618: Using Strengths in Job Search: Surprising Results From Edna’s Career Change Story

Edna 00:00

I just didn't have the autonomy that I know I needed, in retrospect, to thrive. So after a year in, I said, "That's it." They were shocked, but I was not. Because I was actually, between you and I, was miserable because I wasn't enjoying it. I was busy. But for me, the work was not... it wasn't meaningful.

Scott Anthony Barlow 00:22

What happens when you know you need a change in your career and you're trying to figure out what's right for you? For many of us, the uncertainty of what comes next can be absolutely paralyzing. In this episode, we're exploring how understanding your values and your unique strengths can become the foundation for navigating career transitions, even when you're facing moments of doubt and uncertainty.

Edna 00:45

And I had to ask myself the question, "Do you see yourself here?" I've been confirmed for my next role. They told me where I was likely to go. You know, if within the organization, they shared their plan to me. I knew they were planning for me. And it didn't feel right for me to stay there if I didn't see a future for myself. And then, besides that, I said, "I was miserable." So, one day it's scary. So initially, when you do it, it's very liberating. I'll tell you that. Quitting a job, it's a very liberating feeling.

Scott Anthony Barlow 01:20

That's Edna. After spending 19 years as a scientist with a consumer packaged goods company, she was recruited by another organization that seemed promising. They made it obvious that she was valued. The entire time that she was there, she certainly was appreciated. But after just one year, she realized it was still a terrible cultural fit. So she made the bold decision to quit without having another job lined up. What followed is her journey through uncertainty, self-discovery and ultimately finding work that truly aligns with her strengths and her values. There's no question. You're going to hear how Edna pushed through her career changed out. That's a routine part of any great story. But the real question is, how did she use the scientific approach to finding meaningful work, and how did she use her strengths in the process of finding an innovation leadership role, especially one that felt tailor made for her? Okay, here's Edna again. She's explaining how her career led up to this latest transition.

Edna 02:22

I have a PhD in chemistry, and I was literally hired out of the lab. I was doing my postdoc, and the company came on campus to recruit, and then I got the job. And it was, I honestly say, I had an awesome time because, in retrospect, I change jobs every three to four years, on the most part, and I change jobs into something that was different enough, challenging enough to allow me to learn and grow. So for example, I started off my first job was formulating laundry detergents, and I did that for four years, and then I moved on to formulating cleansing liquids– the body washes your liquid enhancer. But I did that for three years. It's getting water out of my mind. I moved to formulating under antiperspirants, and all of this was in North America.

Scott Anthony Barlow 03:19

Okay. I think it's safe to say that her first company provided great opportunities for growth. So when she was eventually recruited to this other company, I already mentioned, it didn't take long for her to discover that her career change had been a mistake. But the real question is, why?

Edna 03:35

Culturally, it was just not a fit for me. So, and this is coming into the values as well, right? I, in retrospect, realized that I thrived when I had autonomy. So and I didn't realize that the 19 years of my previous company, I had a lot more autonomy than I felt I had in this new environment. I was extremely busy again. It was a growing industry. The company was doing awesome, but I just didn't have the autonomy that I know I needed, in retrospect, to thrive. So after a year in, I said, "That's it." They were shocked, but I was not. Because I was actually, between you and I, was miserable because I wasn't enjoying it. I was busy. But for me, the work was not... It wasn't meaningful. I was doing a lot of work, for my taste, it wasn't meaningful.

Scott Anthony Barlow 04:33

As my team got to know Edna, one of the parts that really stood out to us was how she approached understanding her strengths. Most people will go through, they will take assessments, they will do some deep dive, they'll do some reflective exercises when they're trying to understand their strengths. However, Edna took this to a whole another level. She brought the scientific approach to analyzing her own strengths data.

