Finding the Right Career Starts with Your Strengths

A note to university students and graduates.

Recently, a university graduate seeking career advice, sheepishly admitted to me that he had no idea what he wanted to do.

Here’s what I said to him.

“Don’t worry. That’s entirely normal. It’s difficult to be definitive when so much of the critical information you need remains unknown. Start anywhere, in any role, where you admire the competence and character of the leadership. Make sure your immediate manager is someone who will mentor you and give you honest feedback on your strengths and weaknesses – especially your strengths.”

Understanding your strengths is more important than understanding your weaknesses, since strengths – with time and practice – eventually become superpowers. Once you’ve developed your superpowers, they are the passport to your future career success and career satisfaction.
So don’t worry about where you start. Make sure instead that you start with the right people. Then give every role your very best and “to thine own self be true”, and it will surely follow – as night follows day – that by the age of 30, you will end up in a role that’s a perfect fit for you.

Finding the right career for you is far less about luck, accident or serendipity – and much more about knowing your strengths.

Socrates was right: know thyself.