly 20 years of training and experience working as a psychologist, Amelia has a strong understanding of how to uncover what makes people tick, and how to help people find an authentic career that aligns with their unique talents and values. If you’re looking for Career Advice or Career Counselling, look no further than Uplift Coaching and enjoy a consultation with Amelia to see if a Career Coach is right for you. Book a consultation here.