WOULD YOU HELP ME WITH
SOME CAREER-RELATED RESEARCH, PLEASE?
My life was
transformed in 1994 when I sat down and had my first-ever 'proper' career guidance
interview with Mike Bond at Pathways Adult Career Development Centre in
Sunderland.
Prior to that time I
was pretty-much kicking about achieving not very much. At the time of meeting
Mike, I was rock-bottom. The irony is I ended-up getting Mike's job at Pathways
and, by way of a 2-year process, fulfilling my dream. I will be grateful to him
for the rest of my life for the help he gave me in sparking my 'calling'. (What
some people call the 'Aha Moment'.)
I designed my 'Career
Dovetail Formula' in 1997 when, working with students in schools and colleges,
I began relaying the visual metaphor for what can be a very hard-to-grasp,
esoteric and intangible commodity - the 'perfect fit' of finding great work.
Subsequently, it has been my brand, philosophy and methodology, see below. I've
been evangelising about the power of quality-assured career guidance ever since
and my own quest has led me along a magical mystery tour helping others tune-in
to the power of meaning-filled and meaningful work.
Most often people are
pretty downbeat about the notion of discovering joy at work; at least when we
start out. But watching them transform is the joy I derive from what I do. One
of the toughest lessons for me has been that you can only help someone when
they are ready to help themselves. The process usually involves devotion,
sacrifice, control, denial (?), faith, self-encouragement and discipline. So it
can be a tough journey. [And that's why I believe only 10% of the population
discover their perfect work.]
Therefore, to improve
that worrying statistic and with so many young people struggling to build traction
in their careers, I am currently researching the 'Anatomy of the Aha Moment'
for a new book/ short film we're making. I'm dissecting the 'before and after'
of the changes people go through when they take time to 'career dovetail'
themselves into great work.
So - after all that -
here's the question:
(You can be as critical, quizzical, doubting, orthodox or enthusiastic as you like. This has to be a sliding-scale of opinion to be credible).
(You can be as critical, quizzical, doubting, orthodox or enthusiastic as you like. This has to be a sliding-scale of opinion to be credible).
***What faith do you
have in there being a perfect 'career dovetail' out their for you? Have you
found yours? If so what does it mean to you? Is it purely qualitative or could
you quantify it too? And is there a price to pay - time, money, relationships,
attrition, anxiety...***
It would be great to
get a dialogue going on this BIG QUESTION here below. But if you would feel
more comfortable, you can email me at duncan@careeradvise.me
I'd
be ever-so grateful if you would contribute your thoughts, feelings and
aspirations. If we can crack the recipe, who knows where it might lead.
THANKS
NB - if you could share this post with your friends, we could grow a really big conversation about what I hope will become an inspirational solution.