Finding your fit

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Have you ever contorted yourself to an uncomfortable degree to “fit” a role?

I did, in one of my earliest jobs. I hated it. Every day I was doing work I didn’t enjoy that didn’t play to my strengths.

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Work doesn’t have to be this way. Instead, there are steps you can take to examine what the right fit means at this moment of your career.

For women in particular, we can be so busy trying to meet expectations we don’t stop to examine what we want to be doing and how.

“So much of the structure of how we run our lives is absent the question of does it fit, as a woman,” said Maryann Lombardi, a career coach who helps women find the right fit for their careers. “You’re responsible for 852 things that in the common definition of fit, don’t fit.”

People come to Lombardi when they’re stuck, or when what they think they should be doing (such as climbing that ladder) conflicts with what they truly want to do.

Lombardi has spent 20+ years working for governments, institutions, and brands, bringing together billion-dollar partners and leveraging their resources to support thousands of people to get jobs, access free therapy, and grow their businesses. Now, she helps women identify their next career move so they feel more aligned with their career life, go after that position with confidence, and have the impact they want.

In her own career, Lombardi went from performing as a jazz singer and working as a theater producer in New York City to managing partnerships as an executive. It wasn’t as much of a leap as it might appear on the surface.

Producing and directing “is all about having a vision, putting together a disparate team to make that vision a reality, navigating different personalities and needs,” Lombardi said, “and then marketing and selling that thing to an audience that hopefully will love that thing. And that is the backbone of business.”

People tend to take a top-down approach to thinking about their careers, naming the industry and role they want to have. Instead, we can go deeper, examining how our skills are solving problems that could translate across roles and industries.

If you’re feeling stuck, she said, stop and ask yourself if you can take the time to consider what you want and audit what you love and dislike about what you’re doing.

Lombardi has her clients consider:

• What led you to move to where you live, and what led you to choose the job you’re doing now?
• Why are you still in the place you are, and why are you still doing the job you’re doing?
• What is the thing that is keeping you feeling stuck?

These are questions that recognize the reality of change in our professional lives. Finding your fit does not mean everything has to be perfect, Lombardi told me. Instead, it’s an equation for what comes together to make what you want possible, and then matching that to professional opportunities.

Your career is “a living, breathing organism.”

“It’s not about getting the perfect job that’s great and we’re going to lock that in for 20 years,” she said.

We can stop pushing ourselves to fit the roles we think we should want. With some time and consideration, let’s find the places that fit us.

Happy navigating,
Bridget

Resources from Maryann Lombardi:

• How to Access the Hidden Job Market: Because if you don't, you are missing 70% of the available career opportunities!
• Recommended read: Unreasonable Hospitality by restauranteur Will Guidara. Lombardi says the concepts of care and listening make this essential reading for anyone doing business.

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