Creating a Roadmap for a Curated Career

What is a curated career? It's one that involves deep reflection, intentional thought, and a vastly different set of questions than we currently ask ourselves in law school about how to choose a job. It is not a happy accident or a lucky break — it's the result of deliberate actions and choices that align with one's personal values. A curated career is individual to you and you only. Creating such a career lies within your own power. Some may help you along the way, but no one can do the work for you. There is, however, a roadmap.

Step 1: Likes/Dislikes/Tolerates

The roadmap begins with what I refer to as a "likes/dislikes/tolerates" list. As the rather uncreative name suggests, this is a list that tracks every work task you like doing, every task that you absolutely despise doing, and tasks that you can tolerate as long as you don't have to do them frequently. It may seem straightforward or even simplistic, but it actually takes a good amount of reflection and being honest with yourself about what you truly enjoy doing. Many lawyers who complete this exercise initially write out all the tasks they think they "should" like because of their current job, like researching or arguing in court or going to conferences. After the first pass, they eventually move some likes to the tolerates list or even to the dislikes list. The power in this exercise lies in the courage to admit that perhaps you strongly dislike some core aspects of your current role and that you deeply enjoy tasks that you only get to do every once in a while. No matter how your list ultimately ends up, it is compelling to see your own words written down on paper.