On Thursday, October 6^th, the Graduate Career Connections (GCC) hosted Merit Gest for an insightful session on finding the career of your dreams. The event, titled “Don’t Settle”, was attended by graduate students, job-seekers, and members of the business community. Gest is a self-titled Chief Belief Officer, who works with individuals and organizations to provide key insights into the value of finding a perfect match in values between companies and their employees. Her focus is on ensuring that people don’t settle, and understand their goals and values in order to achieve their dreams.

This event, part of the Leadership Café event series hosted by the GCC, was sponsored by IBM, IHS, and Encana. Susan Bailey, Director of the GCC, introduced  Gest, and spoke to the timeliness of the topic. With Steve Jobs’ passing the day prior, many people were reminded of his 2005 Stanford commencement speech, in which he stated “Don’t settle. Imagine the impossible, and go after it.”

Gest’s discussion tied closely to this theme, and reinforced the value of finding a career that is fulfilling. By not settling, employees are able to maximize their strengths and focus on being their best.  Her approach and recommendations provided concrete steps to help attendees understand themselves in order to better understand the dually-destructive pattern of settling.

Ms. Gest’s presentation focused on the four key areas that seekers – of jobs, of relationships, or anything – must keep in mind –

1. Realize your strengths: Understand what you’re good at, and where those strengths will be utilized. Work more on playing to your strengths than on fixing your weaknesses.
2. Review your outlook: Focus on accurate optimism. Look at the situation as reality, not as what it should be.
3. Realign your values: Understand what your values are, but also give yourself permission realign those values throughout life as things change
4. Renew your commitment: Be clear about what you want and why you want it. Turn those values and ideas into concrete behaviors. Don’t settle for anything less.

In addition, she highlighted the importance of inter-personal skills, providing potential employers with concrete ways of understanding your strengths, and understanding the values of the company you’re pursuing. She included case studies about the value of emotional intelligence from major global companies. Gest presentation provided attendees with a renewed focus on how to fulfill their dreams.  Most importantly, she reminded us all not to settle.

For more about Merit Gest, please visit www.MeritGest.com. For more information about future GCC Leadership Café events, please visit www.business.ucdenver.edu/gcc