Finding Your Perfect Career – Whatever Your Age

Hi,

I’m Alix and it’s my mission to help as many of us as possible work in jobs that meet our passion and purpose, making us happy and fulfilled adults. Providing support and hand holding where you may not have any.

Be a ‘virtual mentor’ if you don’t have one…

Join me in making sure you’re one adult in a job you love, reaching your potential.

Today we’re looking at ways to pin down the right career path but, whether you're just leaving education and starting out, or you're looking for a career change after taking a job but finding out it’s not what you’d hoped for, or you’re in your sixties and ready for a change, finding the right next step can seem daunting.

There’re so many options to choose from, so how do you know which path to pursue?

Well, don’t stress, I’m here to let you know that there are simple steps you can take and people you can talk to if you’re unsure where to start.

So, as always with my articles, grab a snack and let’s go through hints and tips to find your perfect career.

Listing interests and skills…

A good place to start is with you.

If you haven’t read my book ‘I AM Choosing my Options’ (due for publication August 2024) see if your local library has a copy or check on Amazon. There are simple, detailed, exercises in it that will guide you no matter where you are in your career.

If you’re just starting out, write down all your qualifications - what you’ve studied and the grades you got. Grades aren’t everything, but they can be pointers for the subjects that interested you, you were good at and enjoyed, as your grades are likely to be higher.

Next, list your interests and skills.

Interests include hobbies, what you do when you have free time, and skills are not restricted to exams.

You could be a skilled listener. The one your friends go to when they need a shoulder to cry on.

This is known as a ‘soft skill’.

You could be a brilliant planner, the one who sees all the details that need to be sorted before you go out for a day out and makes sure they’re done, by the right person.

If you’re totally lost, the above exercise can help.

For example, if you have a degree in communication and enjoy public speaking, you could match these and consider a career in public relations. Just so you know I couldn’t give a speech in public – ever - so if you can do this, always remember it’s a really good skill.

Your current job…

If you’re already in a job and considering a career change, you can make a list of what you enjoy (love) and what you don’t (hate, triple hate, loath) about it.

This will help you pin down what to look for from your new job. An example, if you hate the long hours and travelling necessary in your current role, look for a position with a better work-life balance.

Identifying interesting industries…

It may be that your qualifications, skills and interests extend far beyond any type of industry that you currently work in or have worked for.

Look around and list down all industries that inspire and/or interest you, you could surprise yourself, but at the very least it’ll make you think about your choices.

There are so many different lines of work out there – jobs I wasn’t consciously aware of when I was starting out. Just check out the end of my book, the A-Z list of jobs that came to mind just while I was writing it was an eye-opener for me.

Identify companies…

Now, search for companies you’d like to work for and write notes on why.

It could be that you identify with their vision and values.

Are they companies that pay a good salary? How important is this to you? We all have to earn enough to live, however, if you want to own an expensive car, live in an expensive area so that you’re happy, this could be a critical tick box.

If you’re just starting out, or early on in your career, have you written out your goals?

This is covered in detail in the book, but I also have an article in the ‘FAQ’s, Facts and Printables’ section called ‘Why, How and What Happens When you set Goals’.

Following this exercise, you can see how achieving that car and house can and will be, achieved.

Mentors…

When I was choosing my options, taking the next step, then looking for my fist job, I had no idea, support or mentors to talk to. Being immature and with no idea what I should do or would be good at it would have been good to have someone guide me – again, I don’t want this for you, remember my articles (and me) are virtual mentors here to help you face challenges and find a way through or over.

But you might have people around you that you can talk to. Seek the help of a mentor (or four). Mentors, especially those who know you, can give you advice and

guidance that can be invaluable. Be prepared for them to point out any flaws they see that you aren’t aware of, for instance (and, yes, it’s an extreme example) they may have noticed that you’re scared of heights – something you weren’t consciously aware of – and advise you against that mountaineering position you were considering!

If you don’t have anyone, you could try reaching out to professionals on any of the social networking sites. With the rise of the internet, you can ‘talk’ to people anywhere around the world and check out what it’s really like to work in the Artic or Amazon! Get the cold (or hot) hard facts, not the romantic viewpoint from a film or book.

These mentors won’t know you to guide you from a personal viewpoint, but they could give you invaluable information about their line of work and the pros and cons. Just make sure it’s not just the best parts, you can’t make a balanced decision based on just those.

