The author of an article in themuse.com says that when people find out that she is a career counselor, the next thing they inevitably ask for advice on is, 'So, what do I want to do with my life?'
The author admits that she never knew what to say to this.
'Sure, I help people figure that out for a living, but that doesn’t mean I can offer near-strangers real career wisdom or guidance in a five-minute conversation,' she points out.
However she states that things changed when she attended the National Career Development Association’s annual conference.
'I can’t imagine an experience that would allow me to grow as much as the NCDA conference did. But more importantly, I learned a way to answer, 'What do I want to do with my life?',' she says with pride.
She states that she got the experience from established career counselor, Richard Leider who shared a few tricks in his keynote speech.
'In over three decades of career coaching, I don’t even want to know how many times people have half jokingly, half seriously demanded to know, 'What do I want in life?' To address this, he’s developed a handy napkin test,' she quotes him.
He grabs something to write on—maybe a napkin—and jots down, 'G+P+V=C' and passes it to whomever he talks to. He then explains: G stands for gifts, P for passions, V for values, she points out.
'Gifts prompts you to consider your strengths . It’s always good to start with what you’re good at. Passions is essentially asking: What do you care about? Are there issues or communities in the world that resonate with you more than others? And finally, 'values' are all about your lifestyle and personality,' she mentions.
According to Leider, altogether, using your gifts toward something you are invested in and in an environment that suits your values will lead you to your calling.
The formula’s simple enough, though figuring out what goes into those variables might take some trial and error—and undoubtedly some serious self-reflection, she emphasises.
