Finding the right career for you
The WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW in finding the right career for you
For the average person, you’ll have around 12 to 15 jobs in your lifetime. Crazy stat when you consider how many times that means you will go through the (dreaded) application process, especially getting that resume up to scratch and sitting through those grilling interviews. But, rest assured, these numbers don’t necessarily mean that you are going to have to reassess your career and be in and out of roles every 2 to 3 years. It just shows the frequency and more so the urge for people to find their ‘dream’ job, to build on their career and not settle for the ‘this will do’ role. People are more focused on finding the right role for them and will chop and change until they find something that suits them and their lifestyle.
I think this is fabulous and kudos to us to being diverse!
Let’s make the most of our working careers and not stop until we have found the role that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning.
Finding the right role for you doesn’t need to be a complicated process or a lengthy proposal – you can get key insights into what works for you in this simple strategy (and you can start straight away with these actionable steps). WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY & HOW.
1. Ask yourself:
Who do you admire? Who are your role models? Who would you like to work for? Who are you stalking on LinkedIn?
ACTION: connect with them, find out what their background is, how they got to their position, pick their brain for career inspiration and motivation – people love to talk about their journey and are often, are willing to share their resources and give a helping hand to people who are proactive. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no – go ahead and connect.
2. What do you want to be known for?
What legacy do you want to leave behind? How do you want people to view you? What problem do you want to solve? What is the bigger picture?
ACTION: What you are good at? Write down all the tasks you currently do in a day and put a little star next to the tasks you enjoy and that you are good at (even if you don’t like doing it) you will be surprised at how many things you are actually good at and how you can apply them to your role.
3. How do you work best?
When are you most productive? When are you willing to devote the best of you? When suits you and your family?
4. Where would you like to work?
From home? The city? The hills? Are you willing to travel? Where would be your dream location?
ACTION: Write down and answer these questions. Ideally (if you had the perfect role) where do you see yourself in 12 months’ time? What did you have to do to get there? Did you have to do extra study? Did you have to meet / network with some new people? Did you have to learn a new skill? Did you have to build your online presence? Did you have to understand a new market?
5. WHY?
This is the BIG one. What is your “why”? Why are you doing what you do? What is your purpose? Why are you seeking action to change roles?
ACTION: Read my post on finding your WHY here and declare this to the world (or just pop it on a post-it note and stick it on your desk). Keep reminding yourself why you are here and what you are working towards. How can you build on your “why” every day? Make your “why” your computer password. Stick it on your keyring. Put it on your fridge door. Be faced with it every day! Everything has a purpose to move you in the direction you want to be in – you just need to remind yourself of this and continue to be motivated and encourage yourself.
And finally,
6. How will this happen?
This is the strategy part. Firstly, pull all your notes and actions together to see where you stand and where your interests lie. What roles does it match? Do you see a pattern forming? Do you find yourself continuing to migrate to a similar style of work or role? Map it out. Type it up. Create a vision board.
Now you have your why, you can develop your how.
Next step, put those actions into place. START NOW!
I hope this help, any questions, hit me up.