The Honesty Experiment for Figuring Out a Career is a 30-day self-improvement challenge to kickstart your career search. You get daily tips and questions to help you learn about yourself, explore your options, and take action. Sign up!
Lisa
What have you accomplished this month? I’ve done a lot of reflecting on the things I do and do not want to do on the job. I was able to be honest with myself about what is important personally and professionally and what isn’t. I am starting to see the pathway to creating a stable yet fulfilling career. I gained some new insight and tools as well.
Write a list of reminders for yourself for your career search. Be open-minded in applying.
Try to find someone to connect with at the company.
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice.
Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Be open to the experience of rejection and where it can lead.
Everything happens for a reason.
Try to be more outgoing and not get down if I don’t hear back from companies.
How has your approach to finding a career changed? I am much more optimistic about finding a career now. I realized that I have the power to be picky to get what I feel I will need to be happy in a workplace. If I don’t like what I see or hear from a company, I can turn the opportunity down because there may be something better…as long as I have enough options. I am going to try to go about finding a job or career in different ways. I could volunteer with an organization I really want to work for and see how it goes before committing to a full-time position. That would help me get to know people and see what it’s like. I could also use tools other than email to get their attention.
What careers are you considering? I am considering getting more into marketing than advertising. Becoming a therapist has always been in the back of my mind so I could spend some more time exploring that career option. I also considered life coach as a career. Somehow, I would like all of this to lead to owning my own business.
What next steps will you take? Research other career options brainstormed during this experiment.
Apply for jobs and find someone at the company to reach out to.
Continue learning about companies and creating conversations and relationships
Jon F.
What have you accomplished this month? – I had a little girl born into our family that reminded me the importance of having a job in order to help provide for my family’s temporal needs.
– I completed my annual performance review which reinforced the fact that my current job position is not what I envision myself doing for a long time, and it helped my supervisor know the same.
– I visited somebody in a field I was interested in and realized that, although certain aspects of their work intrigued me, their job would not have been anymore satisfying than my current position.
Write a list of reminders for yourself for your career search. Remember that my current job position does not define my career and so focus on seeking out opportunities outside of my regular job position to meet my career goals.
How has your approach to finding a career changed? My approach to finding a career has changed from looking through job openings to find the perfect job description, to looking for opportunities outside of my job that fulfill my perfect career description.
What careers are you considering? I am considering a career to design and build water and wastewater systems for small communities. Some job positions associated with this career include: pilot plant technician, water/wastewater treatment plant operator, applications engineer, consulting engineer, plumber, and certified well contractor.
What next steps will you take? Visit somebody who both designs and builds water and wastewater systems for small communities.
The Honesty Experiment 