Edna 04:57

Yeah. So I'm visual, clearly. And so the colors for me helped. And the Gallup StrengthsFinder already had that sort of color code. So I took that color code and sort of matched it with what my feedback with Gallup strengths. And it was interesting because I was also a little bit about apprehensive about getting feedback, because I've done enough assessments at this point in my career. You know, and I thought I understood me. But I took a step back and said, "Hey, this is from a different lens." And I like that the questions that you reach out to people, folks with are all positive, right? So I took the opportunity to seek feedback from people that have managed me, people who I have managed, people who've been my peers or my stakeholders, and I did it from the US, India, and China, the scientists. So this is the one data that represents.

Scott Anthony Barlow 05:53

Let's get a significant sample size. Let's represent enough data. Let's get...

Edna 05:57

On every level, I don't want it to be by. So yeah, I guess there are some scientists in, right? A lot of scientists. And then you've done the StrengthFinder assessment, and I got my top five strengths. It was so fascinating to see when the feedback came that my strengths are my strengths. They were saying exactly what Gallup StrengthFinder was saying in different words. They express it in their Mexican way, in the American way, or in the Indian way. But what they were saying about me is me. So I'm very consistent.

Scott Anthony Barlow 06:35

What Edna is referring to here is a strategy for strengths awareness that allowed her to visually see patterns emerge. We refer to this strategy as strengths feedback analysis. The idea is you collect feedback from a variety of people and use a process to analyze what strengths people perceive as most valuable or most useful. Edna asked 25 friends and coworkers these questions. She did it by email, conversation, text. Question number one, "How would you introduce me to a friend?" Question number two, "What are my three best qualities?" Question number three, "What is something that I could help people with?" She also asked one more question.

Edna 07:17

One of the questions I asked is, "What things become easy for me that others struggle with? What do you think I could teach others?" And the consistency that came out of those, that feedback for me just solidified that understanding and appreciation of my strengths. And also, at some level, helped me not to minimize because you see, individualization is my number one, and I'm like, it's just what I do. You know, but it has value, and it was so clear to me from the feedback I got from people around the world that it has value. So for me, that, yeah, it was such a great exercise. So I loved it. What I found, for me, in retrospect, is this exercise really anchored the process. It's because you have to start by understanding what it is you're good at, where that comes from, and you will then be able to appreciate, hopefully, for the individuals listening, is the successes you've had and the contribution, which is in your career, and the contribution that your strengths have had towards that success. Because I bet you, they're rooted in your strengths. The successes you had are rooted in your strengths. But until you're able to sort of step and see that link, you may not fully appreciate it. So what again, for me, one of the great things about this whole process is, I walk away with a deeper understanding and appreciation of my strengths, and the process is rooted. It starts there. It starts with understanding the strengths, which is again, so basically, I've done this before, but I've never done it like this, never done it like this. And I said appreciation, and the choice to leverage my strengths even more in the future. So not only do I walk away with appreciation and understanding, there is a very deliberate decision and the intention to leverage moving forward, because more success would come out of that.

Scott Anthony Barlow 09:20

Once all the feedback is collected, then you categorize and analyze the data to influence your understanding of your strengths, you can see those patterns emerge. Edna did a great job of this. She took it to a whole nother level by creating a color coded system to analyze all of the feedback that she received, and this allowed her to recognize and apply her strengths in her career and throughout the rest of her life. I asked Edna to explain how this understanding of her strengths regularly shows up for her.

Edna 09:50

For me, I think, one, it helps me on a day to day. So I actually understand myself better. Sometimes when I'm in situations and I'm struggling a bit, it helps certain things, I'm like, "Oh, I can understand why this is off for me, because I'm missing XYZ." And, for example, I'm an achiever, right? And sometimes I like to procrastinate, and I've discovered just put on a list. If I put it on a list, it's going to get done because the achiever in me will ensure that thing is checked off the list, right? Little tricks like that, exactly the little tricks like that. I think the biggest one for me, though, is leaning into my individualization during the process. And I'm sure it'll show up on the job what, you know, as I've taken up this new role. But because of what I discovered, and I'm going to fast forward to the experimentation phase, there was a lot of emphasis in the experimentation modules around making sure you're connecting with whomever you're reaching out to.

