‘Worst Possible Fit’: IQ Catalyst’s Origin Story

What a misaligned first job taught me about careers—and why I started IQC to help others avoid the same fate.

When I graduated from college, I landed a job in finance on Wall Street.

It sounded great on paper: I liked the people. I loved the training program. But the actual work—grinding through spreadsheets in Lotus 1-2-3, prepping materials for partner meetings—was a daily struggle.

Six months in, I found myself actively seeking volunteer work, just to have something in my week that felt like me.

Nine months in, increasingly miserable, I ended up at the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation, where I took part in an assessment of human aptitudes—natural talents that help certain people excel at specific tasks.

After running me through a battery of tasks, my counselor sat me down and asked:

“Tell me again… what kind of work do you do?”

When I answered, he paused. Then, calmly but firmly, he said:

“Mr. Sargent, based on your aptitudes, you are the worst possible fit for the work you're currently doing.”

That moment changed everything. But even then, it took two more years to start moving toward a career path that truly fit. And many more years of pivots, experiments, and a lot of frustration to fully align what I do with who I am.

Looking back, I gained valuable experiences—but the process was long, expensive, and often disheartening.

At IQ Catalyst, we exist to help as many people as possible avoid that kind of slow-motion career mismatch.

Every time a client gains clarity about their direction…

Every time someone builds “forever” skills in job search or AI fluency…

 Every time we get that text—“I got the job!”— 

That's the reason we do this work.

And there’s no better feeling in the world.