How Do I Choose a Career?

A Word from Katie Ford - Intersource Client

When I took the Birkman Method assessment and had a consultation with Vikki, I was standing on the precipice of a new frontier in my volunteer work. I had initiated my involvement with this particular nonprofit, but once the ball started rolling, my work quickly took on a life of its own and I found myself operating in foreign territory. While the work was very rewarding and I instinctively felt that I was good at it – or at least had strong potential to be good – I often found myself wondering: Am I qualified to be doing this? Do I have what it takes?

To quickly summarize, this nonprofit organization operates a personal and spiritual growth program in a women’s prison. The program utilizes creative arts to encourage healing and self-discovery in these women. I started out as a volunteer prison visitor, attending the program’s “graduation ceremonies” when the women had completed the series of workshops. However, after getting to know some of the board members in the nonprofit organization, I found myself actually teaching one of these workshops. My three-hour class focused on creative writing, and it was up to me to come up with the lesson plan.

For 16 years, I have been a writer and editor. I’ve spent my professional life in newsrooms and editorial departments. Never had I stood in front of a classroom. When I was asked to host a workshop on creative writing, I quickly said yes because I was eager to plug in and do something more meaningful with the organization. I did my best to construct a lesson plan and I rehearsed my lecture repeatedly until I knew it by heart. The preparation paid off because my workshop was a hit among my students; the women even wanted to know when I was coming back to host a second one.

On the way home from the prison, I felt incredibly rewarded and eager to teach again, but my doubts wasted no time in resurfacing. Who am I to be standing in front of these women and teaching? What do I know that can help them?

This was about the same time that I took the Birkman, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. One of the things the Birkman Method does is it pinpoints areas of occupational interest in which you’re likely to thrive ― given your natural behaviors, your emotional/environmental needs and your stress triggers.

The Birkman put “creative industries” at the top of my list, which didn’t surprise me. What did come as a surprise (and a very welcome one) was that the second-best career option for me based on my personality make-up is social services. Learning this from a “third-party observer” has given me a deep sense of reassurance. According to Birkman, this line of work is a natural and ideal fit for me. I might even discover that it is what I was born to do. Bottom line: I do have reason to be standing in that classroom and working with those women.

Since my consultation with Vikki I have gone on to earn my credentials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to be an official volunteer in the state prison system. This fall I will begin my work as a facilitator in training, with the intention of leading a series of workshops at the prison in the spring. I know I have a lot to learn as I embark on this new journey, but now – with the self-knowledge I gained from the Birkman – I know I have what it takes on the inside to be an asset to this nonprofit organization – and more importantly, to these women in prison.