Guest blogger, Lisa Jacobson of WorkplaceSolutionsTampa shares insights about the importance of self-awareness when embarking on midlife career decisions.
Are you the same person you were decades ago or have you changed? A lot of people do. Maybe you know someone who used to be extroverted and gregarious but now, she’s rather quiet and bookish. Perhaps your once stoic, dispassionate husband now cries freely during movies. You might have a friend who after years of running a company yearns to connect to youth by mentoring students in math.
Our energy and attention naturally shifts as we experience midlife. In the first half of life we tend to specialize, establishing a firm sense of identity. As we age, we tend to round ourselves out and generalize. We start to use the untapped inventory of previously underplayed personality traits. Approaching the second half of life can be a major transition. For a few this is seamless. But for most of us, it’s a period of discomfort, even depression. We ask ourselves, “Is this all there is?” As a career consultant, I think this discomfort is good. I often tell my clients, “Discomfort is a growing pain”. Discomfort compels us to reflect, reevaluate and reinvent. If you are at this crossroad, begin by investigating who you are right now.
Take Inventory.
Rediscover who you are by taking a few online self-assessments. One of my favorite websites is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center. It has dozens of self-assessments. Go to authentichappiness.org and register. Take all the assessments you wish – they’re free! For career insights, I recommend the following:
Authentic Happiness Inventory – Measures Overall Happiness
The Grit Survey – Measures the Character Strength of Perseverance
VIA Survey of Character Strengths – Measures 24 Character Strengths
Work-Life Questionnaire – Measures Work-Life Satisfaction
Meaning in Life Questionnaire – Measures Meaningfulness
Another favorite is StrengthsFinder2.0. Created by the renowned Gallup organization, this scale identifies at 5 major personality strengths with themes that describe work styles. Compare these results with the VIA survey. Look for patterns and redundancies. If you’re not into assessments, just ask yourself the Three Questions exercise. Write at least five brief answers under each question.
What Do I Value? What do I Enjoy? What am I Good at?
Again, compare the results and look for overlap. The patterns and redundancies will lead you to a launching point where encore career options are revealed.
Lisa Jacobson, MAPP, SPHR is a human resources and career consultant in Tampa, Florida. She is founder of WorkplaceSolutionsTampa.com.
Timely advice. And great resources.
Lisa, Enlightening information that will benefit many people. Authentichappiness.org is such a wonderful resource. Check it out everyone! It is the first step to uncovering your encore career that is not as deeply hidden as you may believe.
Thank you Michelle
Great point- Authentic Happiness site has a lot of good assessments and information.
Bevan
Hi Bevan,
I liked this blog and plan to share it in my next newsletter. A vision for my team has been revealing itself to me lately, and getting clearer on that has created new energy in my business and my life!
I really like the VIA (values in Action-assessment on the Authentic Happiness website too!
I’ve got that Encore Career Handbook on my reading list:)
Rosie
Hi Rosie
So glad that my blog was helpful for you and your team! I do think that the more we can help people find their passion and purpose – will be a benefit for the organizations and groups that Boomers connect with.
Can’t wait to talk to you about what you thought of the Encore Career Handbook.
Bevan