Black Hole Career Conditions
9 May 2018
“Literally, I would die if they made me sit at a desk all day long.”
While the words Penny, a 19-year-old school leaver, used were overly dramatic, she was displaying lovely insight into the career conditions that would not see her work at her best. I agreed with her, Penny needed to be active, physical and probably outdoors.
Many people struggle knowing what it is they want in their career. For these people, maybe you, it is sometimes easier to know the conditions under which you would not flourish, as Penny had intuitively expressed.
A useful exercise is to identify your top 3 Black Hole Career Conditions.
Take a look at the following career conditions or situations and circle three that you definitely know don’t align with your strengths, skills, values, or attributes. Potentially these are conditions you actively avoid in future career decisions so you are able to thrive and give your best.
- Lots of collaboration
- High degrees of independence
- Planning long into the future
- Continual tight deadlines or pressure
- Working outside normal hours
- Making core decisions that significantly impact others
- Being second in charge to someone else
- Being the leader
- Being in a small organisation
- Operating solo
- Being in a cog in a large organisation
- Being creative and having to come up with ideas
- Lots of processing
- Working from home
- Desk based
- Chaos or unpredictability around you
- Outside in the elements
- Using physical skills
- Stable and predictable
- Continual change
- Getting the most out of systems
- Constant reinvention of the way systems are used
- Reworking others work
- High levels of gossip
- Little social interaction
- Provide customer service
List any others you know in which you don’t flourish.
When you know what these Black Hole Career Conditions are you might choose to say no when offered roles with too much of these involved. Alternatively, if you recognize that conditions you don’t like are present in your current role you can plan how to deal constructively with them, potentially recrafting the role so you are less exposed to those Black Hole Conditions.
As always wishing you a flourishing career.
Katherine