Careerists Should Ask Themselves: ‘What Do I Want to Do?’

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

A giant "climate change" billboard on Manhattan's West Side motivates The Green Suits to do well and do right, making the world a better place. ©2011 Dan Smolen

In my last post, I described the “Central Casting” mentality of some executive recruiters and hiring managers who are charged with filling open job assignments. In this day and age it is understandable how so many of them impatiently turn to new hires to quickly gain competitive marketplace advantages.

An agile executive knows how to leverage his or her skills and talents to fulfill–and sometimes exceed–a hiring manager’s exacting requirements.

Indeed, that is a good thing.

But, many (pleaser-personality) careerists take the Central Casting cattle call a little too far. Like Woody Allen’s character Zelig they morph chameleon-like into whatever they think the hiring manager wants them to be. And in doing so, they sometimes lose touch with what motivates them to do well in their careers.

So often, I hear from executives that have gotten so consumed with remaining gainfully employed that they have forgotten to ask themselves: What do I want to do?

The Green Suits are almost always motivated by success and recognition. We want to do our assignments well. And we want to be recognized by our superiors for our accomplishments.

But our reasons d’etre also include furthering the “Triple Bottom Line” at our companies and organizations. We want to do well and do right, making the world a better place.

On a recent business trip to New York, I spotted this giant electronic billboard which reminded me of one of my prime motivations: to help mitigate climate change by reducing our global output of greenhouse gases.

I can only imagine that many thousands of entry-level to seasoned professionals who also pass that billboard are reminded of their own deep burning desire to make a positive and lasting impact on the world. So, let us encourage them to become The Green Suits, too. Getting a paperback copy of Tailoring the Green Suit in their hands–or the electronic version downloaded to their Kindles or Nooks–is a great way to get them started!