“A big part of your job is to figure out what your job is.”
Ha! Now that’s something I wish my 20 y.o. self knew! I said to myself while re-reading the words and applauding the screen.
You can find this nugget of wisdom and a lot more practical advice for people who want or need to write in Writing is designing.
Just look at this bit right here:
I can’t recommend it enough (!), but for now, let’s get back to this crazy idea of designing your role.
As a writer (or designer, or project manager, or whatever you find yourself to be, especially in a tech environment), you have the opportunity to shape your role and grow it in a specific context.
There’s also this post that underlines a similar lens of “how a career is made” if you will: What I wish I knew five years ago about building a career in "content".
Yes, it’s about content, but it’s also about what you want to do and what principles you value, more than defining a “function”:
If you ignore the complex nature of this job and just put your head down and “churn out some content” you’re doing yourself and your career a disservice. You’re in a unique field in which the demand for experienced and strategic thinkers is outpacing the supply.
Is it:
critical thinking,
strategic input,
analytics & business intelligence,
people management,
creating,
all of the above?
What kind of a professional do you want to be at the end of the day & how would you shape your abilities?
Or, to put it in a different framework — if you scratch the hard skills, how do you do processes, relate to people, and shape mindsets (yours included)?
Instead of a conclusion, I’ll leave you with this prompt by Adam Grant:
Why do we ask kids what they want to be when they grow up?
It encourages them to define themselves in terms of work. It also perpetuates the myth that you can only have one career.
We can serve them better by asking what they want to do — and what kind of person they hope to be.
*I know they might seem from “different worlds”, but in the end, all these resources point to the same thing: the kind of professional self you want to develop. And what you want your thinking to achieve ;)
Any other useful resource here? Please point me in the right direction.
Too bad I didn't read it before sending the newsletter, but here's something to further deepen the conversation / introspection: https://diamondpencils.substack.com/p/controversial-career-advice-skills