These accomplishments exist for all of us—the unemployed, underemployed, or those working in ways and places that use our full complement of strengths. Yes, it’s easy to have self-doubts about what we can offer, especially when we’re unemployed. We might find ourselves full of questions:
- Did I choose the wrong career?
- Do I have enough skills to be successful?
- How can I possibly compete with those Gen Xers just out of college?
Peggy Klaus, writing in the Sunday’s edition of the New York Times, has a great answer to that last question. In the headline to her article, she suggests that older workers “Embrace your age, and conquer the world.” She goes on to make several important points regarding just what it is that older workers contribute to an organization. Regardless of your age, it’s worthwhile to consider her words in this article because it can breathe new life into all our thinking about career strengths.
The same perspective can be applied to just about any self-doubt that might hinder a job search or performance review. Why not shift your focus—at least for this week—to celebrating your career strengths, instead of contemplating your weaknesses? And why not get rid of the word “weakness” from your vocabulary, at least for a little while? After all, a “weakness” in an area that is important to your job is really an area ripe for further development, not a permanent mark against you. With that in mind, give yourself two tasks for this coming week.
Task #1: Identify and demonstrate your strengths
Choose to identify a strength you already possess, acknowledge it, and then ask yourself how you can demonstrate it even more and leverage it to make a difference in your career and in the success of your organization.
For those who are unemployed, how about using this time to review your career communication documents (resumes, profiles, portfolios, networking conversations) to ensure that you are clearly detailing your strengths, communicating their value and making certain your network knows how to tell others—specifically—what a great addition you would make to an organization.
If you’re underemployed, choose a strength that isn’t being used in your present position. Find a task, an assignment or an area of responsibility that would take advantage of this strength. Talk with your supervisor, and make the case for adding this strength to your daily job tasks. (I know this may mean more work for you, but it might also let you further grow the particular strength you’re focusing on.)
Once you’ve successfully demonstrated this strength, prepare for another conversation with your boss to discuss how your position might shift to take more advantage of this strength. This strategy works for many who want “full” employment. If it works for you, that’s great. If it doesn’t, you may choose to continue to scan other organizations that would value this strength while you continue to use it in your current employment. (Who knows…maybe someone in your organization will notice your efforts and want to make use of your talents. Regardless, polishing your strengths in this way lets you continue to grow while you’re accomplishing your duties.)
Task #2: Think like a star
As professionals, why not adopt the same thinking as great performers everywhere do when they want to push beyond their current level of achievement and grow even further? Ask yourself the same type of questions that they are likely to ask themselves:
- How do I get even better?
- How do I polish the best I want to offer?
- How can I stretch myself in ways that are positively challenging?
Bottom line? Rather than look backward at what you haven’t mastered or accomplished so far in your career, why not look forward to how you can demonstrate your strengths, and determine what you want to master so that you can go where you want to in your career in your future?