Scott Anthony Barlow 11:07

One of the most valuable insights Edna gained was recognizing how her top strengths of individualization how it shows up for her day to day throughout her whole life, and how she could use it as a strategic advantage in networking and interviews and other interactions.

Edna 11:24

So if you're reaching out via email, or if you're reaching out via phone, make sure you understand who it is you're talking to, try to spend some time connecting. And, honestly, I struggled with that a bit because I'm here to get some information, I don't have time to connect. What I realized is, because of my individualization, I'm inherently curious about people. And what I realized is, to the extent that you can connect, it impacts the transaction. Every interaction has a transaction and a connection. The quality of your connection can impact your transaction. So for me, just focusing on trying to... And I'll step back. I'll give you an example of even going into interviews. In the past, I would want to get through the interview, and interviews usually come quite naturally for me, but I'll be so focused on the interview. And as a result of going through this process, it shifted a bit. I go in and try to understand who's on the other side of the interview, who is this person who's talking to me? So have the conversation. The interview will happen. We know we're both here for an interview. None of us don't forget to get that part in. But spending the time upfront to connect was a shift for me, and seeing how that connection then, in turn, impacts how the interview happens. And I've done it, yes, within the interview space, but even outside, you know, you go to a restaurant and you're waiting for a table, and you're talking to the hostess. In the past, you know, I wouldn't really bother to stay or to wait. But now you have, okay, it looks like you're busy today. How's the house? Just spend a minute. Spend a minute connecting. Because that connection oftentimes impacts the transaction. The tables come up on you, "Would you be willing to...?" It's just little things. And recognizing that because I'm inherently wired to connect to people, connect to people, so that in somehow, individualization is my number one. So I would do it anyway, but being mindful of, you know, one, it's a strength. Two, it's not work for me. And people are people on the other side of any interaction as a person. And that person, you know, try to get to know that person a little bit. You may not, you may have hours, you may have seconds, spend a minute, spend a second to connect.

Scott Anthony Barlow 13:57

During her career transition, Edna experienced what every single career changer faces, those moments of doubt, those moments of uncertainty, when it feels like nothing is happening, it's not moving fast enough, nothing is working. And she describes this challenging period.

Edna 14:12

So I had a big crisis, I would say. I've won one big one. And it wasn't... So I started working with Ben in October, about three months in, moved to working with coach. I was good. I was good. Done with my schedules. I told you, Tuesday and Thursday was set aside for getting the work done. And we got through the work. And now we go into experimentation phase. And we get into experimentation phase, I tell my coach, then, "I think it's going to look different for me. Are you game?" He's like, he's game. But what that ended up looking like was I didn't have Tuesday things to do on Tuesday and Thursday. I mean, up until that time, I had things Tuesday and Thursdays were blocked out. I had my work to do, and I knew... So, Tuesday would come and I'm like, "Oh, okay." And week one was fine. Week two was fine. Week three, I'm like, "What the heck did you just do to yourself?" Right? So we're about four months in, and things got slow, and you start to ask yourself, "What are you thinking?" Right? So it was January. That was challenging. That was quite challenging. And I remember talking to Ben, I said, "Should I just start applying for jobs?" And he's like, "You're so close. I can't tell you where it's coming. Where it's going to come from, but it's going to come." And he was right. I mean, literally, after that coaching session, it was a week later, and couple of really good opportunities, really good opportunities came my way, but I had to get comfortable just sitting in that unknown, sitting in that unknown. But for me, the trigger was going from a structure to having less to do, actively do on my end, and feeling that, and being four months in without a paycheck, you know, you feel it, you start to just feel it. And even though, you know, just have to feel that unknown of how long, you know, how long is this thing going to take.

Scott Anthony Barlow 16:19

Eventually, Edna found an opportunity that aligned perfectly with what she had identified as important to her. In this case, it was a role in innovation leadership that provided the right types of challenge and right types of growth.

