Building a career the right way

When it comes to choosing a career, many of us take a practical — but perhaps — wrong-headed approach. The thought process goes something like this: “Well, I’m good at math so I’ll be an accountant.” “Hmm, I’m good with computers so I’ll become a software engineer.”

But this exclusive focus on knowledge, skills and abilities — known as KSAs in the human resources field — doesn’t always yield the best results, said Ed Hidalgo, director of World of Work at the Mobile Technology Center at University of San Diego. Instead, to build a career that is both fulfilling and long-lasting, concentrate on their strengths, interests and values.

“I often say we cannot predict the jobs of the future,” he said. “We don’t know what’s coming next. So for that reason, we should focus on the individual to help them identify their unique strengths, interests, and values so that no matter what the jobs of the future are, they’ll still know there’s a place in the world for them.”

But how do you go about figuring out what exactly are your unique strengths, interests and values? Hidalgo said there are plenty of surveys and tools out there that will help. One of his favorite evaluation instruments is StrengthsFinder 2.0, an empirically based survey developed by Gallup to helps determine a person’s inherent talents. And because it’s never too soon to determine your strengths, Hidalgo recommended Thrively, an online tool to aimed at kids. But the real magic happens when strengths are combined with interest surveys such as the Strong Interest Inventory or the John Holland Self-Directed Search, he added.

“The perfect marriage of both these types of tools can get you to that place of understanding who you are, what you like to do, and where you’d like to do it, and then how you orient yourself to the world through strengths,” Hidalgo said.

Finding these types of tools can be as simple as going online or, if you have the time and money, a career counselor will offer them as well.

However, you access those tools, Hidalgo said the investment will yield a high return — especially in the constantly changing workplace where people need to take charge of their own career.

“The corporation doesn’t own your career any longer,” he said. “We need to think of ourselves as You Inc. We’re our own business; we’re our own company; we need to constantly be sharpening our tools, our strengths. We need to understand our brand to succeed.”

To hear more insights from Hidalgo, listen to UC San Diego’s latest Career Talk podcast on its Career Channel at uctv.tv/careers/career-talk.

Jennifer Davies is the assistant dean of external affairs for UC San Diego Extension. She can be reached at jadavies@ucsd.edu.