One-track careers are nearly extinct. Careers that started in the mailroom and ended in the corner office are now relegated to realms of myth and legend. A generation ago we were told to expect three or more sequential “careers.” The latest word is that we are shifting to a "gig" economy and can expect to have three or more careers at once. Freelance and contract positions are becoming much more appealing to employers and far more prevalent among workers. Even if you hold a full-time position in a stable company, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be doing that job eighteen months from now.

So what does this mean for you? In order to navigate this turbulent and ever-changing sea of employment you’ll need a compass—a set of guiding principles that help you navigate to that next spot on the horizon.

Your "Sweet Spot" is that compass. It’s the constantly moving and ever-evolving intersection of the answers to three basic questions: What do you like to do? What are you good at? What adds value to the marketplace?

1. What do you like to do?

This question is perhaps the easiest and most familiar. What is it that you love? What are your passions? What’s important to you? What do you value? Whether it’s walking in nature with your dog, figuring out problems, sketching, painting, or even whipping up a gourmet meal, identifying the actions that make you happy is something that most everyone has a good handle on. As you try to identify your passions and values, don’t censor yourself—even if it doesn’t feel work-related, list the things that are important to you in their priority.

2. What are you good at?

This question is a little more difficult to answer. What are your credentials and degrees? What’s your experience? Your expertise? And what skills have you been applying for the last few years?

Your answer might be formal or specific, such as chemical engineering or working as a CPA. Or it can be informal and more generalized, such as being good at writing or speaking, or maybe at working with children. Often when you poll people who know you well, their answers may surprise you, as others tend to see another dimension that sometimes hasn’t occurred to you. This can be especially true with coworkers or former colleagues—they may have definite insight to skills you’ve not recognized in yourself, or at the least, in generating a list of adjectives that describe you, which you can then translate into skills. For example, let’s say your position is that of an individual contributor—you work on a team but you don’t manage others. What your colleagues might notice is that you’re always the one everyone turns to for assistance, for help with figuring out their piece of the solution. In this instance, you might not notice that you’re especially good at mentoring and coaching, albeit in an informal role. Are there activities that you perform regularly that go beyond your job description?

3. What adds value to the marketplace?

Finally, consider what can you do that brings enough value someone would be willing to pay for it? This is the toughest question by far, as the answer is in a constant state of flux. What people and companies are willing to pay for today is likely not the same as it was a few months back. And it will surely change again as we move into the future. This rapid change in what brings value to the marketplace has caused the dramatic shifts in employment models that we’re experiencing today.

Whether you’re contracting or working full-time, this philosophy applies to you regardless. Your value to the company or your client needs to far outweigh your salary or compensation. When it stops doing so, your position could be rewritten, merged with another, or even sent offshore. For your current role, just as for when you target that next opportunity, what’s important to your success is that the unique value that you bring must always be improving.

As you consider these questions in relation to your life and career, keep in mind that it’s the intersection of the three that will keep you on track and effectively moving forward in your career path. The "sweet spot" serves as a compass that helps you navigate to where you want to go next.

Contact us if you would like some help uncovering your sweet spot. We offer an eight-week workshop that serves as intensive exploration that will help you clarify what you like to do, what you are good at, and what brings value in the marketplace.