Experienced managers know that traditional ways of hiring employees is no guarantee of workplace success. Resumes, interviews, LinkedIn profiles… these can all be practiced and re-worked into meaninglessness. These managers find new ways to assess someone’s fit and their priorities show why career design is so important.

Career design is building your work and life on the strong foundation of who you naturally are and what’s important to you. From there, you focus on jobs and organizations that are a good fit. Managers are also looking for fit. In the NYTimes article “How to Hire the Right Person”, managers are told new ways to figure this out. Someone who goes through the career design process can make it easy for managers to hire them.

• Get away from the desk to see how people really behave. When you’ve gone through career design, you won’t have to figure out how to act in new situations. You just act like yourself! After all, with all your research and introspection, you know you can do this work.

• Throw curveball questions to get insight into their personality. If you’re asked what kind of animal would you like to be and why, your answer can be telling. As you a predator (great for sales) or something more social (great for a team setting). After designing your career, you’ll know who you are so you’ll be able say what you are. (Hmmm, I’m just now realizing that saying that I want to be a cat so I can lie in the sun all day and get my belly rubbed would not have gotten me hired at most place. Thankfully, I work for myself!)

• Turn the tables and answer questions. A career designer is always researching, always checking to see if their ideas about a job or company match reality. You’ll know the questions you want answers to at the tip of your fingers.

• Ask for a 2nd or 3rd opinion. Career designers often know people who will vouch for them, because they are savvy, strategic networkers. And this can get you hired easier than almost anything else.

• Push for diversity. People who work with my are often scared that they are too old, too young, the wrong gender or ethnicity. But good managers value diversity. Look for those managers.

 
Knowing who you are, what you want, and what’s your value gives you an edge in getting hired. That’s why career design is based on these aspects. And this also comes in a side benefit of happiness and life satisfaction. Hard to beat that!

If you’re figuring out what career path you want to travel, I’ll help you explore your options. If you need help with resume writing or interviewing, I’ll work with you on those skills. Become the designer of your own career with Be the Change Career Consulting. Contact me today for a complimentary 30-minute consultation.