Multipotentialite: why I don’t have just one career
Ask me anything.
If you are new around here — welcome 👋 to Slash Career! A space for multihypenates & outliers eager to escape the limits of conventional work and build a life that reflects their true selves. Pop your email below to make sure you receive my posts.
Some people know who they want to be when they grow up.
They are clear about their career path, become specialists in one thing, and never feel awkward about describing their clear-cut career choices at family gatherings.
THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT YOU (or me).
I’m 37 and I’ve had 15 different jobs that are completely unrelated.
I ran a vintage shop.
Worked in digital marketing.
Did tech sales.
Made pancakes on Portobello road.
Was a national journalist.
There were times when I thought I found my purpose and I threw myself into a role with wild enthusiasm.
Like that time I was a journalist … only to lose interest years down the line.
I’ve never had any job promotions because more responsibility seems like torture no matter how much money they throw at me.
SAVE THESE TO READ LATER:
I get more job satisfaction out of moving sideways into a completely different department rather than moving up.
Or I start something completely different somewhere else altogether, often from scratch.
I don’t mind it, I’m a learner.
Doing one thing in a lifetime is disrespect to Human Potential.
I’m gifted enough to become really good at whatever happens to catch my interest, thanks to my perseverance and almost obsessive dedication – until I’ve mastered it to my satisfaction and something else catches my interest.
Yet the outside world accuses me of commitment problems. 🤷🏻♀️
Becoming a multipotentialite/slasher
I’m the happiest bouncing between different jobs.
I want a job that can satisfy my entrepreneurial spirit, as well as a job that allows me to present and tell stories. I love writing and inspiring people.
That’s my thing.
… and it’s impossible to turn this list into 1 job title!
For a long time, I thought that there’s something wrong with me, but it turns out they have an official name for people like me. It’s called multipotentialite.
What is a multipotentialite?
Multipotentialite (or multipod, slasher, polymath, hyphenate) is a person with many interests and creative pursuits.
Multipotentials don’t have “one true calling” and it’s actually our biggest advantage over specialists.
Why?
Our immense curiosity leads us to absorb everything we can get our hands, so we can easily bring unrelated ideas together in creative ways.
This ability of idea synthesis makes us great innovators and problem solvers.
What makes multipotentialites different?
Multipotentials don’t start from scratch when learning about a new topic — we use the framework of everything we already know and figure out where it fits in with everything else we know.
The more diverse areas you know, the less time it takes to absorb the knowledge.
This wider knowledge makes us better at “connecting the dots”.
How to find out if you are a multipotentialite?
If you’re not sure whether you are a multipotentialite, then this section will help you to figure this out.
The answer is all 3 points above apply.
Multipotentiality is a spectrum.
On one end, you have the sequential multipotentialite: the person who dives deep into one subject for many years and then switches to something entirely new and focuses solely on that.
On the other end of the spectrum is the plate-spinner: the person with many different projects on the go at once.
Most of us fall somewhere between these two extremes and shift around at different times in our lives.
Still not sure whether you are a multipod?
If you answer “YES” to more than half of the points below, you are a multipotentialite:
Careers for multipotentialites
The “career question” is the most anxiety-inducing problem that multipotentialites face.
You probably don’t want a job that will take up all your time but you also don’t want to struggle financially.
So, how do you find a fulfilling career as a multipotentialite?
Emilie Wapnick came up with 4 very useful work models that multipotentialites use.
See if you fit into any of these:
1. The Group Hug Approach
The Group Hug Approach allows you to combine many of your interests together in one job.
Find a multifaceted role that allows you to use many different passions, interests, and skills in your work every day.
2. The Einstein Approach
The Einstein Approach allows you to earn a steady paycheck while working on your projects on the side.
Many multipotentialites find themselves in dull day jobs that don’t take advantage of their multiple skills, which forces them to start something exciting on the side.
Dull jobs can be a blessing.
If the job doesn’t take up much time or creative energy, you are more motivated to start something creative on the side.
For some people Einstein Approach is a lifestyle choice, for others, it’s a transitional tool.
3. The Slash Approach
The Slash Career Approach involves having two or more jobs or businesses that you shift between.
It’s the classic author/columnist/podcaster/comedian career approach you see so much on social media right now.
Slashers are typically freelancers, but they can also be business owners slash freelancers.
It doesn’t matter whether your various projects are related or totally different, what matters is that you get your income from multiple revenue streams.
The Slash Approach is a great way to diversify your income (if one income dries up, you have another one to fall back on).
4. The Phoenix Approach
The Phoenix Approach is suited for sequential multipotentials who tend to work on something for several years and then shift to an entirely new field.
Each time you switch careers, you start over. And when you start over, you typically take a salary cut, too.
The remedy for this?
Transferable skills.
In other words, use the skills you learned in your previous jobs to help boost your resume in your new one.
Over to you…
Have you figured out which career path suits you? How do you currently work and are you happy with this arrangement?
Ask me anything in the comments below 👇🏼
Loved the article! I felt very connected to all of your points. The challenge I have is my current occupation is linked to my family business, and I struggle with the idea of leaving to pursue something of lesser status or without complete certainty that ‘it’s my true calling’. So I’ve taken on several side projects—writing (about this struggle) on substack being one. I’d appreciate any insight you can share in a DM!
Great article! A pleasure to find you. We're on the same track!