It’s almost as if one doesn’t believe that it is possible to define a career sweet spot.

There really is a better way and it is the road less traveled. This alternative road is not more difficult, not hidden or reserved for the privileged. It can be traveled with or without a college education, with or without prior work experience. It is the rock solid bottom line of what truly matters in choosing one’s future career path.

This very basic level of thinking and planning involves two important elements. The First is your passion. To find your sweet spot, there needs to be an internal passion about what it is you want to do. I have a good friend who is a fish biologist. He thinks, dreams and talks about fish. He never tires about this subject. Evenings and weekends he is pondering about going fishing, how the weather is impacting fish migration, what the Fed agencies might be changing regarding regulations. Now, some of us are not as obvious about our passions, yes, we want to help underprivileged children, but do we want that so desperately that we will make it the cornerstone of our career life? Actually, a better approach is to determine the top ten list where your passion seems to be speaking the loudest. To translate your passion to the world of work, your motivational dynamic needs to ultimately define a type of organization which represents the passion. An example would be: an inner city educational research organization which represents the passion of  making a difference for underprivileged kids.

The second most basic element for your career thinking and planning is choosing the job you will do. This step is not based on your passion, it is based on patterns of behavior. Selecting one’s day to day duties requires a clear understanding of one’s DNA, how you are  wired.  Some are naturally gifted in mechanical applications, others in public speaking and further, others are talented in artistic applications. Now, I’m using the reference to DNA to represent your innate natural talents which enable each of us to do certain things exceeding well.  Yes, with average intelligence, we can learn to do many things, but learning how is not the same as intuitively understanding how. One can take a course in interior design, but if that person is color blind the instruction will have limited value. Natural talents are significantly enhanced by training, and they also learn by trial and error. The longer a person is using their talents, the higher the level of job productivity and fulfillment.

So, in summary, you can discover your best career options which match your passion and your talents.

One closing comment. How do you know for sure that you have found it? There is a simple test you can apply. Go and meet the person who is employed within your preferred  organization doing the job you have selected which matches your strengths. There should be that long awaited Aha

Well, there is a significant value you can add to your academic pursuit which will almost guarantee you a “perfect job”. This incredible value is only available to you as a student, as a person enrolled in a campus course. It is called internship. No, not the traditional internships you find in the career office to satisfy a course requirement. I mean an internship doing what you want to do after graduation in the organization you want to work for.

Sound too good to be true? Well, follow me for a few sentences. We begin the journey by knowing all the companies, government agencies or non profits which meet the description of your career goal. At this point, perhaps ½ of you reading this blog may say, but I don’t know my goal or how to get that list. Well, let’s assume you do know the how. The next step is to find out the requirements within your campus for developing your own customized internship opportunity. Who will be the supervising faculty, what are the requirements which the employer needs to meet?

The next step is to begin setting appointments with employers, the directors or department heads who would oversee your internship position. Now, don’t go to the person who has your job, but go to that person’s boss. The boss is the one who will hire you, so start there.  When you meet, you state that you are exploing a future internship opportunity do XYZ with this specific type of company/organization. You ask if this would be a possibility. At this point be prepared to explain your passion and your attributes.

After visiting with several organizations, hopefully, you should have several internship offers. Now, here is the key part. Not until you receive the offer do you ask if there might be an opportunity after you have completed the intenship. If you ask before, the offer you will have very few employers interested.

By the way, for those of you who have been unemployed for some time, this can work for you as well. You just need to enroll in one community college course which fits your career goal and start knocking on doors.

I have seen this work for clients. You can do it.

So, how does it work? Companies and non profits which are growing are always looking for new talent. The biggest barrier to growth is finding good people. Positions naturally evolve because of increased market share, or a new financial contribution, or a new surge of students. In a management meeting there is the discussion, “we need someone who can help us….”  Or, a manager meets someone whom he/she feels can move the organization to the next level and begins to recruit that individual to formulate a new position. All of this happens because of organizational growth or change.

Another key factor is that 80% of organizations have 20 personnel or less. That means that the majority of employers are very busy, do not have a full-time HR director and are just trying to keep things moving forward. Most of the advise we receive today are from the 5-10% of employers and head-hunters who serve them about how to compete for vacancies. This large 80% do not have time to publish secrets on how to get a job. These companies and non profits just find people through their business and social networks. Positions are filled and they never got posted as a vacancy.

How does an outsider gain access to this insider information about growth, or statements like “we need some one who can…..” The answer is found on that road less traveled. Only trusted individuals know about these opportunities. This means an employee recommends a neighbor, a former college friend recommends a colleague, an employee recommends a manager she appreciates in a former company. Yet, there is a way that you can become one of these “trusted” friends. Yes, there is a price to pay for developing a substitute to being that neighbor or colleague. In one word, it is all about developing a relationship. You need to develop a relationship with the decision maker who oversees the department, workgroup, division or even company you want to pursue. But, this is not just any old company or non profit, it must be one which is growing or changing.

The magic number is three in terms of how many visits it takes to discover an opportunity and turn it into an offer. Once you meet with a decision maker (whose organization is growing or changing) three times you have won the coveted trust. That person is starting to like you.

Now, what are you planning to talk about, what is the purpose for your meeting? You do not request a meeting to present your resume. That’s like saying will you marry me on the first date. You begin with developing an employer contact list of the types of organizations which fit your career objective. Your first goal is to discover which organizations are growing. Then you seek to find out what the growth needs are which may be coming up. Lastly, you want to discuss your strengths and how you can help the organization meet its growth goals. This is all very doable, but it is the road less traveled. In 35 years of job coaching, I have seen this work wonders for clients. You can do it. Try the road less traveled.