Why Your Career is a River, not a Path.

Real situation: I was going to write a trite article about the state of the current job market and why to or not to freak out about it, but you don’t need that from me. You can find all of the “yes/and/but” type of news HERE or HERE or HERE.

To be honest, my brand is not to tell you how many jobs were added, or that unemployment ticked up to 4.3%, or that the job market is cooling so interest rates are on tract to get cut in the fall. Does that interest me? Yes, as it should. Can I help break it down for you into manageable pieces if it’s overwhelming to you? I sure can.

However, I’m much more interested in what that means for you personally, and where you are now to help you make future decisions in your work. And since I tend to move at the speed of inspiration, as one of my favorite musicians says, I was diverted from my statistical article writing by a fantastic conversation with two collaborative networking friends which centered more on how any of us even got to where we were in the first place. And I started to think.

The question was: “how did you find your career path” and really, the answer was: “it found me”.

Many years ago, I trained a guidance counselor, who as it turned out was the guidance counselor at my old high school. When they heard I was alumni, they invited me to speak at a career day event. I remember giving a speech to a group of Seniors and explained that I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up and it didn’t quite work that way. I initially wanted to be a child psychologist and heal every kid in the world (I was 15). Then I ended up in journalism because I wanted to write for Rolling Stone magazine (I was not 15). I still wanted to heal every kid in the world, too. Then I achieved my MS in counseling and specialized in the adolescent population because they had so much potential and so much pressure, and I felt like they needed to be heard (I definitely was not 15). My point was that I spent a 10+ year journey landing where I needed to land so they didn’t, as high-school Seniors that day, have to know what they wanted to do just then; because as time goes on and more experiences were had, that likely will change. Purely for comedic effect I always say I was never asked back. Also, there was someone who worked for the FBI at the same event and NO WAY was I cooler than that person was. And, by the way, my career grew far beyond that moment into areas I loved and never expected.

Here’s the truth: Your career path is not a monolith. Career paths aren’t solid, like an actual concrete path. Think of your career path as a river and all of your experiences as tributaries. They all flow into the one river, though, I mean, it’s a river, so it stays fluid.

See what I did there??

Think about what you’ve done over the years. Even if you know someone or are someone who just graduated, what did you do? How does that feed into what you’re doing now?

The question “what do you want to be when you grow up” is irrelevant. Honest opinion here, it may set you up for failure and narrows your mindset. What if <insert profession here> is the only thing you wanted to be and you don’t achieve it because of <insert reason here>. Those skills are so relevant to so many other ventures, but if you feel you 'failed' at that one thing, will you see past it and where to apply your incredible skillset somewhere else?

More importantly, ask yourself, “what is my throughline”?

The whole throughline of my career river has been teaching, coaching, and mentoring. As a counselor, I wanted to help you understand what made you, debunk your myths, and help you grow. As a leader, I wanted you to understand the worth of your skillset and be promoted (if that’s what you wanted). As a trainer, I wanted you to see possibility in purpose in the role you were about to fulfill, and then think BEYOND. Who could you grow into to benefit our organization? As a cooking instructor, I’ve spent the past 16 years watching people walk into a class saying, “I can’t” and 2 hours later, saying, “I didn’t think I could!”. Of course they could. They just had a skill that needed to be nurtured and they got out of the concrete "I can't" mindset. Just like that, a whole new skill developed.

My career advice of the day is: know your throughline and follow it, no matter where you go or what you choose to do, because the WHAT will change. The WHY? The PURPOSE? That doesn’t change.

It’s within you. Show it some love.