Creating a suitable job for you is a combination of:
- Paying equal attention to your heart and head
- Knowing your preferred work style; factor in lifestyle balance
- Identify and using the skills you are relatively good at and enjoy
- Delivering your product in a market that will pay you a decent living
If you answered, “No,” then consider how you can create the job you want. You may benefit most through exploring inward first. Feelings of aversion with a job situation cause some people to make a fast getaway and jump into the first job that comes open. You learn soon enough that you landed in a new work location but in the same distasteful predicament.
At some time in their life, most all individuals have done work that wasn’t a very good fit. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with keeping the bills paid while we create the job that we do want. But creating a job that you do want is obviously different than just accepting the first job offered; it’s about identifying and creating a work life environment in practical terms which will support your goals.
Right now, as you read this, there are currently leadership teams in meetings that are involved in the creative stage of forming job descriptions for new positions. These good jobs are often filled by motivated talent that, through networking, gained an inside edge to land an interview, thus eliminating the need to post on the company website. Through networking, you can get in on the ground floor and begin interviewing beating any competition.
A new trend in career management is creating new jobs not yet formed. Identify a need or service gap within a company and communicate about the solutions you offer. Create a new job description for you and fill a company need. Convince an employer that your talent will result in increased revenue, decreased expenses, and / or increased customer service satisfaction – you may just create the job you want.
Landing a desirable job often requires that you present yourself as an applicant who can overcome problems. Before you convince an employer that you can keep problems off their desks, you must first define what you enjoy and are good at doing.
Often we are not certain whether we can trust ourselves to do what we want. We question if our dream job is practical enough to provide a steady and dependable income. These are valid considerations. It may take longer than you thought it would, or, it might happen sooner than you think and you may not feel ready to accept a change. Some people have to narrow down choices from seemingly too many options, and others must broaden their work search alternatives because they perceive too few opportunities.
Over time, your work temperament, interests, and preferred skills likely change. One of the most challenging yet important job search activities is identifying your preferred transferable skills. Tap into your gifted areas that bring happiness–and subsequently you tap into your spirit. When you are questioning if you are skilled enough, better to ask yourself – how are you skilled and what skills do you enjoy?
If you want to perform a different type of work, what are the circumstances driving your need for change? What will fulfill your personal vision, values, and work preferences? Do you feel successful and satisfied in your work for the most part? The best work is that which allows you to use your preferred skills and provides for balance in other life activities.
What do you want your life to look like? What do you want your career to look like? A good exercise is to ask, “Where do I see myself five years from now? Where do I see myself ten or twenty years from now?”
Get in a quiet place and spend some time thinking about this. What images do you see? What are your surroundings and environment like?
Write out your vision and keep it nearby, or, on a large poster board, cut and paste pictures from magazines that answer these questions.
Before you jump into the first job opening, identify a good job and career match to shed light on your aspirations. You might just create the job you want!