Making your career dreams come true can feel like an impossible feat for many people, and it can be especially hard later in life when you might feel as though you’re still waiting for something to click. Nevertheless, there is no right or wrong time to start searching for your dream career; it’s never too late (or too early) to start planning.
If you’re finding it difficult to discover where your career passions lie, let the following steps guide you along the way.
Step 1: Decide on Your Ideal Working Environment
Whilst finding the right circumstance for you, you need to think about the kind of environment that you would best thrive in, as well as one which would make you feel most positive with your working situation. There are some working environments which simply aren’t suited for some people, even if the job role itself isn’t that bad. Therefore thinking about your ideal working environment first will help you to best understand the jobs which embrace such an environment.
In considering this, you should think about:
- Indoor or outdoor? Are you ideally looking for something which sees you spending the majority of your working hours outside or inside a building?
- How do you feel about office work? Office jobs make up a lot of roles on the job market, but if your worst nightmare would be being chained to a desk all day, then you know to avoid those roles which are office or desk-based.
- Busy or relaxed? Some people thrive on a busy working environment that is non-stop, while others prefer to take it easy in a quieter environment. Knowing which you prefer is key.
Step 2: Narrow it Down by Learning from Jobs You Haven’t Liked
If you don’t quite know yet what your ideal career would be or what type of job you would love, it might help to learn from past career mistakes and understand what you haven’t liked. If your past — or even current — job is one that you know isn’t anything like what you want to do, this can be a big help in filtering out those careers which wouldn’t be right for you.
It could be anything you’ve learned from past experience if it’s the working environment, the job itself, or even the location. At least then, in your career planning, you will know exactly what you don’t want, even if you don’t know what you do want yet.
Step 3: Think About What Your Career Goals Are
Do you want to ultimately work for yourself and be in charge of your own working hours? Then you may want to look into self-employment or entrepreneurial opportunities.
It might help to first think about what you want to achieve from your job, to then be able to align certain roles which may be suitable for you.
Are your goals primarily financial? If so, then you can research the most well-paid jobs in order to aim for your highest wage mark.
Does the idea of working to help others on a daily basis fill you with joy? Then many healthcare roles may be right for you, such as nursing, BSN to MSN development, becoming a doctor, or starting a therapist career.
These are just a few examples of how job roles can match up to your ultimate goals.
Step 4: Consider Your Strengths
A lot of satisfying career choices can come from playing to your strengths. This means that if you’re not sure exactly what role would be suitable for you, you might want to first think about what you’re good at and any passions you already have.
If you’re already trained and skilled in a certain area which you really enjoy, you can then look for the type of careers which are in need of your particular strength and skill.
That isn’t to say that you can’t learn new skills or strengths for the right career, but it always helps if you work off what you’re naturally good at as a starting point.
Step 5: Are You Looking to Work with Others?
Who you work with on a daily basis can have a big impact on your working experience. A dream career may entail working with a large team of passionate people — or it may be that your idea of a dream working day is not having to speak to anyone else at all. It’s therefore important to understand whether you’d prefer to work alone or as part of a team.
Use these steps to kick start your dream career search today.