Day 2 Careersmas


DAY 2 Careers Tip Code: Santa
To win a selection box - be the second person to DM the code to @ulcareersservice on Instagram.
Yesterday we spoke about the importance of self-assessment as a starting point in the careers development cycle and took a deeper look at personality. Today we are going to discuss strengths.

The strengths based approach is rooted in the positive psychology movement, which its founder, Martin Seligman, defined as the scientific research of “positive experience, positive individual traits and the institutions that facilitate their development”. A strength-based approach has a large applicable value in education, business and career development. The approach advocates a change from a preoccupation with fixing our weaknesses to alternatively focusing on developing our strengths. Instead of using our energy to deal with what is wrong, the traditional deficit model, the Strengths-based approach encourages a focus on what is working well and can work even better.

Our strengths are natural and authentic resources that represent what is good in each of us. When we are using our strengths we are doing things that we enjoy and thus with practice we learn to do them better and feel energised while doing so. We feel intrinsically motivated to act on our strengths and when we do, it elicits a positive psychological response or ‘buzz’ that adds to our confidence and competence. By using our strengths, we learn, grow and become more fulfilled over time.
Research has shown that some of the benefits of a strengths-based approach include:
  • ·         Higher self-esteem
  • ·         Enhanced performance
  • ·         Engagement
  • ·         Resilience
  • ·         Goal-achievement
  • ·         Happiness
  • ·         Flourishing

To find out how to identify your strengths click here.

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