How a Gorilla Helped My Career

Hello, readers and fellow Praxians! This week, I started the job-hunting module at Praxis. I explored everything from the mindset behind career planning to how you can signal value to an employer.

Mindset

Having the right mindset when thinking about your career is crucial. While strategizing is encouraged, planning will essentially limit your career (Pmarchive). Why? Because planning narrows your focus—and unintentionally, your opportunities along with it.

Some of you may be familiar with the famous Invisible Gorilla Experiment. In this study, participants watched a video of teams passing a basketball and were asked to count the number of passes. During the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked through the scene. Surprisingly, many participants failed to notice the gorilla at all (Smithsonian).

What does a gorilla have to do with career planning? This experiment shows that when your brain is focused on one thing it often ignores everything else. This is known as inattentional blindness. Now, imagine you have a rigid career plan. If an unexpected opportunity arises that doesn’t fit within your plan, just like the gorilla, you will overlook it completely.

You can only see what you aim for, so make sure you’re aiming at the right thing. Instead of fixating on a specific career path, focus on following opportunities. If you prioritize finding interesting, educational, or financial opportunities, that’s what you’ll start to notice.

Signaling Value

Now that you’ve got the right mindset, let’s talk about how to grab the attention of potential employers. No one will believe in your skills and value unless you do first. A great way to build that confidence is by creating a skill bank. This is a private collection of your hard and soft skills, complete with links, screenshots, and stories as proof.

No one has to see this but you, but when you’re asked about a time you solved a problem, you won’t draw a blank. You’ll have concrete examples ready to share.

Your portfolio is the public version of your skill bank. It showcases your abilities and past projects, giving employers a clear picture of what you can do.

(Check out my updated portfolio here!)