How do I figure out my career sweetspot?

Do you resonate with the idea of being a “generalist?”

Really talented and good at a lot of things, but not really an expert at anything? Or having various passions that don’t really fit in a single focus-area.

In other words, you feel like you don’t really fit any of the career niches out there: healthcare, law, teaching, accounting … to name a few.

On our podcast, I share about the “in-betweenness” of being a generalist, which is personal to my own story of figuring out my Career Sweetspot.

The key that Joe (our podcast engineer), points out sagely in this episode is this: it’s important to draw conclusions along the way.

So how do you tangibly do this? Well, you notice, reflect, and pay attention to what is happening around you and apply those learnings in each career and life move you make.

It’s a process I call, “The Noticing Notebook,” and I like to break it down into two parts:

Part One

If you have someone in your life that you’re sharing this with (a spouse, or partner) – take care to see what they need from you in this process. How would they like to receive this information? Do they need a spreadsheet with details? Or a thoughtful conversation over coffee? Make note of that, then make a plan to actually follow through to share your thoughts with them in a way that meets them where they are.

Part Two

Now, onto the how of The Noticing Notebook through an activity I like to call, Gains + Drains:

• Grab your notebook and turn to a blank page. Divide the page into two columns – one labeled Gains, and the other, Drains
• Then, depending on your preferred time of day (morning over coffee or evening before you head to sleep, etc.), make note: What gave me energy today? The write that in the Gains column. Then reflect, What drained my energy? Add those notes to the Drains column.

And that’s it!

Doers and achievers, I know you’re uncomfortable right now 😉 There’s nothing to do next. Simply begin noticing what drains your energy and what gives you energy. That’s how you’ll start to make decisions about what’s next and begin living into your Career Sweetspot.

It’s not a perfect process, and I think it’s important to share about that more. This isn’t a process of “look what happened to me over night!” – it’s a story of years of refining and honing in to figure out your next right step.

What questions about this do you have about The Noticing Notebook? Is there anything that’s resonating with you? Feel free to reach out, and let us know how it’s going.