The Intersection Between Luck and Hard Work
Sharon Belden Castonguay, Ed.D. is an adult developmental psychologist and the Executive Director of the Gordon Career Center at Wesleyan University, where she is also the instructor for Career Decisions: From Insight to Impact on Coursera and the host of the podcasts Careers by Design: The Interviews and First Year Out.
She currently serves as President of the Liberal Arts Career Network, a consortium of top liberal arts colleges and universities across the United States. Her TEDxWesleyanU talk, The Psychology of Career Decisions, considers themes of identity, culture, and decision making. Her career advice has been featured on Forbes.com, Inc.com and Apple News.
She received her doctorate in Human Development & Psychology from Harvard, where her research focused on how businesspeople make career decisions. She also holds an MA in Education from the University of Michigan and a BA in Government from Smith College.
In this episode…
Most doctoral students identify as doctors in their hearts long before holding the diploma in their hands.
In this episode of An Unconventional Life, Dr. Sharon Belden Castonguay and Dr. Russell Strickland discuss the importance of identity when it comes to choosing your doctoral program, your doctoral advisors, and your postdoctoral career. Dr. Castonguay began advising doctoral students who choose not to pursue academia on career options while still pursuing her own doctoral degree. She shares an amazing technique for setting your career direction using comparative professional-identity introspective exercises. In our careers, and our lives, serendipity and intentionality both contribute to outcomes. Carefully reflecting on your own identity prepares you to pursue the right opportunities when they present themselves.
Dr. Castonguay advises that career success is found at "the intersection of luck and hard work." You can do it!