Using Human Design to Find Work That Fulfills You
Back in 2010, I took one of those professional assessment tests designed to highlight my strengths, my weaknesses, and what I could contribute to a team.
It was part of an interview process, included more than 100 questions, and provided me (and my potential employer) with a 30+ page report that — among other things — identified whether or not I was a good fit for the role and for their company.
I’m gonna be honest, I loved it.
I’ve always loved personality tests — though, looking back on it now, I think I loved taking that particular test because I didn’t trust myself.
Or rather, I didn’t trust that my full self was aligned with that company — or any company. I wanted somebody else to tell me who and how I was… or who I should be and exactly how that translated to the working world.
(While I did get the job, I lasted about 9 months.)
By the time I found Human Design eight years later, I was a little more settled in my sense of self. But still Human Design was like a balm — it immediately and clearly illuminated everything that made me me, while also giving me permission to fully live as that authentic expression of myself in every area of my life.
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Human Design provides you with a chart, or a bodygraph, that highlights who you are and how you’re designed to be in the world.
It isn’t a standalone system though; it’s a combination of several different modalities — both esoteric and scientific, historic and modern — including the i Ching, Kabbalah, the chakra system, astrology, and more.
No job is perfect of course (I don’t dream of labor!), but using Human Design as a roadmap of my own inner landscape and energetic output has allowed me to find work that aligns with and augments who I am — even when it still feels like work.
It is, admittedly, a more intangible way of aligning who you are with how you work than career assessment tests of the past. But, in my experience, Human Design offers an incredibly clear picture of who you are, along with guidance to help you live as your truest self.
For many people — myself included — it’s also a deeply significant and personal way of making meaning: of myself, of my purpose, and of the part I’m meant to play, at work and otherwise, in the context of the larger collective.
No job is perfect of course (I don’t dream of labor!), but using Human Design as a roadmap of my own inner landscape and energetic output has allowed me to find work that aligns with and augments who I am — even when it still feels like work.
When using Human Design to find your own version of fulfilling work, it can be helpful to remember that this isn’t about finding the “perfect” job (assuming that even exists), nor will your chart tell you exactly what work you should do.
Instead, your Human Design chart gives you permission to show up fully and authentically, and can help you find work that feels meaningful to and aligned for you more often than not.
This isn’t just about what you bring to a company; it’s about who and how you get to be at work — exactly as you are, to be clear — and finding a company, a business, or a freelance project that fits the bill.
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So, where do you start? You can look up your Human Design chart (for free) by going to myBodyGraph, Jovian Archive, or myHumanDesign. You’ll need to know your full birth information, including the date, time, and location that you were born.
Once you have your chart, there are so many parts to dig into that may be helpful in your search for more fulfilling work.
The thing that this system — and my clients and colleagues who use it — has shown me over and over again is that we’re all so wildly, wonderfully different.
There is your authority which helps you make decisions; your centers which highlight your access to specific energies, such as inspiration, communication, willpower, and purpose; and your profile which represents your role in this lifetime — and so, so much more.
There is… a lot. But for brevity’s sake — I’ll just share a bit more about the basics.
Your Human Design Type & Strategy
Your Human Design type is foundational; learning about yours and the specific energy you embody within your type shows you how you’re designed to behave at work and in the world.
The five types are Manifestor, Generator, Manifesting Generator, Projector, and Reflector, and each type also has a corresponding strategy. Your strategy essentially acts as a guide to keep you on the right path (and help you course-correct, when necessary), and by following yours you’ll likely begin to make career moves that feel more aligned to you.
Manifestors
Manifestors are here to initiate; they have the energy and the natural initiative to get things started and are wired to act independently and be incredibly self-sufficient.
But while Manifestors have the energy to get things started, they don’t have the energy to work in the conventional, consistent way of many 9-to-5 jobs; they need breaks, to retreat and rest just as often as they create.
Manifestors’ strategy is to inform others of their actions — or basically, tell anyone who may be impacted by what you’re about to initiate what you’re about to do and what they can expect.
Because they’re here to initiate, most Manifestors don’t like being told what to do — but that’s not what this strategy is about. The strategy is informing, not asking for input. By doing so, Manifestors are just letting the rest of us know what to expect so we’re not caught off-guard and don’t feel left behind by their initiating energy.
