WOULD YOU HELP ME WITH SOME CAREER-RELATED RESEARCH, PLEASE?

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). 

***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.