Over the years, I’ve talked to many people who landed a job that didn’t exist until they imagined it into being.
My first guest when I launched my podcast was Michelle McKenna, who was chief information officer for the NFL at the time. But when she applied for that job, it was advertised as something else. McKenna recognized that a CIO was what the NFL really needed and sold Commissioner Roger Goodell and other stakeholders on that role and herself to fill it. It was her dream job.
One of the fascinating challenges—and opportunities—of the contemporary workplace is rapid change. Fast turnover of employees and clients; quickly evolving technology. One of the cumulative effects of constant change is the eruption not just of new available jobs, but of entirely different roles, unknown to us just a few years, or even months, ago. Virtually none of the jobs on the lists of most-in-demand positions for the next decade existed when I was in college and contemplating a career path. It has been that way for a while now and it’s a trend with no end in sight.
If you want to imagine a job that’s right for you, even when the opportunity doesn’t yet exist, the to-do list starts with identifying distinctive strengths. These are not just things that you are good at, but what you are uniquely good at that others don’t do well.
Read Johnson’s full advice column from the latest edition of Business Report, which dives deeper into how you can craft your own best-fit position. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
