Thanks to the folks over at Get That Job for pointing out the story of Sean Aiken, a twenty-something who is figuring out what he wants to do with his life by trying out a new job every week for a year.

According to Sean, after finishing college with a business degree, he made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t settle for a career that he was not passionate about.  Sean’s goal is to gain a better understanding of what he needs to be happy in a career, and to inspire others to pursue their passions.

How does this work?  Well, any company or individual can offer Sean a job for one week. The job can be absolutely anything, anywhere - garbage collection, actor, working the family farm, a suit and tie corporate position, etc.  Instead of paying Sean for the week, you make a donation to the Make Poverty History/ONE Campaign.

Sean is able to sustain the project through the kindness of strangers and corporate sponsorships.  He stays at private houses each week, takes the bus, and buys food using stipends he receives from NiceJob.ca and others.  Sean’s project is similar to what I was going for when I wrote my new book, How’d You Score That Gig?, (April 2008/Random House Ballantine) which profiles sixty of the coolest jobs on the planet and tells you how you can get them.  Today’s twenty-somethings aren’t content to work for a paycheck: they have been told their whole lives and anything is possible, and they want a career that leverages their unique skill sets while delivering personal satisfaction and meaning. 

Sean is currently in Week 37 of his endeavor, and he has generated national media attention in the process.  I commend him for having the courage to take a risk in search of his dream, and doing so in a creative and extremely marketable way!