Effortless: “Seeming not to need any effort”.
I often look back and wonder what the first stages of my career would have looked like if I had the benefit of knowing what I know today. Of course, I was young and full of ambition, ready to take on the world! But what if I had taken the time to really think about what my strengths were as a teenager? Could my career journey have been a more productive one? Not that I regret where I am today, but I do wonder, at times, whether I could have reached my goals sooner had I focused on my natural strengths at an earlier age. I’m a firm believer that we all have our own unique inner gifts. It’s important to discover what these gifts are and then develop them, not only to benefit our careers, but our lives overall.
When I think about my children, I see three completely different humans. It’s sometimes hard to believe they belong to the same family! I think about their future careers, and I’m instantly drawn to the inner strengths that make each of them so unique.
My youngest son is a bright student with many skills. I’m confident he could easily go on to study pretty much anything in the future. However, when I observe him tucked away in a corner reading book after book without anyone telling him he must, it’s easy to see he has an inner passion and ability for reading and interpreting literature. Combine this with a high level of creativity in his writing, and you quickly realise he would most benefit from pursuing a creative/expressive career, such as journalism, script writing or even an author, where he can best utilise these natural skills and passion. In my opinion, anything outside this would see him falling short of achieving his true potential.
My daughter has a natural singing ability. However, she struggles in front of an audience. Anyone who listens to her would instantly agree that her voice has potential. But when you hand her a pencil and a sheet of paper, she has the ability to create drawings and designs way beyond the “talented” category. It is a true gift and something she was not formally taught. Despite this, she is able to draw with such ease and at a level far beyond her years! It’s simply “effortless”. She often mentions that when she draws, she’s in her happy place! Clearly a creative career would not be too far off the mark for her.
My eldest son has a talent for playing the guitar. The way his fingers glide up and down the fret board is quite impressive. Music could quite possibly be a career option for him in the future. It did however take some years to get to this level. When I delve deeper to look for signs of his most natural inner strengths, I realise his ability to engage with others is his strongest natural trait. It has been ever since he was in pre-school. He can instantly connect with a two-year-old just as well as an eighty-year-old. People are naturally drawn to him. It just happens, “effortlessly!” It is a trait that will certainly serve him well in life. I feel he should look towards a career that involves direct interaction with people, such as Sales, Human Resources or Account Management.
I am saddened when I hear about young children having their futures engineered for them by their parents. Hours of extra study and tuition in place of extra-curricular experiences, all in a bid to achieve sufficient marks to enter that elusive degree, considered to be the “ticket to success”. Most of them have probably never been asked how passionate they are about following such a path. While some might be, there are many others who are doing it to satisfy their parents and societal pressures. It is these children who run a very high risk of ending up in unsatisfying careers that are not well matched to their natural strengths.
I believe that to ensure career success, we must search for, and draw on, our most natural inner strengths and abilities. It’s critical that our younger generation try as many extra-curricular activities as possible throughout their childhood so they can discover their inner passions and natural traits.
When considering career change or direction, I feel we should firstly look within ourselves and evaluate those skills inside us, those that are “effortless”. This allows us to better connect with careers that provide the best opportunity for success and happiness. It might be very clear, or we may need to identify a few combined strengths, and maybe even think outside the box a little, but I believe for every person there is a match. One that will provide them with true career satisfaction!
It’s sometimes hard to know what direction to take in your career or what hiring decisions to make as a Manager. The team at Alexander Appointments want to be that bouncing board for candidates and clients, to always encourage positive career progression.
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The Team @ Alexander Appointments
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