What I learned about career fulfillment that had nothing to do with passion

Or at least very little to do with passion.

How do you figure out what you want to do for a living? It's honestly a big decision because we'll spend most of the hours of our day doing just that - our jobs. And there are many factors in play that look different for many people when picking a career. Everyone has another goal in mind: 

• Some may want to land in a company or industry type (e.g., tech startup, ad agency, etc.).

• Some folks may have a strong affinity for a specific company and would do anything they could to work there.

• Others may focus on getting any job close to home or near family, friends, or activities.

• Many of us are focused on just getting a job because there are bills to pay.

Those are significant motivating factors for choosing where you want to work. I have made career choices based on literally all of the above factors. However, those goals shouldn't become the source of your career fulfillment. 

So what should?

What I learned from a co-worker

A department re-alignment two years ago moved the CRM function into my digital marketing team. I was working with people on our team I hadn't spoken with much and spent the first couple of one-on-one sessions just getting to know everyone's background. 

Our CRM Manager had been with the firm for many years and held many different roles throughout his tenure. He had more of a career "latticework" than a "ladder" in terms of progression. I asked him how he ultimately landed in the role he had today. 

He originally went to school to be a librarian. That is what his degree is in and what he had his mind set on when he graduated. Throughout his career experiences and personal introspection, he discovered that being a librarian wasn't what he truly wanted to do. He learned that what he enjoyed doing (and is very good at) was helping people find information. 

Being a librarian seemed the logical choice for this occupation when he was in school. However, his time at our firm put him in several positions where he could use his skill - helping people find information quickly - in many creative ways. If you have worked with CRM systems at any point in your career, it's apparent why his skills lend themselves so well for success running our instance of Salesforce.

It was a lightbulb moment for me. 

What thing do you like to do? What are you good at?

Early in your career, you probably don't know this. In my opinion, you can't say this. You genuinely don't see what you like until you've spent some time doing things you don't like.  

Heck - I've been working for 13 years and am just now starting to figure it out for myself. I have discovered that I like to take big, hairy, audacious projects and simplify them. That's why I've enjoyed projects like re-platforming CRMs at two different companies. Those are not projects for the faint of heart but an opportunity to take a complicated product and make it easier to use. 

I also love building things. I don't have a true entrepreneurial spirit in the sense that I'd start my own company one day. I likely never will. 

I enjoy being intrapreneurial and helping build something that supports a bigger goal. It's why I've enjoyed rebuilding a digital function supporting one of the biggest law firms in the world. It's hard. I screw up quite a bit. But there is a rush with managing complex problems with your back against the wall. 

I've chosen workplaces because of proximity, the type of industry it was in, or even the name of the brand itself. Those were all great reasons to choose one opportunity over the next. But they weren't the points of fulfillment. Being good at something and being able to do that thing, no matter where you're at is a huge blessing and a source of career fulfillment. 

Have you figured out that one thing you are good at? If you have, how did you figure it out? What is that thing?

*Note: this has nothing to do with having a special purpose.

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Originally posted on Brain Wads | August 31, 2022