Professional Archetypes Quiz
Career families
Thirteen ways the professional landscape can organise itself.
A career family is not an archetype.
An archetype describes how you may create value.
A career family describes where that contribution may be expressed.
For example, a Translator may work in legal education, policy communication, journalism, professional learning or public information. A Guardian may work in community legal practice, safeguarding, disability advocacy, crisis navigation or frontline service leadership.
The same family can contain radically different roles. The same archetype can appear in multiple families.
The quiz is designed to connect the two carefully.
The 13 career families
01, Disputes, advocacy and resolution
Litigation, prosecution, criminal defence, arbitration, mediation, conciliation, tribunal advocacy, strategic litigation and dispute strategy.
02, Transactional and advisory law
Commercial contracts, corporate transactions, banking and finance, tax, property, construction, technology, intellectual property, competition, insolvency and specialist advisory.
03, Public law, policy and regulation
Government legal work, administrative law, regulatory policy, strategic policy, legislative development, implementation policy, commissions and public decision-making.
04, Politics, public affairs and government relations
Ministerial advice, political strategy, government relations, public affairs, lobbying, campaigns, coalitions, stakeholder strategy and corporate affairs.
05, Compliance, risk and governance
Compliance, privacy, AML/CTF, governance, risk, assurance, ethics, board advisory, regulatory affairs and control design.
06, Investigations, integrity and enforcement
Regulatory investigations, workplace investigations, fraud, complaints, misconduct, disciplinary work, integrity bodies, safeguarding and enforcement.
07, Community, advocacy and social impact
Community law, legal aid, rights advocacy, law reform, systemic advocacy, human rights, access to justice, nonprofit policy and social-impact work.
08, Programs, projects and service delivery
Program design, implementation, project management, service delivery, evaluation, grants, service reform and cross-sector initiatives.
09, Legal operations, systems and innovation
Legal operations, knowledge management, process design, legal project management, technology, product development, service design and alternative legal services.
10, Business, consulting and commercial advisory
Management consulting, strategy, commercial advisory, in-house partnering, procurement, contracts, transformation and business operations.
11, Research, writing and academia
Academic research, doctrinal analysis, think tanks, policy research, fellowships, legal writing, publishing and specialist evidence work.
12, Communications, education and knowledge translation
Legal education, professional training, journalism, policy communication, public legal education, briefing, commentary and knowledge mobilisation.
13, People, workplace and organisational roles
Employment relations, people and culture, organisational development, workplace strategy, facilitation, learning and development, mediation and employee support.
One title can contain several realities
The job title is the beginning of the question, not the end.
A policy role can be reactive or long-horizon. A lawyer can be technical, adversarial, public-interest, commercial, in-house, regulatory, educational or operational. A researcher can be deeply academic, applied, public-facing, evaluative or reform-driven.
The quiz is built to eventually consider:
- Pathway × Sector × Organisation Type × Role Shape × Career Stage
That matters because a role’s real demands can change dramatically across settings.