When dissatisfaction with your career begins to gnaw away at you every day, it’s a red flag telling you that you are not in your ideal job or career. Staying passive and just keeping your head down at work will only frustrate you more. Be proactive and dive into the discovery process. It requires an investigative mindset to conduct much-needed self-reflection, research on careers and jobs, dialogue with others, and persistence. It won’t happen overnight with a major AHA moment. You want to conduct your due diligence to ensure that you are making the right move into a new job or career. Here are 10 tips to help you with the process of discovering your ideal career:
- Shed the inner voice that says you aren’t good enough, who do you think you are, or you’re too old. All negative fear-based thinking. Talk back to the voice to squash it! Remember, you are unique and have wonderful gifts to give to the world.
- Take time to reflect on what you love to do. Reach back to your childhood and early years – is there something that you have submerged that can be reignited?
- Ask yourself – what do people compliment you on? Often our talents are so innate that we take them for granted. Others, however, appreciate your skills. A great way to identify your skills is to use a quick assessment like Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath. It will give you your Top 5 strengths. That’s important to know so you will look for jobs that require those strengths.
- Ask your friends and family – if money was not in the picture, what would they see you doing next in your career?
- Review your past jobs. What did you love about them and what did you dislike? What are the common themes? In your next job you want to do what you like most and shed the dislikes.
- Carve out time to network. Get to know what other people do. You may find a career path you never thought of before. Volunteering is a great way to network.
- Use O*Net Online to research careers and the requirements for them.
- Once you have narrowed your career choices down to 3-4, interview people in those professions to determine how they got into the field, what they enjoy about the job, and any advice they may give you. If you don’t know anyone in that profession, use LinkedIn to see if any of your friends know someone in that industry to talk to. Most people will be happy to do an informational interview with you – remember this is not asking them for a job.
- If you have found a career that requires more education, talk with the chairperson of the department at a local college. They are a wealth of knowledge on careers and the requirements for entering a degree or certificate program.
- Create a support team (family, mentor, coach) who you can share your innermost feelings, brainstorm and hold you accountable.
Honest introspection, following the actions above, and accountability will help you discover your ideal career. Finding it is never a straight line, it zigs and zags. Every person you talk with helps you to connect the dots. So, take the time and stay focused. Manage it just like any other project with deadlines and the outcome will bring you a new career or job that offers you challenge and fulfillment.
To Your Career Success,
