In my last post I explored the value of reflecting back on your childhood influences…the games, toys, films, TV programmes and role models that shaped you and which may have shaped your career decisions as an adult.
Ironically I found the approach harder to apply to my own choice of career. It’s often true that it’s easier for others to recognise recurring themes and motivations in your life than to make the connections yourself.
In fact one reader lamented that she wished she’d made the connections in her life earlier, saying that she might have made different choices. After reading my post she said she’d be taking her children’s interests into account when they come to make their career decisions.
I took some more time to see whether I could see patterns in my interests and whether there were dots I could retrospectively join up. And then it hit me- there was a pattern after all. Perhaps I’d just needed to let my subconscious mind get to work in order to surface it. This is what I discovered.
The fortune-telling fish
As a child I was fascinated by any kind of game or tool which promised some kind of inner enlightenment. At Christmas I was always delighted if I got the fortune telling fish in my Christmas cracker. This small piece of red cellophane would curl up in your hand. Each different movement corresponded to a different feeling. I found that fascinating.
Origami colour changer
I also loved creating origami fortune tellers- Asking friends and family “What’s your favourite colour? number?” and then revealing their corresponding fate.
It’s in the stars
In my copy of ‘Jackie’ I always turned first to my horoscope, keen to know what would happen to Geminis that week.
I also enjoyed a brief flirtation with the occult and Ouija boards.
Fortune telling
This later led me in my early twenties to purchase a pack of Tarot cards. Fact: the day I bought the cards I’d not mentioned my purchase to anyone. Weirdly I overheard a colleague that same day saying that she knew someone who ran courses in reading Tarot cards. This was clearly a sign- and I immediately got in touch and signed up for an eight week course.
I spent a few months eagerly practising on friends and acquaintances until I unnerved myself and others by revealing events that had happened to people I didn’t know. I also predicted future fates of friends that did indeed come to pass (loss of a job, a cheating partner). After that the cards were consigned to a drawer.
The I Ching, an ancient Chinese form of divination provided fewer answers to questions I posed – but did provide food for thought, enabling me to explore a relationship or situation from a different perspective.
What did my interests reveal about my choice of career?
Early in my career I’d spent a miserable year working in an employment agency. I had first-hand experience of work where I had to match people to jobs whether they were a good ‘fit’ or not, in order to keep my own job. I knew I wanted to help people find fulfilling work. Careers work appeared promise the exact opposite of this. Fortunately it lived up to my expectations.
Careers questionnaires
In careers work I was drawn towards tools, cards, questionnaires and profiles which offered potential enlightenment. Like a kid in a sweet shop, I embraced all of the following, several of which I have used with students and clients over the years:
JIIG CAL, CASCAID, Prospects Planner, Morrisby profile, Strengths, RIASEC, Schein’s Career Anchors, Values, Motivations, IKIGAI, MBTI, 16 PF, The Big 5 Personality questionnaire, DISC.
Self-help and popular psychology
A quick look at my bookshelves reveal texts which may lead the reader to enlightenment…whether through personal reflection, questions designed to identify and overcome self-limiting beliefs…or through practical activities. My reading habits also mirror my early childhood influences.
Fundamentally my specific motivation for careers work boils down to wanting to help others answer the question ‘who am I?’ By helping others reveal their attributes and identify what’s important to them, they are better placed to identify careers or roles where they can flourish. Understanding yourself makes the whole decision-making process easier.
While I’m the first to admit that no questionnaire, test or inventory can ever fully answer the question ‘who am I?’ they can shine a light on aspects of your capabilities, personality and character that you may be unaware of aware of.
And in my case they illustrate how my childhood fascination with wanting to understand myself better, links to a lifelong quest through my choice of career to help others understand themselves.
One’s own self is well hidden from one’s own self; of all mines of treasure, one’s own is the last to be dug up. Friedrich Nietzsche
