System

One lens through which to view your career.

A system is a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements that forms a complex whole.

If you enter your career through the lens of system, you may be committed to working within a certain organizational context, for example, public schools, prisons, hospitals.

Similarly you may be drawn to work with a large, national, hierarchical nonprofit with local chapters, stable funding sources, and narrowly defined job positions. Or a small, grassroots organization in start-up mode with nimble decision-making processes where each staff person plays a variety of roles and where funding even a small budget may be a struggle.

The next steps if you are entering a public service career through the lens of "system" may be to explore:

• what roles (and skills) are most needed and applicable within the system;
• what specific organizations work within the system;
• what issues exist within your target system, and which of these issues do you wish to engage?

Navigating the ins and outs of a system can present a learning curve for a newcomer — rely on informational interviews and volunteer opportunities to help you learn your way around.

• BACK to the five lenses.