Finding the Right Career: Defining the Job that is Best for You

Defining the right job

We live in a society that doesn't always encourage visionary potentials such as imagination, intuition and instincts. Without these potentials it’s hard to identify activities that provide inner satisfaction. You may have become so used to doing things you don’t enjoy that you no longer notice cues that could lead to joy.

Fortunately, your visionary potentials are not dead, just rusty.

To discover your most meaningful job, you need to temporarily quiet your left brain and all pressure from yourself or others to set a goal quickly. Welcome the possibility that your true calling may be very different from your current notions of what’s possible.

How can I discover what I really want?

Develop attitudes that activate your natural visionary potentials:

Tips for Discovering the Right Career
Pay attention	Ask yourself why certain activities make you happy or are fulfilling, and pay attention to times when you are really enjoying yourself.
Look for clues everywhere	Notice problems that stir your compassion or excite your imagination. Reflect on stories of people you admire.
Be open	Rather than quash ideas that seem silly, consider them as real possibilities.
Be patient	Remember that your search may take some time and you might have to go down a few different roads before finding the right one.
Be creative	Imagine several different scenarios of satisfying work.

After you begin to get strong hints about your desires, assess current practical realities. How much money do you really need and/or want to earn from a job? Are you willing to move, or do you need a job that requires minimal commute? Are you willing to go back to school and if so, for how long and under what terms?

Identifying key strengths and skills

Notice that a skills assessment was not on the “how do I discover what I want?” list. If you focus on your skills before you uncover your passions, you limit yourself to jobs that utilize your currently recognized skills. If you start with passion, you find many options that either match your current skills or require only minimal additional training.

Once you’ve identified your basic passions and needs, however, it’s critical to assess your strengths and skills.

Many online tools can guide you through the process of self-discovery. Questions, quizzes and temperament sorters can’t tell you what your perfect career would be, but they can help you identify the types of activities you truly enjoy and your key strengths. Friends and colleagues can help you identify skills as well.

What if my chosen job requires skills and experience I lack?

The most obvious and often best answer is, “go get training.” While you are learning new skills, you’ll also have an opportunity to find out whether or not you might like a given job and to make connections that could lead to your best job. There are many ways to get training:

Utilize your current position. Look for on-the-job training or opportunities to do projects that develop new skills. See if your employer will pay part of your tuition costs.
Identify resources in the community. Community colleges, your local Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Administration and your state’s job development programs may have opportunities for low-cost or free training.
Look for opportunities to be paid while training. A hospital might hire you as an orderly while you train as an EMT or a nurse, or a school may let you teach in a field you know while you obtain a teaching credential.
Volunteer or work part-time. Do volunteer or part-time work that allows you to develop new skills. Get recommendations and referrals while you work.

Where can I learn more about what jobs are available?

Research, research, research!

Basically, research is a series of simple questions:

What do you need to know? After you’ve discovered what you want, your questions become more specific such as “What kinds of part-time teaching jobs can I find without having to go back to school for teacher training?” or “How could I use my teacher training outside the public schools?” As you explore those questions, you’re going to move from “Where can I find employers who might hire me?” to “How do I get interviewed by my preferred employer?”
Who else knows answers to your questions? Basic resources include libraries, internet data banks and websites, career counselors, job support groups, money managers, trade associations, colleagues, fellow job seekers and friends.
Where do others congregate and share information? Meetings and conferences, newsletters, websites, listserves of groups in your chosen field will be good places to find out about available jobs.
How do you get the information others have and you need? Go online, starting with the resources listed at the end of this article. Network and go on informational interviews. Make friends with local librarians, who can help you discover and use a world of resources, such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Career Guide to Industries. Follow this with a review of the Encyclopedia of Associations to help you find the organizations who can help you understand the benefits and challenges in any field. Associations might also direct you to meetings and conferences. Review company websites, annual reports and other resources for company-specific information.

See Helpguide’s Finding the Right Career II: Job Networking, Informational Interviews and Resumes)

What if I want to break into a whole new field?

