Maybe you’ve been there before — having somewhat of an idea of who you are and what you enjoy but not really knowing how that fits into your work. For some, it can be really frustrating to show up to a job that’s nothing more than a paycheck. For others, they’ve just accepted their job as a job and have found other outlets for embracing who they are. Yet for others, they have done the work to identify their sweet spot and are now working in a job that allows them to live out the very parts that are core to their identity.
What do we mean by sweet spot? Simply put, your sweet spot is a career path where your personality, interests, strengths, skills, and values align within an ideal environment. Over the next few months, we will continue to take an in-depth look at the different elements that comprise someone’s sweet spot.
But first, why is knowing your sweet spot important?
Finding the sweet spot
(From Julie) Recently, we had a client who knew he was interested in working with people in meaningful ways. He had completed an undergraduate degree in psychology, two master’s degrees, and some work towards a PhD. Meanwhile, he also worked a few jobs in Human Resources. These were not positive experiences. Many of his responsibilities were numbers-driven and fast-paced, which did not align with his strengths and skills. Based on his temperament, he strongly desired proper training, but unfortunately he received hardly any. The combination of the external pressure and internal lack of confidence brought him an immense amount of stress. After the discouragement from those roles, he questioned whether HR was the right fit at all.
So, he decided to pause his career path and PhD program to seek some guidance.
Through our work, we came to realize that the combination of his personality, ideal environment, and strengths really did lend themselves to being in an arena closer to teaching and training. So he wasn’t far off with HR. However, his desire for quality and depth, both with relationships and information, as well as propensity for more cautious decision making, explained why the fast-paced and sometimes impersonal nature of his HR jobs weren’t an overall fit for him.
Throughout the course of our sessions, he was able to gain a better understanding of his sweet spot. As his focus shifted, he ended up finding an opening for a role working with students in higher education. This role became a better fit with his relationally-oriented personality, knowledge-seeking strengths, decision-making skills, AND desire to work with people in a meaningful way. He was relieved to finally understand how to move forward by harnessing every part of who he was to find the most relevant opportunities.
A part of something bigger
The beauty of humanity is that no two people are exactly alike. We each have different combinations of personalities, strengths, skills, passions, and values. By starting with an understanding of who we are, we are able to use that information to determine what we can do. And it doesn’t stop there. The final element of engaging with our sweet spot is that we get to use our unique personalities, strengths, and passions to contribute to the greater good of our neighborhoods, communities, and even global society.
Identifying your sweet spot is a win-win-win.
- Win – you experience fulfillment as you work in a career that aligns with who you are.
- Win – companies gain an employee who has a high level of satisfaction in work.
- Win – communities benefit as you employ your skills, passions, strengths, and more to contribute to something bigger than yourself.
So, our question to you: Are you living out of your sweet spot? Do you see how “who you are” informs “what you do” and allows you to contribute to the greater good? After all, what can be sweeter than finding a career that allows you to live fully into who you are AND helps those around you?
We strive to equip clients with the knowledge, support, and customized tools needed to gain forward momentum. 
