In this episode, it’s my great privilege to sit down with someone who has been a dream guest of mine for quite some time. Sharon Birkman is the former CEO of Birkman International and currently serves as the chairwoman of the board. She is the daughter of Dr. Roger Birkman, the creator of the Birkman Method. This revolutionary personality assessment harnesses the power of positive psychology to help people find their best career fit, and I personally have been using this method for more than a decade to advise over 3600 students and currently use it in my Launch Career Clarity course to help guide students to their best fit future college major and career.

EPISODE NOTES

As a parent, you are likely similar to me and want your child to grow up to be a successful and well-adjusted adult. But even more, you want them to be happy and fulfilled. After all, isn’t that the truest measure of success? But when it comes to choosing a college and career path for your teen, there seems to be an overwhelming number of different roads they could choose to follow. How can you know which one will best align with your child’s unique personality, abilities, and passions? This is where the Birkman Method is so incredibly useful.

The Birkman Method examines the psychology behind our behaviors and preferences to accurately predict a successful, reliable and fulfilling career path for students. There is no other personality tool that accurately also measures an individual’s needs and expectations of others and their environment. I have been using it for years as an essential starting point in my college major and career coaching 3-step framework for advising parents and students who want the best fit for college and beyond. That’s why I was so thrilled to be able to speak with Sharon about Birkman, how it works, how it has evolved over the years, and why it still stands the test of time.

Often, parents and even students will think they should follow a particular path because certain factors seem to indicate that it would be a good fit. For example, if a child has an aptitude for math, parents may assume that accounting would be a great career. Or if a child loves music, they should pursue their passion by becoming a musician. While these may seem like logical conclusions on the surface, there is actually a wealth of data and research that shows that this is often not the case. The Birkman assessment, coupled with my coaching, is the compass your family needs most as a starting point to remove overwhelm and make data-informed decisions for a flourishing future. 

Links mentioned in this episode

Take the QUIZ: College Major & Career Planning

Launch College & Career Clarity Course

Follow Birkman on Social: @Birkman

Timeline

[5:04] Birkman is unique because it’s able to pinpoint the motivations behind behaviors without burdening students with multiple questionnaires.

[9:19] Our needs and expectations are like the roots of a tree - they ground us into our lives and directly affect our personal health and well-being.

[12:00] Things that you enjoy doing in your personal time are just as important

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