When considering your next career opportunity as a Manifestor, look for circumstances where you can share big ideas, won’t be micromanaged, and can make your own schedule.
Generators
Generators have steady and consistent energy; this is what they’re known for — and they can, quite literally, fuel everyone around them with their “spark.”
They’re designed to find the work and opportunities that really light them up, and pour all of their powerful energy into that. If they’re giving their energy over to things that don’t, they’ll be easily drained and more prone to burn out.
Generators’ strategy is to wait to respond. Because Generators are the “doers” with their sustainable life force energy, there’s a sense that they always need to be starting something — but Generators’ strategy is actually to wait and respond to the people, opportunities, and ideas that come to them.
As a Generator, when you respond to the right opportunities for you, you’ll be that much more likely to find the work that truly fulfills you.
When considering your next career opportunity as a Generator, pay attention to the opportunities that feel exciting and pleasurable, even if they don’t make sense to anyone else.
Manifesting Generators
Manifesting Generators are the multi-taskers, the multi-passionate, the masters of their many passions — and they can get more done at once than most of us.
They’re also known to hate waiting for things and tend to skip important steps for that reason; they don’t always finish what they start, because they’re ready to be on to the next thing.
Manifesting Generators’ strategy is to wait to respond. Even though they have Manifestor “initiating” energy, MGs — like Generators — are still designed to wait and respond to the opportunities that light them up.
Like a Manifestor though, it’s helpful for Manifesting Generators to inform others who may be impacted by their actions once they do respond. MGs move so fast that it can be hard for other people to keep up — and even though it might feel like it’s slowing them down, it also tends to decrease the resistance they feel from other people as they’re speeding ahead.
When considering your next career opportunity as a Manifesting Generator, consider creative roles that allow you to wear many different hats and do different things every day.
Projectors
Projectors’ gift is in their guidance. They very clearly see and understand people and systems and resources, and how all of them work best and can be used efficiently together. Often, Projectors are the advice-givers, the coaches, the teachers.
Projectors are here to see the big picture or identify how things work — and, more specifically, work best — and guide others through that process. Like Manifestors, they’re not designed to work in the traditional, 9-to-5, sustainable sense — at least, not long-term. Rather, they should also leave room for rest in their day when possible.
Projectors’ strategy is to wait to be invited. This is specific to big invitations — like being invited into a new role or a new project, for instance — but still, the idea is that they should wait to be acknowledged by people who recognize their unique wisdom and invite them to share it.
When considering your next career opportunity as a Projector, pay attention to whether or not you feel recognized for your particular wisdom and guidance, and whether you’re set up (and invited!) to share it on a regular basis.
Reflectors
Reflectors are sensitive people — not necessarily sensitive in the ways we think of the word (as someone whose feelings are easily hurt, for instance), but in the sense that they are quite literally able to sense all of the energy in a room.
For that reason, it’s especially important for Reflectors to be around the right people and in the right working environments.
Reflectors’ strategy is to wait 28 days. Yeah, this one’s a bit more specific — and strange — than the rest. (But is it all that surprising that Reflectors also have a unique strategy?)
Because Reflectors are always taking in the energy around them, it’s helpful for them not to make quick decisions they might feel differently about the next day. By waiting 28 days — or a full lunar cycle — to make big moves, Reflectors allow themselves the time and space to feel into every possibility, in every experience of their energy, and zero in on the best one for them.
When considering your next career opportunity as a Reflector, be especially cognizant of the environment you’ll be working in — the physical environment, of course, but also the people you’ll be working with, the communication styles, and more — ensuring it’s one that feels good to you.
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As I shared before, your type and strategy are just the start. There’s so much more your Human Design chart can show you when it comes to understanding who you are and how you’re designed to work, to be in relationship, to just be.
The thing that this system — and my clients and colleagues who use it — has shown me over and over again is that we’re all so wildly, wonderfully different.
And whether you use Human Design or your own personal process of self-discovery, I’ve found that when we’re allowed to do work that aligns with our unique ways of being, we’re able to show up to that work in ways that serve not only our companies and our communities, but also serve ourselves, in deeper, more meaningful, and far more fulfilling ways.
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