What’s Your Career DNA?
Having a 2-year-old and a 14-week-old will make you think about how to explain complicated things simply.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid, apparently.
If you watch enough crime dramas, you hear “DNA was left at the scene.” But what is DNA?
Your job title isn’t what makes you unique. Your Career DNA is.
DNA is the recipe for every living thing on earth. It shapes your hair, your eye color, your muscles, and every part of you. Small differences in that recipe are why no two people are exactly alike.
You know what doesn’t have DNA? A stamp. A desk. A 1993 Ford Tempo (my first car, don’t judge).
So what would you say if I asked you what your Career DNA is?
Here’s a hint: it’s not your job title. I just searched “Recruiter” on LinkedIn and found over 55,000 people with Recruiter in their current title. Just in the Greater New York area.
It’s not your industry, your skills, or your education either. Compared to a person, those are the hair and eye color. Millions of people have the same eye color as you, but none of them share your DNA. Your Career DNA works the same way.
Where Mine Started
I walked into my first job in July 2004 without a single thought about my future. I was 16, hired as a seasonal cashier at a small department store called Bob’s Stores. After the summer, Bob’s kept a handful of us on as part-time associates. Little did I know, that seasonal job would be the start of a career built on connecting people with opportunity.
I stayed at Bob’s for seven years. That job helped me pay for college with only one small loan my freshman year. Halfway through, I turned down an offer from Bank of America because Bob’s promised me full-time work and the chance to learn the entire store. I went from Front End Sales Associate to Footwear Department Supervisor, with a key to the building.
Every role since then has been a building block. After Bob’s, I took a four-month temporary position as an Admissions Counselor. I quickly realized I loved helping people chase a dream. But selling an online education and convincing people to spend thousands of dollars wasn’t for me, so I left to start my career in recruitment.
For the past 14 years, I’ve connected people with opportunities in recruitment. Along the way, I became a licensed real estate agent in Connecticut and New York. I also became President of the Danbury Drum Corps, an organization that’s been around since 1927.
Every one of these roles connects to the one before it. If I’m not connecting someone with a job, I’m connecting someone with a house. If neither of those fits, I’m connecting people through music.
Is this journey unique? Absolutely. Just like every career journey is.
Do you know anyone who worked in retail, college admissions, recruitment, and real estate, and marched in a drum corps? Me neither. Just like the DNA in my body, my Career DNA can’t be copied.
How to Find Yours
Now it’s your turn. You don’t need a template for this. You need a piece of paper and 10 minutes.
Step 1: List every role you’ve held. Jobs, volunteer roles, side hustles, coaching your kid’s team. All of it counts.
Step 2: Next to each one, write what people came to you for. Not the job description. What did they actually need from you?
Step 3: Circle the words that repeat.
Here’s mine:
Bob’s Stores: helping customers find the right fit (in footwear, literally)
Admissions: helping people chase a dream
Recruitment: connecting people with jobs
Real estate: connecting people with homes
Danbury Drum Corps: connecting people with music and community
The words that keep showing up: connecting people. That’s my Career DNA. I connect people with opportunity.
Notice what’s not on that list: selling. That’s why admissions didn’t stick. Your Career DNA tells you what to walk away from just as clearly as where to go next.
Your pattern might not jump out right away. Here’s what it looks like for a few others:
The admissions counselor turned recruiter: connects people with opportunity.
The elementary school teacher turned paramedic: shows up for people when they need help most.
The accountant turned builder: turns numbers into something you can stand on.
Different titles. Similar DNA.
As Dr. Seuss wrote in Happy Birthday to You!: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” (I can’t believe I’m now quoting a children’s author.)
The Evidence You Leave Behind
Here’s the thing about DNA: you leave it everywhere you go. Every role you’ve held has evidence of yours.
Your Career DNA is the first piece of your Brand Brief. Next time, I’ll show you how to turn that one sentence into a story a hiring manager won’t forget. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.
And tell me in the comments: what was your first car?
