We can all look back and recognize that certain points in our careers were pivot points. Moments or events that ended up setting the stage for what ever was coming next.
Is there a way to tell when you are at a pivot point? I’m not sure. I don’t think it would be reasonable to live your life as if every moment was the moment that was going to define the rest of your life. You would go nuts. Your friends and family probably would too.
You could though spend some time reflecting on your career to see if you could, by looking back, identify projects or actions that are particularly meaningful now.
This can be done a couple of ways. You can sit with coffee and your resume and go through things in your head. You can invite a good friend for coffee and take them on a tour of your career.
I think I prefer the second method. When you explain your actions to someone else, you have to provide context and this generally allows more of the good stories to come to the surface.
Frequently, the friend is the one who will stop you in mid sentence and say “Hey, that turned out to be key didn’t it?”
Think. Talk. Repeat.
As you tell your story more and more, patterns may emerge. Patterns that help you identify how to set things in motion for more and better pivot points.
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