The Career Curator: Transition- Leaving a Fingerprint on Someone’s Soul

For my final Career Curator, I’d like to discuss the concepts of change and transition. According to William Bridges, change is something that happens to people, while transition is something that happens in your mind as you go through change. Recently, I have found this to be true. Currently, I am experiencing transition as a result of a decision to spread my wings after 15 amazing years at Bentley University and to begin a new role later this summer.

Many of you are also going through transitions, whether going home after a year of independence, starting a new job or internship, or graduating in May and beginning the next chapter of adulthood.

As you begin to go through this process, you feel many emotions. The uncertainty can be scary and you may also feel a sense of loss. It is important to acknowledge these feelings in order to bridge the old and the new before you can move towards a healthy and productive new beginning.

So, as your Career Curator, here are three important steps to take as we embark upon transition:

  1. Take the time to reflect and gain insight: remember that if you don’t acknowledge the emotions you are experiencing, you will struggle to move forward. I know I am experiencing uncertainty about leaving this special place and the people I have known and loved for 15 years, so it is important to name that and acknowledge what you need to let go of.
  2. Express gratitude: recognize the people who have helped you along the way and acknowledge their contribution. Personally, I want to say how grateful I am to all of you Falcons, to my amazing career services team, and to the wonderful Bentley community.
  3. Aim your strengths towards a healthy transition: As a Strengths coach, I am always thinking about how we can productively apply our talents to challenging situations. During this transition, I am channeling my Significance talent because it helped me to do my job in a way that, according to Gallup, “leaves a fingerprint on someone’s soul and to do lasting work that leaves a legacy.” Which talents will you channel as you go through your transitions?

So, as I prepare to say goodbye to Bentley, I am taking the time to reflect and gain insight, express gratitude, and aim my strengths towards a healthy transition. I hope the career services culture we have built leaves a fingerprint on your soul, because I know you have left one on mine.

By Susan Sandler Brennan
Susan Sandler Brennan Associate Vice President, University Career Services