How to Find the Right Career: Core Principles That Work

Garden City is one of my favorite Christian books of all time. John Mark Comer just has a way of words, and I’m fully convinced now that God has put me on this Earth for a reason. That we all have a calling in life, and until we find it and are fully committed to it and practicing it and living it, we will never be happy.

Work is important. We were made to work the earth. Everyone has a job they need to be doing during their time here on this earth, and sometimes it takes years to find it. A lot of people don’t end up working in a field that they majored in. Their paths diverge and they end up in a completely different place that they thought they would end up in.

How do you find the career you’re meant for and that’s meant for you? I’ve had many conversations with people about this, and at the end of the day, I think that a cursory opinion or two based on mental heuristics isn’t enough for me to make a life-changing decision on what I should pursue in my career. I’ve also been on the other side of the decision where I’ve given advice to people who were struggling to find the career they enjoy and want to do for the rest of their life.

So I’ve come up with a framework for helping people decide what career to go into, what their calling in life is. It’s based on these six principles:

Past. Presence. Personality. Practice. Purpose. Power.

PAST
What experiences from your past stand out to you? What memories stay with you and shape you? In The Good Doctor, some key pivotal memories for Shaun Murphy was the death of his older brother in a childhood accident and the death of his pet bunny. These experiences made Shaun realize he wanted to be a doctor to save people’s lives. For Shaun, a powerful realization is this:

I want to defeat death.

The past is important in helping you realize your calling in life, because it gives you powerful realizations that affirm your purpose in life. Everyone has a unique past that makes them who they are now. And who they are now is necessary for what they want to become and who they should be.

PRESENCE

What core values and beliefs are present in you? What are your priorities in life? Do you value community or do you value independence and autonomy? Do you believe in taking care of others and helping others and saving lives or would you rather make a lot of money and be financially independent and retire early? Examine yourself in the present. What do you really want right now? To make a lot of money? To help people (and make money doing it)? To be admired? To be famous? To build something and change lives? Be honest with yourself and write down key values you have. These will be important in helping you decide which direction to go into.

PERSONALITY

What are your preferences? What do people like about you? What makes you happy? What do you like to do? What are your interests? All of these questions you should ask yourself, because personality is important in determining your career and life’s path. You want to find the career that aligns with your interests, passions, and preferences. Do you prefer to work with people or do you prefer working alone? Do you like numbers or are you more creative? Are you into computers or are you wanting to learn more about the human body? It’s more than the Myer Briggs personality test, although that could help too. You need to ask yourself questions to determine the answers that will lead you the right answer on the career you should choose. And it’s your sole responsibility to determine that, not anyone else’s. You are unique and only you know your strengths and weaknesses and priorities in life.

PRACTICE

What are your skills? What are you GOOD at? Just because you’re passionate about something doesn’t mean you should pursue it. You could be passionate about art but suck at painting. You could want to be a surgeon but you faint at the sight of blood. You could want to be a professor but am afraid of public speaking. Skills matter a lot, maybe even more than passion. Cal Newport says in his book So Good They Can’t Ignore You, skills matter, because when you get good at something, passion follows. What you are good at defines your passion. But you need to get good at it first. So explore, so learn, so build, so develop, and so work. Take classes, get internships, volunteer, learn and read books, BUILD YOUR SKILLS. Practice is important, because then you can learn what you are good at and what you can pursue for your career. You need to get out there and get building those skillsets. Your career isn’t going to wait for you, you need to get out there and pursue it. Practice, practice, practice. And hone your skills with the time you have. Time’s a finite resource and you need to leverage it to create the career you want.

PURPOSE

What do you feel called to? What does God say about your calling in life? Why are you living this life? What do you want to do with your time on this earth? Your life’s meaning can be condensed to your life’s purpose. What gives you a sense of mission? If you feel stuck in your job, if you feel you’re just wasting your time doing menial tasks that don’t matter to you, that don’t give you a sense of purpose and happiness, if you don’t feel FULFILLED, it’s time to go into another direction.

POWER

Finally, power. What gives you a sense of power? Who are the powerful people, the heroes, that you look up to and want to be? We all want a sense of power in our lives. And after years of performing in a career we desire and choose, we obtain that power. Not just power of authority of being in a high position on the career ladder. But power over your life. You are finally in a career that is right for you. You finally have the power.

When you retire, you will look back on your career, and either you will have a sense of regret, or a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Put yourself in the shoes of the future you. What would you have regretted not doing? What would you feel accomplished about?

The future is yours. Grab on it, you have the power to choose.

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