If you have a fulfilling job that’s allowing you to thrive and grow, you have the perfect job! And you’re set up for happiness and success.
But if you feel like the job you have:
- is ok but something is missing or
- no longer excites you or
- doesn’t pay well,
it’s time to pause and get clarity on what’s the perfect job for you.
(this applies even if you don’t have a job at all!)
Here is the guiding rule you want to focus on:
The perfect, ideal job is at the intersection of what you enjoy, what you’re good at and what pays.
Have a few minutes?
Let’s break the perfect job rule down into its 3 main elements.
For this exercise, it's worth grabbing some paper and a pen to write down your answers. Or take digital notes if you prefer. Here we go:1. What you enjoy doing – includes everything that you love doing and makes you lose track of time. All the activities, work-related or not, that you complete with passion and a sense of joy. To identify these activities, ask yourself: what am I interested in? what topics am I passionate about? what tasks bring me joy? what activities make me feel good? Write down everything that comes to mind, big or small. Every joy-bringing activity matters and all the answers are within you.
2. What you’re good at – includes everything you do with a high level of quality and you’re skilled at. Others praise you for how well you do something? Those are your skills that you can include on this list. Write down everything you remember you received positive feedback for. Collect ideas from your family, your friends, your colleagues, your manager. Ask your mother as well, although she may say you’re good at everything! Write all your skills down, from both your private and your professional activities.
Now look at the two lists and search for related themes.
They are the first suggestions for fulfilling activities that you’re already skilled at.
Here are a few examples:
- you enjoy telling stories that others find entertaining
- you love coordinating activities and you’re very organized
- you passionate about connecting others and you’re great at keeping in touch
Don’t stop once you identified the common themes from the first two lists. Your perfect job must earn you a living, so continue with:
3. What pays – includes jobs that you can earn income from, as well as business ideas to start as entrepreneur. You can do your own research, or you can contact me for support. As a career counselor, I can guide you to identify your perfect job, based on your passions and skills.
TL;DR:
Your perfect, ideal job is at the intersection of (1) what you enjoy, (2) what you’re good at and (3) what pays. Make lists, do research or reach out to me to make the process easy for you.
Extra tip, if you struggle to list activities you enjoy or you’re not sure what you’re passionate about. Go back in time to your teenage years (when you were between 14 and 18) and think of your hobbies. What were you passionate about, back then? What did you enjoy the most? What skills did you put to good use then? As a teenager, you didn’t have external pressure (to meet deadlines or earn a living), so your hobbies were pure joy. Use them as an inspired starting point to craft a successful career.
Your perfect job is within reach.
Go get it!
