The key career insight that made me launch Territory Careers

You might be wondering what I learned as I mentored tons of individuals over the years.  I noticed a number of things, but there was one key insight that galvanized me to launch Territory Careers.  More below…

Section 1:  Two Types of People

First, if you haven’t gotten to know my background, check out my earlier articles.  Give them a quick read and come back…

Ok… 

During my time climbing the proverbial corporate ladder, I initially had a few people reach out asking for career advice.  I helped them out and didn’t think much of it. 

But as I got going, I got slammed with a DELUGE of interested people who needed help. 

More and more people started reaching out, and I ended up helping people get into top companies, undergrads, grad schools, and ultimately build successful careers.

Great right? 

But…

Section 2:  There was a trend I kept encountering…

The trend was this.  There seemed to be TWO types of people that needed career help:  Let’s call them Group 1 and Group 2.

Group 1: 

Group 1 people had a deep gut feeling about what they wanted out of a job, and a career.  They may not have known the specifics, but they had some semblance of a logical plan. 

Now they ranged from average to above average in terms of skill and experience.  But… because they KNEW their rough direction… they were a lot easier to help:

Them:  “Hey, I want to work for XYZ company”

Me:  “Ok.. why do you think that company or job makes sense?”

Them:  “Well.. I’ve done pretty well at A, B, and C so I think it would make sense, right?”

Me:  “Yeah – that’s pretty logical.  Ok… here’s probably what they’d be looking for if you applied…”

Them:  “Ah… ok… I got it.  That makes sense.”

And then… Job offer.  Promotion.  Leadership.

They didn’t need a ton of direction.. because they seemed to have a homing beacon in their brains.

Group 2: 

And then, there was group 2.  The people who weren’t sure about where to even START with their career. 

Now, this group was VERY intelligent and talented, but they struggled. 

And they ALL asked the SAME QUESTIONS:

• “I don’t know what to do career-wise”
• “My parents are pressuring me to do this major, but I hate it”
• “I can’t imagine doing this for the rest of my life”
• “I’m just doing this because my friends are doing it”

This was ALARMING. 

Careers involve BIG decisions that take a large amount of effort over the course of your life.  You spend most of your life working, after all.

 It stands to reason that career decisions require careful, logical thought.   

But instead of a structured process, Group 2 was just WINGING it. 

Why?  What was the difference?  Why did Group 1 seem like they had it all figured out?

Section 3:  The Root Cause

As I thought about things more deeply… one question ticked like a clock in my head… WHAT WAS GOING ON?

This was happening with young people I worked with all over the country, in high school, college, and even people who had started their careers (or people a decade in).

They were LOST. 

But… from my vantage point, I knew I could help them. 

I had been there.  I could see all the angles because I’d been swimming in these seas for decades at this point.

After a few months of pondering, the root cause became very apparent:  Young people are being forced to make career decisions early in life without relevant information or guidance. 

Specifically… there weren’t clear pathways people could follow to get where they wanted to go.  Not every career had a set of rungs to climb like becoming a doctor. 

We lived in an unmapped, foreign, world. 

And..I realized it was time to change that. 

Hence Territory Careers. 

Conclusion:

I know, I know – this is a bold task.  But I know we’re up to the challenge.  And now that you know about me, and know about our mission, take a minute every now and again to see what we have to offer at territorycareers.com. 

If this makes sense and you have some burning career questions… book a call with me using the link below.