Module 01: Understanding Yourself In the World of Work
1.2 Career Meaning and Myths
What Does Career Success Mean to You?
How we each define career success differs, and is influenced by the environment in which we grew up and our own personal preferences and experiences.
Think of someone you know (or know of) who has what you consider a ‘successful career’.
- Who is it? How do you know (of) them?
- How would you describe their career? What are some specific reasons you define their career as successful?
- What aspects of this person’s career success would you include in your own definition of career success?
What other ingredients would you include in your personal definition of career success?
Example 1 – Hassan’s Career Success
Hassan is an Early Childhood Education student who has considered the questions above.
Click on the following tabs to see how he answered the questions:
Example 2 – Daniela’s Career Success
Daniela is a Business Administration – Leadership and Management student.
Click on the following tabs to see how she responded to the questions:
Now it’s your turn!
Here is a downloadable and fillable file in pdf and Word format with these 4 questions + one additional question:
- Name a person who you believe has a successful career. Who is it? How do you know (of) them?
- How would you describe their career and what are some specific reasons you define their career as successful?
- What elements of this person’s career success would you include in your own definition of career success?
- What other ingredients would you include in your personal definition of career success?
- How do your experiences, family, friends, community, culture and society influence your own definition of career success?
Identify Limiting Beliefs
We receive a steady stream of messages throughout our lives that influence our beliefs about what our career “should” be and how it “should” look. Some career beliefs can be helpful (for example, a belief that ‘my hard work will pay off’ could help to motivate you) and some can limit both your career options and potential. We call the ones that get in the way ‘limiting beliefs’.
We all carry with us limiting beliefs about careers that we’ve learned from our families, our communities, media, our experiences, and many other sources. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, in their bestselling book Designing Your Life (2016), name several limiting beliefs and then offer reframes.
Here are a few:
| Limiting belief | Reframe |
|---|---|
| “Your degree [or diploma] determines your career.” | “Three-quarters of all college grads don’t end up working in a career related to their majors” (p. x) |
| “It’s too late.” | “It’s never too late to design a life you love.” (p. xii) |
| “I should know where I’m going!” | “I won’t always know where I’m going – but I can always know whether I’m going in the right direction.” (p. 39) |
| “I have to find the one right idea.” | “I need a lot of ideas so that I can explore any number of possibilities for my future.” (p. 65) |
| “It’s my life, I have to design it myself.” | “You live and design your life in collaboration with others.” (p. 199) |
| “I finished designing my life; the hard work is done, and everything will be great.” | “You never finish designing your life – life is a joyous and never-ending design project of building your way forward.” (p. 219) |
Can you relate to any of the limiting beliefs listed? We all have limiting beliefs about our careers so it helps to try to notice what some of your career beliefs are. Any time you’re feeling really certain about something, ask yourself, “Where did I learn that? Is it true? Is it helping me or holding me back?”