Along with mentors, career advisors could give you a helping hand if you’re still struggling.

They’re trained to help you identify your strengths (and weaknesses) and help you set goals to get you where you want to be.

Working as a temp…

If you’re unsure which career path would be perfect for you, you could sign up with a temp agency.

Working as a temp for various companies and in different positions can help you see first-hand what you like and dislike about a company and jobs and direct you to what type of company or job you should be looking for.

Consider hobbies…

It is possible to turn a hobby into a career.

Taking a course or joining a club can initiate conversations about what a career for that hobby could entail. Is anyone else doing it? How have they got on? Is there a

niche you can fill? What’s the one thing you’re offering that brings a solution to a need?

To make it work, ie generate enough money to live on, it’s important to do heaps of research.

You could start with reading my article ‘What is an entrepreneur’ (under the ‘I AM exploring my options after GCSEs’ heading). It’ll give you an idea what’s involved.

Going back to courses, if you are a fitness god(dess), and you think you’d like to qualify as a personal trainer, sign up to a club, take some classes and see what a personal trainer makes you do. Still interested?

Internships…

Internships will give you experience of working for a company before taking the plunge into a full-time job there.

No matter how old you are or what experience you may or may not have, internships are a great way to get work experience. There’s nothing like seeing a company from the inside first.

Testing, testing, testing…

If you’re still struggling, you could find it helpful to take a personality test such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. The test asks you a series of questions that they then analyse and give you a list of possible careers based on your personality.

Think laterally…

A lateral move is where you stay in a company but move across to, say, another department.

If you like the company but not so much your job, talk to your HR department – they’re normally one of the first to know about job openings – but they won’t know you’re interested in moving unless you tell them AND any conversations you have them should remain confidential, ie your current boss should NEVER hear you’re looking until you’re ready to tell them.

The search…

Once you know the position you want, make a list of similar job titles that you can use when searching for vacant positions.

Bear in mind that the same job could be advertised under a number of different titles.

Once you have this ready, set an alert on internet job pages and you’ll be notified when matching vacancies are loaded.

Be proactive…

Also, while you have your job list uploaded, don’t sit back and wait.

Send a CV (see my article ‘Acing your CV – do’s and don’ts’) with a compelling cover letter (again, see my article ‘How to write a compelling cover letter for your cv’) to the companies you want to work for, don’t feel you have to wait for a job opening. Make an unsolicited (out of the blue) application.

Companies (especially large ones) quite often advertise openings internally first, and, if there’re no appropriate candidates, your CV could be the perfect match.

And you’ll save them the trouble of advertising and/or agency costs.

You never know what may come of sending your resume, however, be prepared for rejection letters where they don’t have an opening at that moment, but remember they’ll have your CV ready when one does come up. It’s important not to take rejection personally. Jobs are jobs, not feelings, they either have or don’t have the position you’re applying for at that particular moment.

Unfortunately, these days, you could also receive no response at all which can feel hurtful, however, you only need one job and when that call comes, the earlier rejections and non-responses will fade away - quickly!

Stand strong…

When looking for your dream job, don’t be afraid to turn down offers that aren’t quite right. Not all jobs will be the perfect fit for you.

Some jobs will have parts of what you’re looking for, but not tick all the boxes.

Analyse the boxes that you can’t tick and consider the seriousness of not doing so. Is it worth taking the job? I can’t advise you on this but do consider carefully – you don’t want to take a job and feel after three months it’s not right. That the box you couldn’t tick was serious enough to make you want to leave, leaving you looking for further opportunities, while having on your CV a three-month placement.

This could indicate to future employers that you’re a job hopper or that you’re still looking for the right career path, or, worse, that you were let go by the company after a probationary period.

Words on a CV may not give the full picture and you may not get the chance to go for an interview and explain.

No one said it was easy…

Follow the above steps and you’ll give yourself the best start but remember it can take time.

Keep looking.

Apply for positions with the right job titles – you only ever have to make a decision when you’re offered the job.

You deserve to have the job that makes you want to jump out of bed to go to and once you have it wander around my website for further hints and tips on what to do when you’re in a job.

So, off you go, but I’d love to hear how you’re getting on and, where possible, if we can help more.

Lastly, I wanted to both wish you luck and say that I know you can do it.

Success is within your grasp!