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Crafting a career that works for you

Rob Baker (he/him) – Founder & Chief Positive Deviant, Tailored Thinking Charlotte Axon (she/her) – Lead People Scientist, Tailored Thinking

AHEP Development Monthly #49 Progress: Pathways to Growth and Inclusion in HE

“Pursue your passions.” It’s advice we often hear when navigating our careers. Whilst well-meaning, it’s not always practical. Many of us struggle to identify what our passions actually are, or feel stuck trying to find the “perfect job” that is neatly aligned with our skills, values, and passions.

In reality, the “perfect job” is largely a myth. Even if such a role did exist, the chances are we would outgrow it. The world changes, our ambitions evolve, and the challenges and opportunities that excite us today may look very different in five or ten years’ time.

So what do we do instead?

Rather than endlessly searching for that dream job, we can instead turn our attention to shaping the work we already have. It turns out, many of the most fulfilling careers aren’t found; they’re made.

This is particularly relevant within Higher Education, where the diversity of roles is huge. Many people start working in HE for one reason, only to discover new interests and strengths along the way. In fact, the richness of a university career often emerges when we shape and reshape our roles over time.

According to a 2025 Wonkhe HE staff survey, only 29.5 per cent of respondents agreed that there are sufficient opportunities for progression from their current position. Unlike some industries with career pathways already laid out, career journeys in HE aren’t always clearly defined, and progression opportunities aren’t always available.

Job and Career Crafting: a quick introduction

One way to take meaningful control of your career is through a concept called “job crafting.” Rather than waiting for change to happen, job crafting is about taking small, intentional steps to shape how you work so it better fits your strengths, interests and values. Research spanning sectors, roles and countries have consistently shown that job crafting improves wellbeing, growth, and performance. It can help us re-energise our current role as well as create new possibilities for future growth and development.

At Tailored Thinking we talk about 5 different ways to craft:

Task crafting: adjusting the activities you do or how you structure your day. For example, using new tools or technologies to complete familiar tasks. Relationship crafting: shaping who you connect with and how you connect with them. For example, building relationships outside of your immediate team. Purpose crafting: reframing how you think about your work and what is meaningful to you. For example, gathering feedback from stakeholders. Skill crafting: developing skills or strengths in areas that matter to you. For example, looking for ways to apply your strengths to a project. Wellbeing crafting: shaping your work to better support your wellbeing. For example, blocking out time for regular breaks.

You can think of work like a jacket that you buy off the shelf. You hope it will be a good fit, but you don’t know until you try it. Whilst you can’t change the colour or fabric, there are opportunities to shape it, such as shortening the sleeves or adding accessories. In a similar way, making tweaks to your job can significantly improve how you experience work.

What does this look like in HE?

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Rob Baker and Charlotte Axon are part of the team at Tailored Thinking, an evidence-based positive psychology consultancy that helps individuals and organisations bring out the best in people. They work with clients across higher education and beyond to make work more human, meaningful and impactful.

Tags: #AnnualConference, #DevelopmentMonthly

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