I reflect on where I am now, where I want to go, and how I\u2019m going to get there. I form constraints that clarify what my next role should be and influence what actions I need to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In previous articles, I have written about the four essential elements of career mapping<\/strong>: values<\/a>, superpowers<\/a>, curiosities<\/a>, and needs<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Values<\/strong> are your core principles or standards of behavior. Superpowers<\/strong> are the abilities you perform well. Curiosities<\/strong> are where your fascinations lie. Needs<\/strong> are the lifestyle non-negotiables you have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The result of leveraging all these elements is a lasting, fulfilling career that gives<\/em> you energy \u2014 instead of sucking<\/em> your energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you synthesize these elements into a map for navigating your career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a lot simpler than it might sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What it comes down to is\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating your criteria.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this piece, I\u2019ll first explain the two-step process for translating your career map elements into actionable criteria. Then, we\u2019ll walk through how to use these criteria in your job search or career advancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n You want to first start off with a list of your top values, strengths, curiosities, and needs. If you don’t know what these are for you yet, then follow the links above in the intro to complete these exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For each of these elements of your career map, try the following two steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know what you\u2019re thinking\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Creating standards for myself \u2014 this sounds hard<\/em>!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not going to tiptoe around the issue, it\u2019s not going to be easy to do this exercise. In fact, pinning down what you truly<\/em> care about can often feel like wrestling with your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With that said, the mental clarity you\u2019ll get after you have your criteria laid out in front of you is well worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s discuss a practical example to help you see how these steps work in reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take Freedom \u2014 one of the value shared by several of my coaching clients (and myself). From my observations, Freedom as a value translates into a very different set of actionable criteria for each person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For parents, Freedom means building in more flexibility into their day-to-day schedule so they come home at a reasonable hour for their family. Their if\/then<\/em> plan may look like, “If<\/strong> I have to regularly work evenings during my family time, then<\/strong> I will feel unfulfilled in terms of my Freedom.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n For younger nomads, Freedom means setting up a lifestyle where their work affords them the ability to travel for long, uninterrupted periods of time. They might decide on the following if\/then\u00a0<\/em>plan: \u201cIf<\/strong> I can work remotely while I travel internationally for 1 month each year, then<\/strong>\u00a0I will feel fulfilled in terms of my Freedom.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, both groups share Freedom as a top value but express it in unique ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you run their if\/then<\/em> plans through the \u201cActionability\u201d test, it\u2019s also clear when each group has passed the threshold of their criteria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s say each group is evaluating new roles. The parents will know exactly when a role violates their Freedom criteria because the hiring manager requires them to be regularly on-call after 5pm. The nomads can easily identify which roles are going to give them the flexibility they seek based on their remote policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have all of your criteria in front of you, synthesize similar ones and do one more prioritization. Choose the 5-7 most important criteria to you in your next career decision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Take one of my own job searches as a tech product manager. I first reflected on each element to arrive at the following outputs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I converted these outputs into this prioritized list of my top criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ll notice that I tried to distill down these elements into just 5 criteria while still trying to be as specific as I could, which ultimately helped me take action during my search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations! You now have a list of your most important criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next step might be intuitive to you now. But if you\u2019re wondering, “how the heck<\/em> do I use this?\u201d, don\u2019t fret. I\u2019ve got you covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re going to show you how to use your criteria as a set of filters for two situations: job search<\/strong> and career advancement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two stages in every job search process: discovery<\/strong> and search<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the discovery stage, you\u2019re doing mostly inner work to identify what role or career path you want to pursue next. In the search stage, you\u2019ve clarified your target role or career path and now you\u2019re reaching out to people, applying to jobs, interviewing, and negotiating to get to your target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your criteria comes in handy for both stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the discovery stage, plot your potential career paths on a venn diagram of your values, superpowers, curiosities, and needs using your criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one fell swoop, you can triangulate which career paths align with who you are as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the search stage, create a criteria score to use in your Job Application Tracker:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The criteria score is a simple math formula: # criteria met \/ total # of criteria<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For each job posting, assess if the role meets the criteria you laid out. Mark an “X” in the columns that the role seems to fulfill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s useful about having a numeric score like this, is how easy it becomes to compare one role versus others based on your criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Believe it or not, advancing in your current job involves the same discovery and search stages found in a job search process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strategically, you’ll be taking much of the same actions as in the job search \u2014 albeit just dressed in a different costume. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Break down your role into its actual responsibilities and then ask yourself the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While your answer to #3 may require you to switch roles, plenty of times you’ll discover that shifting or expanding your current set of responsibilities is sufficient for aligning your role with what you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There you go! You now have a foundational career map \u2014 a hallmark companion of thoughtful careerists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly, you learned how to turn your career map elements into actionable criteria and have started putting them to use in your discovery and search processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What we covered were frameworks and skills that apply to every<\/em> career transition you’ll make for the rest of your life (no kidding!), so you can pat yourself on the back for getting a head start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s no doubt in my mind that you’ve already started noticing changes in the way you think about and plan your career. I’m excited to see how you use these tools in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you enjoy this piece on career mapping?<\/strong> Join my career and self-improvement newsletter to get one fresh research-backed article a week:<\/p>\n\n\nTwo Steps to Creating Your Criteria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Case Study: The Value of Freedom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Synthesize Your Results<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Putting Your Criteria Into Practice in Your Career<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Job Search<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Discovery: Career Path Venn Diagram<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.dexterzhuang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/career-map-venn-diagram-1.png\")
Search: Job Criteria Score<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dexterzhuang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/job_criteria_score.png?fit=1024%2C102&ssl=1\")
Career Advancement<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Shift, Expand, or Switch Your Role<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Going Above and Beyond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n