10 Experiments to Find Your Calling
10 simple experiments you can try to find a career that feels like a calling
Job Career or Calling?
There is a growing body of academic interest in callings. Researchers frame callings as one of three “work orientations”. The other two are jobs - where money is the main motivator, careers - where we look forward to progression. A calling is different from a job or career because it is inherently rewarding. We would do it even if we did not get paid.
What makes work feel like a calling is meaning. You can have multiple callings in one lifetime, because we can find meaning in different ways - from work that plays to our strengths, to great colleagues and clients, to a company’s mission that feels aligned.
While the concept of a calling may sound simple, it might not be so easy to start searching for it. In 2017, I left my job. Up until that point I had been an economics consultant for a prestigious development bank with a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University. I began to wonder, Should I stay in this line of work or should I leave and find new career? At the time, every inch in my body told me to try something new, but I didn’t know where to begin. But I wasn’t alone. Researcher Dr. Herminia Ibarra, who studies people who change careers, tells us that people who want to leave their jobs know exactly what they don’t like about their jobs but can’t put a finger on what it is that they do want.
10 experiments Find Your Calling
Conventional wisdom says that to find your calling you must follow your passion, but what if we’re unclear? And what if that passion doesn’t pan out? Based on her research, Dr. Ibarra recommends that instead of searching for a calling, or following our passion, we instead focus on small “work experiments” —small, concrete actions that can help you test out different career paths to see how they feel. Then you take the lessons from the experience to inform what can lead to work that feels like a calling.
Based on the research, I’ve developed the following steps to implement work experiments to help clients pivot to new careers. The best part is that you don’t have to quit your job to do any of them.
Before you begin, List potential areas of work
Begin with a list with areas of work you’ve always wanted to explore, and discard those that no longer feel interested until you have 3 items maximum.
Start experimenting
Looking at your list, start with what excites you the most, even if it’s unrelated to your previous line of work or education, and choose one of the following experiments to start with:
Ask for a temporary assignment.
Ask to team up with people from other departments for specific projects.
Interview people who work in different departments that interest you.
Volunteer for new projects at work.
Take a course in a subject that seems intriguing or exciting. If you’re intersted in checking out coding, I highly recommend DataCamp.
Sign up for a certification. Coursera and edX have free or accessible certification programs.
Volunteer for an organization whose mission you feel passionate about.
Intern for a company that interests you.
Interview people who have a job that intrigues you.
Read through job descriptions and see how they land.
Evaluate your experiment
My mother is an artist. When she is sculpting a statue she starts with a block of marble. She then whittles away at the stone, first big chunks and then smaller and smaller pieces, until the artwork emerges. Similarly, when you're trying out these experiments it can help to discard the things that don't interest you at all, and continue experiencing with what is interesting to you.
As you would with an experiment, think about the results—what aspects about the experiment did you like? Which career options can you discard? Did any new options emerge?
Don’t forget to listen to your body. As you move forward with this experimental approach, I suggest you trust your intuition and listen to your body. In other words, pay attention to your feelings and listen to what feels right to you. Have fun with the process and contact me if you’d like to work together.