Mid-career shift puts satisfaction in high gear

During second semester my senior year in college, I was not sure what to do with my English major and business minor, but I knew I did not want to teach. I took an interview for a sales position with Champion International Corporation on my college campus thinking they made sweatshirts.  I quickly found out it was a paper manufacturer, and as unexpected as that was, I really liked the people I met through the interview process, so I took the job.

They invested a lot of time and money training me in their industry and how to be a sales professional. I had a lot of early success and was given an opportunity to relocate to serve in a product marketing role that no one had previously held. After getting a taste of marketing work for a couple of years, I was asked to become national accounts manager with responsibility for one of our company’s largest accounts and moved with my new wife and child to the east coast.

Despite achieving success in the role, I was miserable.  Once I started working with Dr. Rom on Strength Realization, some important lightbulbs started going on for me. As I reflected on the peak experiences of my life, they were more aligned with marketing work than with a sales role. Furthermore, with my wife and now two young children at home in an area where we had no roots, traveling 80% of the time did not meet my needs nor align with my values.

I had an opportunity to put my self-discovery into action during my next performance discussion with my boss.  He was pleased with my results but sensed I was not happy and asked me what I would like to do next. Instead of pointing to a specific job, I provided him a summary of my Achievement DNA – the pattern I follow when I am energized and satisfied with my work toward major accomplishments, the skills I like to use, the roles in which I am most fulfilled, and my most important values and needs. I also described my preferred environment in which I can best operate within my unique strengths. After a few weeks, he approached me with an offer to shift into a marketing role at headquarters. And from there, I never looked back.

Strength Realization helped me unlock whole new levels of satisfaction and fulfillment in my career, and I incorporated several of the core principles into my candidate screening as I hired people at several companies. I am excited and humbled to be able to help bring tru™ Strength Realization to the world to unlock success and satisfaction for others.

Vince P.