Edna 16:31

What makes it a great fit is that it's an innovation. So I'm staying within research and development, which is what I love. I love working with scientists, or within the science space. I am going to lead innovation. This is what I love to do. I love to lead innovation. Because, as I said, one of my things is about one of my values is learning and growth. And the beauty about innovation is that you're not doing exactly the same thing repetitively. You're constantly pushing and learning and trying something differently or doing something totally different altogether. In addition to that, what I love about this opportunity is that the company as a whole is pivoting, but one that wasn't necessarily innovation focused, to one that wants to be a lot more innovative.

Scott Anthony Barlow 17:23

Ah, so time and place is an important part of this for you, too,

Edna 17:27

As well. They don't know how to do it quite, hence, people like me coming in. I don't know them. I don't know their segment, so we're going to have to figure it out, but they're open.

Scott Anthony Barlow 17:40

You can see how Edna came full circle from a cultural misfit at the last organization to finding, not just a job that masters skills, but an environment that truly aligned with who she is at her core.

Edna 17:53

I talk to, it just feels like interviewed with, it just feels like it's my tribe. When one of the things that along the way, when the coaching journey is, I need to find my... You used to tell me, you need to find your tribe. I need to find my tribe. You know, when you're talking to them, I'm like, "This is my tribe. These are my people. They approach leadership the same way that I do. This is my tribe." So very much looking forward to having the autonomy to drive, lead, shape the future of an organization that's working in a very meaningful space. For me, yeah, that's changing.

Scott Anthony Barlow 18:45

What I love about Edna's story is how she transformed a period of uncertainty. At the beginning of this episode, I mentioned the uncertainty, and this is what I love most about Edna's story. She transformed this period of uncertainty into an opportunity for self-discovery. By taking the time to truly understand her strengths and what she actually wanted and what she needed from her work environment, she was able to find a role that felt tailor made for her. When you're in the middle of a career transition, a change, job search, anything, it's easy to immediately begin focusing on what job title do you want, or what industry should you target. Those things are easy. But as we know, and what Edna discovered, the most important work is figuring out what ideal means to you, figuring out what extraordinary looks like. Otherwise, you're not going to get there. By getting specific and using, in this case, Edna strengths to guide her decisions, Edna and found her way to work that actually fits. And if you've listened to very many episodes of the Happen To Your Career podcast, you know that this is the entire reason our company exists, to help you find meaningful work that actually fits what you're looking for. Help you build the life you want and figure out how work fits within it. So if you're ready to take control of your career journey and find work that aligns with your strengths, we'd love to help. All you have to do is just pause this right now and drop me an email– Scott@happentoyourcareer.com. Just shoot me an email, put 'Conversation' in the subject line. Scott@happentoyourcareer.com. I'll connect you with my team, the specific team member who can help with your unique situation. That's all you need to do. Drop me an email right now.

Scott Anthony Barlow 20:25

All right, here's what's coming up next week right here on Happen To Your Career.

Speaker 3 20:29

Don't be afraid to, like, just make that really awkward connection because, you know, if you don't, you're right where you are, and if you do, you know, maybe after that conversation, you'll still be right where you are, but maybe you'll be somewhere further along in the road.

Scott Anthony Barlow 20:52

If you've ever been in an emergency situation, you know how chaotic it can feel, especially if there's panic and distractions. Doing something like screaming, "Help. Help!" rarely works. What emergency responders learn is that you need to give clear, specific instructions. "You in the pink shirt. Call 911, right away." "You in the corner. Bring me a towel." This principle applies in everyday life too. If my wife asks, "Can somebody take out the trash?" And she shouts it out into the abyss of our house, my three teenagers will do their best to assume she's talking to a different one of them. Nobody moves. But when she says, "Camden, please take out the trash before dinner", suddenly there's clarity and action. Studies show that this specificity carries beyond emergency situations and household chores, probably not a surprise, knowing what you want and being extremely clear is the best way to get what you want because when you know what you want, it becomes easier to ask for it, and when you ask for what you want, strangely enough, you get what you want more often.