You’d think that by midlife, we’d all be acutely aware of our strengths and how to use them in the world. Some of us, however, have either never known or lost touch with these innate skills, which psychologist Dr. Lee Koles calls our “superpowers.” Because they’re second nature to us, we may not even realize they’re special.
A great way to hone in on your superpowers—and apply them to your work life and beyond—is to take the CliftonStrengths Assessment, a series of questions that can help you pinpoint your top five (or more) skills out of 34 unique ones. The odds of having the same top five, in the same order, as another human being are 1 in 33 million! Being aware of your strengths can help improve your quality of life, become more engaged in your work, and steer you on the right career path.
Besides taking on CliftonStrengths (and revealing our own top five), Dr. Koles and I discuss:
- How workplace ageism is real, and what you can do to overcome it
- Why you might not need to go back to school to make a career change
- Why your email address might actually be holding you back from landing your dream job
- How to polish your LinkedIn profiles in order to present yourself in the best light
- How “informational interviews” might be one of the best-kept job-hunting secrets
- Why it’s seriously NEVER too late to make a career change
Dr. Lee Koles is an industrial/organizational psychologist, career strategist, certified life coach and certified CliftonStrengths coach. She is the founder of CareerSequel, where she helps people bridge their career gaps to land flexible, meaningful work they love, as well as the host of CareerSequel: The Return to Work Podcast. She spent 25 years in the Washington, D.C., area and now lives in Toledo, Ohio, with her husband, 19-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter.
For more career-themed episodes of the More Beautiful Podcast, check out Improvising Your Way to Success and It’s Never Too Late to Land Your Dream Job.