Go for it! Some great reasons for trying a new field include:

Opportunities in your old field have diminished (e.g., your old field has been outsourced or downsized);
You want to develop parts of yourself that were neglected in your old field. An example is a retired tax attorney who spent many joyous post-retirement summers as a short-order cook for employees at a national park.
You want to spend more time doing things you love. For example, you continue your career as a computer programmer on a part-time basis while you also sell your special cakes to bakeries or work one day a week in a nursery school.

Changing careers can be tough, especially with family and financial pressures. Beyond gaining skills for the new career, you have to find employers who are willing to give you a chance in your new field, despite your many years in another. Some ways of exploring new careers while you keep your current job include:

Volunteer work can help you gain experience performing new skills, and it can usually be done on weekends or evenings. You might find that your perfect career is working for a cause or organization you care about.
Networking and informational interviewing can help you assess your skills and experience and new contacts can help lead you to a job. (See Helpguide’s Job Networking, Informational Interviews and Resumes for more information.)
Other career-changers in any field can provide motivation and advice on the benefits and pitfalls of career changing.
Courses and conferences provide necessary training contacts, and job leads. You may be able to work part-time at a conference in exchange for tuition.

All fields, even the most technical, offer options that utilize skills you already possess or can update simply. Thus, don’t be too quick to toss out intriguing but unrealistic dreams. Instead, mine the dream for cues to what really matters to you.

What if I want to work at home or build my own business?

After years of working for someone else and spending the equivalent of months or even years in frustrating commutes, it’s easy to dream of working at home and/or becoming your own boss. If much of your work can be done via computer or the telephone, it can be done at home, and your employer may be amenable to at least a part-time telecommuting arrangement.

Your local Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Administration and SCORE (retired executives who mentor new business owners) will gladly help you explore your options. Be concious, however:

Internet scams – Many internet sites contain bogus offers of business advice, training or support.
Unrealistic expectations - Be sure you know the risks and costs of success and that you are willing and able to assume them.
Outsourcing - Remember that any work that can be done by telephone or computer can be done anywhere in the world; think about who your competitors will be.

Finding career counseling and/or a support group

If you are having trouble getting started, it might be helpful to enlist outside help. A career counselor or knowledgeable friend can help you pinpoint your strengths as well as identify well-suited industries and positions. They can also jump-start your search, by connecting you with recruiters or placement agencies or by helping you develop a plan for networking.
Other sources of career help include:

Career counselors or executive coaches
Recruiters
Industry groups and networking clubs
State employment offices
Local nonprofit organizations
College or alumni career centers
Employment or temporary agencies
Training programs for executive coaches and counselors

What if I have been unemployed or seriously underemployed for a long time?

So many highly skilled people have recently suffered long periods of unemployment due to outsourcing and downsizing that employers are increasingly willing to overlook some periods of unemployment.

Tips for Overcoming Job Loss / Unemployment
Accept current reality	You may never have another job with the pay and benefits of your previous job. Be willing to take lesser opportunities to keep income coming in.
Deal with the grief	Fear, anger, sorrow, despair and feeling lost are common. Find people you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with.
Get support	Use networking to find coaching on everything from networking to self-presentation. Join a job club for support and accountability.
Find mentors	Ask career counselors, friends, and your local job development programs for leads. Find a mentor with practical ideas and inspiration.
Be positive	Present your situation in the best light and prepare to talk about gaps in your employment. Friends in public relations and human resources can help.
Make specific requests	“Help me get a job, any job!” is unlikely to generate the right help. Make your requests to contacts and friends specific and achievable.
See Helpguide’s Finding the Right Career II: Job Networking, Informational Interviews and Resumes for tips.

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Finding the Best Job for You:

Defining the Career that is works for You

In This Article:

Defining the right job

How can I discover what I really want?

Identifying key strengths and skills

What if my chosen job requires skills and experience I lack?

Where can I learn more about what jobs are available?

What if I want to break into a whole new field?

What if I want to work at home or build my own business?

Finding career counseling and/or a support group

What if I have been unemployed or seriously underemployed for a long time?

Related links to help you find the right career

Career investigation resources

Career counseling, education and job placement support

Work-at-home scams

Grief resources