Strength Series – Part 2: Career

This week’s workshop is “Building Your Strengths: Strengths and Your Career”. It is 1/3 workshops extended from the introductory, “Explore Your Strengths”. Here are 4 things I learned from this week’s workshop: Strength vs. Skill These are two areas that I usually confuse. Strengths are talents that are unique to me, while skills, I can always learn and develop. So in terms of career, I should explore options that allow me to use my strengths and develop my skills. Save the qualifications for last As a student with bills to pay, the objective of my recent job searches is to make some extra cash. So whenever I come across a job description, I look for the qualifications/requirements section first. But when I’m exploring potential career paths, I should consider the role, environment and organization even more. The qualifications and requirements I can always acquire later. So if I want a fulfilling career, I should explore positions that meet my values and strengths, or in essence, my requirements. Exploring careers is like finding the right pair of jeans I was quite fond of this analogy that was used during the workshop (I still have yet to accomplish the latter). Basically, I need to keep searching for the right fit, discovering what I like and what I don’t like. It has to feel good in all the right places and I should feel confident in it. I’ll probably have to try a bunch, and even get some tailoring done (I’ll stop with the jeans analogy now). It’s never too late or early to explore Since I’m heading into my fourth year, a part of me feels like I should be done the exploring phase. When I was in first year, I thought I would know by now. I mean, that’s what these four years are for, right? But in reality, I feel like I’m just getting started. There’s still so many resources and opportunities at U of T that I’m still just discovering, or have yet to try. Something that I haven’t done yet, is visit the U of T career centre, so I plan on booking an appointment as I write this. But hey, it’s better late than never! Friendly reminders: Be on the lookout for future strengths and leadership workshops. Got any questions? Comment below or email leadership@utoronto.ca See you next week for Part 3: Strengths and Academics