Atypical career path: finding the thread between your experiences

I know. I'm opening myself up to some criticism with this title.

"Audrey, what is an atypical career path anyway? Everyone has one."

That's partly true. Few careers follow a straight line. I'll also admit that I sometimes use words that can sound broad.

So let me be more specific.

I used to work at Desjardins, a Quebec financial cooperative. I met many people there who had studied finance. They started as tellers or in sales roles. Then they became advisors, financial planners or managers. Always in the same field.

That path takes work and real progression. I don't consider it atypical.

Here, I mean a different situation. Someone who has worked in several sectors. Who built skills at every step. And who sometimes struggles to explain what connects it all.

That connection is what interests me. I call it the common thread: what comes back from one experience to the next, even when the job titles change.

On a resume, each job sits in its own box. A title, a few responsibilities. When the sectors change a lot, the link is hard to see. Even for the person who lived it.

You may have hesitated before when someone asked: "So, what do you do?" You can answer for your current job. Summarizing the path that brought you here takes more thought.

Looking at what repeats across your experiences can help you better understand your contribution. And choose what comes next with clearer markers.

The same way of contributing can show up in different contexts

Picture someone who worked in customer service, then in project coordination. The titles are different. In both roles, she may have been the one who clarified a confusing request. The one who helped people agree on the next step.

To see that link, look at what she actually did when a file was stuck. And at what her colleagues came to her for.

These observations lead to a more precise description: "I help people understand what's blocking a file and organize the next steps." That sentence makes sense when it is based on real situations.

The common thread can also be a way of learning. Or a type of problem that holds your attention. Several threads can exist in the same career.

look at your energy

Sometimes a responsibility keeps coming back simply because you handle it well. You become the person people call in an emergency. Then emergencies take up more and more of your work.

That skill is part of your experience. How much space you want to give it in the next part of your career deserves its own reflection.

When you spot what repeats from one experience to the next, also look at the conditions in which you worked well. An interesting task can become exhausting with constant interruptions.

On the other hand, enough uninterrupted time can help you enjoy it more.

Naming these conditions can also explain why two similar jobs felt very different. Each person will have their own markers.

Go back to the situations that give you clues

To start, choose two fairly different experiences. In each one, find a situation where your contribution was useful.

You can use these four questions:

• What problem were you trying to solve?

• What did you actually do to move things forward?

• What conditions helped you work well?

• What part of this experience would you like to find in your next role?

  
  

Then compare your answers. A similarity may appear in how you approach problems, even if the tasks seemed very far apart.

Some parts may stay hard to connect. A job may have met a financial need. A change may have followed an opportunity or a personal constraint. Those parts also have their place in your story.

Using this thread to choose what comes next

Once these markers are clearer, they can help in a conversation with your manager. Or when you assess a new role. You have more words to explain where you contribute well, and under which conditions.

You can also clarify what you want to develop. Being good at handling emergencies, for example, may make you want to work more on preventing them.

I mainly work with neurodivergent professionals and people with spiky profiles. That's part of what I want to offer through ADN professional evolution: a space to understand your career path and put precise words on your contribution. With enough distance to choose the place you want to give it now.

Going further

Want to start spotting what repeats in your own career path? The Votre ADN de carrière alignment test is a good place to start. It's free and you see your result right away.

Take the alignment test (in French)