Career Exploration the Mr. Bump Way!
When was the last time you read the Mr. Men book Mr. Bump? Unless you have young children I am going to guess it has probably been many years. I have a 5 year old son and when I read him books I often see the lesson provided which I am sure that most adults have forgotten. That is certainly the case with Mr. Bump.
To refresh your memory Mr. Bump is accident prone and he often bumps into things. He tries to work on a farm but spills the milk. He tries to be a postman but gets his hand stuck in a mail box. He fell of the bus when he was a bus conductor and hit his thumb instead of the nail as a carpenter. After this series of unfortunate events he takes a vacation to think about what job he was suited for. He realizes that he should be an apple picker, but instead of climbing ladders like usual, he would wander around bumping into the trees causing the apples to fall. He would then catch the apples! He was happy with his new job and the farmer was also happy with his new employee!
What I want you to take home from this little trip down memory lane is that after some reflection of your skill set you will be able to figure out what career is suitable for you. You may have some false starts as Mr. Bump did, but once you take the time to reflect what you are good at, and hopefully also what you enjoy, you can begin making steps towards you career.
This reflection may take some time and you should also talk with others about your skills. Make a list of your skills and note beside them whether you enjoy using them and how proficient you are. Find individuals you trust and show them your list and ask them for their input. They may have alternative skills which you have demonstrated and have neglected to include. They can shed light on whether you can improve on your mastery of the skill and if they perceive your enjoyment while using it. We do not always appreciate our talents, therefore having these discussions will be exceedingly valuable to shed light on other potential avenues you may not have previously considered. Ensure you cover both skills that you can physically do (write reports) and others which are often referred to as soft skills (communication, emotional intelligence, reading the room). While some of these will not be necessary for jobs you are considering now it is good to know that you may be able to use them in the future. They may also give you ideas for future training and personal development you want to pursue.
You should also consider the skills you don’t want to use, and other things that would negatively impact your enjoyment (your values, location where you live/work, the individuals you work with, the company culture, how much money you want to make). Knowing what these are will help limit the jobs you are willing to consider. While it is important to know what you would like to do, it is also incredibly important to realize what you don’t.
You can take assessments which can help you focus on your skills, interests and strengths. The Strong Interest Inventory and StrengthsFinder are obvious ones. The MBTI and Emotional Intelligence will also provide important information when considering roles. While you may be interested in them you may need to acknowledge or adapt to ensure that you are comfortable fulfilling the requirements.
Don’t be afraid to try new experiences. Shadowing and internships are excellent opportunities to learn more about a potential career and the day to day operations of a particular role. Even if you decide that it isn’t for you it won’t be a waste of your time, you have managed to rule out a potential path and can concentrate of others. If you work in a large company you can visit colleagues in different departments to see if you may prefer what they are doing.
Please remember that at this point you are selecting a career path or job. But that is only for right now, it doesn’t have to be forever. It will give you new skills and experiences which you can then utilize when you move on to your next opportunity. By remembering this hopefully you can approach your career exploration with excitement and not fear or other negative emotions.
There is a career path and job out there for all of us. You just need to decide what yours will be!
