By Jamie Grant, Senior Associate Director, C’98 GEd’99
I recently attended a professional development session in which we discussed the impact of positive psychology and the importance of finding opportunities in life that play to our strengths, impacting our performance and job satisfaction in addition to the way we manage life issues. Through completing a free online – and quick – assessment of “character strengths” through the VIA Institute on Character as recommended by our instructor, (www.viacharacter.org), I learned a bit more about myself, and I have taken just about every career-related assessment out there! It also helped me to understand why working in Career Services has always felt like a rewarding and just-about-perfect fit for me.
I work with many students as they begin the career exploration process, and some who are literally deciding on an offer that day. Many of the same types of questions come up for both types of advising appointments – students wonder where they fit, what kind of work might be best for them, where are they going to be “happy” and how to get that job. It’s incredibly difficult to evaluate your potential for strong performance AND satisfaction with your work by reading a job description, or even going through a rigorous interviewing process during which you get to ask all of your questions! Hopefully, by exploring things like your “character strengths” and getting a grasp on when you are most likely to feel engaged and fulfilled professionally and personally, you may get a strong(er) sense as to what types of roles, organizations and career paths are ultimately your ideal fit.
And as always, please don’t hesitate to connect with an advisor here in Career Services to discuss this process or any other career related questions or concerns on your mind! Warmest wishes for a restful and deservedly long winter break to all of our current students!
