You clicked on this article for a reason. You have some degree of uncertainty about your career. If I told you I could help alleviate some of this doubt would you believe me? Let me tell you a story…
Let’s Take A Trip Back To 2001
I left my career in corporate recruiting and HR after being unable to stomach the sight of people suffering in the workplace anymore. I found myself asking the same question again and again.
“What is wrong with our society and its approach to work?”
This haunting question is the reason why I became a career coach. I wanted to help professionals and job seekers understand how to find career success and satisfaction on their own terms. To put it simply, I wanted to stop the insanity.
This was back when there was still a taboo around getting help with your career. When people would laugh about the importance of performance coaching I would respond.
“Pro athletes and executives use them, so why shouldn’t you?”
Using my experience I began to understand more about what creates career unhappiness and how someone could make the wrong career path.
How Did I Choose The Wrong Career Choice?
In my years as a career coach I’ve engaged with thousands of professionals all who have the same worry; “Did I choose the wrong career path?”. The sad reality?
They usually have.
And here’s why…
School teaches us everything EXCEPT how to build a career that makes us happy. If you are in the wrong career field it’s likely because you didn’t have all the information needed at the time to make the right choice. Think about it; when you started out in your career whether it was in your teens, twenties, or thirties were you truly equipped with enough information or life experience to make the big decision on what career is right for you?
If you are feeling this way, you are not alone. Ask anyone who has gotten a college degree in one field only to realize a few years later that their passion lies elsewhere. Couple this with the endless number of career options today and that the workplace is changing at an alarming rate; it’s likely that you feel as though you’ve stumbled into your career path rather than being in control of it.
How To Take Back Control Of Your Career Narrative
The first step was recognizing that you are no longer happy in your career and ready for a career change. Now what? Follow these four steps to help you successfully choose the right career path for you.
- Determine how you prefer to add value in the workplace. What you must know is that every job is temporary. This means that you must be ready to sell your ‘services’ to future employers. To do this you should recognize how you save or make company money This will justify them hiring you. But for your own career happiness, you should know how you prefer to deliver this value is key.
- Understand your professional strengths and preferences. Everything about you is unique. Your communication style, passions, interests, work style, learning preferences and more make up your totally unique professional profile. Take a good look at yourself, this will help lock in on roles that would suit your one-of-a-kind persona. (Bonus: This will also help you to explain to potential employers why you’re the perfect fit for their job.)
- Determine what type of jobs/companies/industries interest you and why. The time of picking the best job out of a sea of less-than-interesting options is over. It’s time for you to go after the companies you want. The first step for this is to create an interview bucket list of employers that you admire.
- Master networking and informational interviewing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Your network is your net worth. Nowadays almost all jobs are gotten via referral. What does this mean for you? It means that someone knows someone who works at one of the companies on your bucket list. After you build out your bucket list, it’s time to build a network that connects you to those people. This may sound difficult but it’s as simple as connecting and having genuine and meaningful conversations with people about the work they do. After that, it’s the domino effect; they’ll be introducing you to their manager, boss or the head of the department you’re interested in working for.
To achieve true career satisfaction you need to work it daily.
There is a reason my company’s name it Work It Daily. We work with professionals who are willing to invest time every single day in getting smarter and getting further in their careers. These are the people who succeed.
Career change can be intimidating and scary, but it’s important to remember you’re not alone. At Work It Daily we offer a free career change guide to help people during this transition. With the right information and resources, it’s not unrealistic to achieve career success.
While this may seem like a lot of work but it’s worth it. Did you know that studies show the average American spends over an hour every day on Facebook? Imagine what you could achieve if some of that time went toward learning how to take control of your career?
Those pro athletes and top business people you watch and say “I wish I was them”? You can be. It’s time for you to take control of your career today!
P.S. – Be sure to use the hashtags #JTTalkJobs & #MyCareerPath so we can all join in the conversation.
P.S.S. If you don’t think a membership to my company’s career coaching service is for you (yet).
At Work It Daily, we put together the following free career growth tools for you:
- A complete job search checklist.
CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the pdf file.
- A list of the 18 most common interview questions.
CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the pdf file.
- Free cover letter samples.
CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the pdf file.
- Guide to changing careers.
CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the pdf file.
- Masterclass on how to avoid common job search mistakes.