Top 10 Tips to Identify Your Ideal Career

To help you identify your ideal career, we have compiled a list of our top 10 tips that we share with clients.

1. Dream first, dream big. You need to dream BIG in order to identify your ideal career. Think out of the box; be creative. What is something you’d love to do? Dream and think big, don’t play small. Hold practicality at bay for a moment. If you get practical too soon you can cut yourself off at knees with brainstorming. If you allow yourself to dream, you may come across a career idea you never considered or even knew about! Tap into your childhood dreams, tap into your passions and your heart. Dream first and dream big.
2. Be committed. To make any large change in your life (and career change is big), you have to be committed. Your level of commitment can make or break whether you’re successful. Ask any professional athlete, business owner or successful entrepreneur and they will tell you – commitment is key. Only when you are truly committed will you invest the time and energy necessary for a successful career transition.
3. Define success your way. Don’t stay in a job you dislike because friends or family think it’s a great job, or because you don’t want to admit you made a mistake. Define success your way, find a job that is a fit for you. The traditional definition of success is financial stability, good salary, benefits, good at your job-things like that. There is nothing wrong with that definition, BUT if you are truly unhappy with your job those things are not good enough. Think about and write down what success means to you.
4. Look at the big picture. Many people choose a career based on past experience, maybe their natural talents and salary. They think, “Well I’m good at this and it pays well so I’ll try it.” You have to consider much more than just experience and salary in order to identify your ideal career. Two other examples are fulfillment and meaning. What would you enjoy doing in an ideal job, and what fulfills you? Look at the big picture.
5. Identify your natural talents/abilities. It is a FACT that when people use their natural abilities at work, their job is more fulfilling to them. When people are NOT using their natural talents, their jobs are not rewarding. For example, are you able to plan events without any effort, do you just naturally organize and coordinate projects, or are you a natural leader? Make a list of the things you do that come naturally to you, the things that make you unique.
6. Don’t discount what comes naturally. It can be very easy to discount your natural talents and abilities. Not everyone else is good at the things that come naturally to you. Write down 5 things you do really well, maybe even better than anyone you know. Is it problem-solving, analyzing data, creating visual images? Whatever it is, realize these are gifts that you have to offer – that not everyone can do these things really well.
7. Beat negative thinking. This is a huge tip because negative thinking and fear are the biggest obstacles we see with our career coaching clients. Career transition is big… Our jobs pay the bills, bottom line. So making a change in this area can be very scary for people. Overcome the fears and negative thinking that might get in way of you making a change. If you don’t try you’ll never know, right? Beat negative thinking and get support with this one because it can really stand in your way.
8. Set goals and create a transition plan. In career transition, as with any change you’re making in your life, you need to set goals and develop a plan. By doing this, you set yourself up for success. This is an extremely important step because it will keep you focused, organized and committed. Create a job hunting schedule and treat your job search as a job.
9. Just take a step – get started in a direction. Identifying your ideal career is a process that has to unfold. If you wait until you have every answer and know every single step you need to take, you’re going to be waiting a very long time. Just take a step in a direction that feels right, and allow yourself the freedom to explore options as you move forward. You’ll figure it out, you have to trust that you’ll know what the next step is once you get there. Just take a step.
10. Get support. Support during this process is vitally important. Change can be tough – and making any change requires persistence, commitment, and effort. People who are part of a group to support them in their goals do better, 100% of the time. Why do you think Weight Watchers groups exist? Because they work. Create a solid support network; it can be a mentor, a buddy, family or friends, a spouse/partner or of course, a career coach.

Not sure what your ideal career is? Do you need help finding a career that fits? Contact us for a complimentary consultation.