Are you one of the many people that work in a job that you don’t particularly like, or even detest? Do you spend your day wondering how, one day, you might find the job of your dreams?
Many people work in jobs that are, shall we say, less than satisfying? Carl Jahrstorfer was one of those people who went to work everyday so he could make a living and provide for his family, but he was not necessarily enthralled with the different jobs he held. That is until Carl uncovered the values that he found truly important in life and connected those values to a job that would highlight and showcase them.
Today we share Carl’s true story of success so that others may be inspired to take their own journey on a path to workplace happiness. Here is Carl’s story.
Sales and marketing had been my background throughout my entire adult working career. In my attempt to increase my knowledge about this fairly new profession I went to a workshop conference for human resources professionals.
The purpose of the workshop was to introduce a new marketing tool, the TTI assessment, which promised to minimize job search time by pinpointing or identifying the needs of different job positions. It also claimed to highlight the talents and motivating factors of an applicant.
Regardless of what job I had throughout my career, I was always looking to improve my skills and this seemed like something that could play an integral role in my relatively new position.
I arrived an hour early for the workshop. The person conducting the training was really excited about this new assessment solution and after learning about some of the challenges I was having in human resources, he suggested I personally take the assessment before the others arrived.
As I recall, it was a simple two-to-three page questionnaire using the five-response grading system (“most agree with” to “least agree with”) for each question.
When I received the results from my complimentary report I was amazed, pleasantly surprised, and thoroughly excited about the report. It identified my talents and behavioral strengths, my motivators, my ideal work environment, my communication preferences, my team attitudes, leadership potential and problem-solving skills/techniques. It also provided something known as “DISC” descriptors which described my behavioral style.
Part of the report identified three professional job positions that my talents and interest matched up with perfectly: cartographer, pastor, and professional fundraiser.
The position of fundraiser excited me the most because prior to the workshop, my supervisor, who was also the president of the not-for-profit senior housing company, had been doing fundraising himself.
Being pulled in many different directions as president, he admitted he was giving fundraising only about five percent of his time. Citing this need, he had asked me some weeks prior to implement a job search for a full-time fundraising professional. A dozen applicants applied.
He interviewed six or seven individuals but didn't see a proper fit with any of them.
I then had what I like to call a “Divine Alignment moment” and used my sales and marketing background to come up with a way to present a new applicant to the president.
I told him I had a new candidate with a “different type of resume” that came across my desk recently. I explained that this person might meet more of the criteria he was seeking. Next I showed him my TTI complimentary report with my name removed.
He started reading and nodding his head positively, agreeable to all of the behavior patterns that I exhibited in my assessment profile. As he turned to the second page, I could tell he was excited about this person on paper.
By the middle of the second paragraph, he looked up and smiled. “This person is an excellent candidate; this is exactly what I’m looking for,” he said. Then I smiled back at him.
He asked, “Carl...is this you?” I replied affirmatively. He quickly responded, “But you know nothing about fundraising!” I acknowledged this to be the case but I was quick to follow up by telling him that I was a fast learner and didn’t know anything about marketing a $300,000 housing concept when I was hired for that position eight years prior.
I reminded him that I learned that business model and eventually was promoted to the position of Director of Human Resources. Being fully honest and sincere, I explained that I didn’t feel I was performing at my full potential in my current position.
However this tool, the TTI behavioral assessment, indicated that my background, interests and natural behavior pattern would be an excellent career match for both Elim Park and me.
I suggested to the president that our senior housing environment could be my incubator; and the 300 residents that I had built relationships with for the previous seven years would become my potential donors. He thought about it and realized that it was a great idea, after all.
After presenting my candidacy to the Board of Directors and receiving approval, I began my new and fulfilling career in fundraising development work in a newly created position, Director of Development at Elim Park Baptist Home, Inc.
From the year 2000 to 2015, Elim Park raised more money than in their previous 100 years of existence. The answer was simple: by being the right person at the right time with the right tools, I was able to meet the needs of both the organization and myself for a work marriage made in Heaven.
Thanks to TTI, I successfully retired two years ago at the age of 71 because my company recognized and accepted the potential in me that was uncovered so innocently in that life-changing report.
The president who gave me the position, as well as his successor, gave me outstanding annual reviews. Both were pleased with their decision to hire me and very satisfied with my contributions to the success of the company.
Today Carl is happily retired from his career job, spending his time volunteering for various organizations. He also enjoys another passion of his, driving, working part-time for a rental car company.
Carl’s “aha” moment came when he realized that his values and his life’s work needed to be aligned. Once he figured that out, he saw work - and life in general - in a whole new, brighter light.
If your job isn’t what you always dreamed it should be, take a lead from Carl and don’t be afraid to explore something that works for the person you really are.
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