Strengthening your career search through introspection
Getting to know yourself is critical to your career search. If you’re unaware of what makes you ‘tick’, how are you going to set goals or make decisions to bring you closer to the career which most fulfils you?
With a third of your life being spent working, why not spend it on something you enjoy, something which aligns with your values and who you are. Those who’ve worked jobs which didn’t align with their personal philosophies will know the toll this has taken on their mental and physical health. It’s just not worth it.
In fact, when you do something that you enjoy, it starts to feel less and less like work and more like something which energises and recharges you. But how do we get there?
Some people are lucky and simply land in a career which fulfills them. They are made aware of their calling at an early age and never waver from this internal pull. But what about the rest of us? Is it too late?
I can tell you that it’s never too late. It’s only late when you give up on trying.
What I advise my clients when they start their career hunting journey is to take inventory. What energy levels are they working with and where do their motivations lie? The process of getting to know themselves isn’t tough, but they have to be open, accepting and willing to change. Change their perspective, their perception of themselves and their approach to feedback.
Ask yourself, is this where you’re at?
If not, that’s okay. Acceptance is just that. Greeting yourself with the kindness and acceptance that now may not be the best or right time. But it will come.
If yes, let’s try an exercise. There are plenty of resources out there like psychometric testing, values mapping and even 360 degree reviews where you listen to what your colleagues and managers think of you. But I think we need to start with what we believe and how we feel about ourselves. From the inside out and then, from the outside in.
If you’re ready, I want you to grab a pen and paper and write out the following headings:
- What I love to do (The things you could do all day, every day and get lost in)
- What I enjoy doing (The things you can do for about 80% of the time but would take breaks from)
- What I dislike (The things which take away from you at the deepest level)
Create lists under each heading. Don’t overthink it. Just write.
Now I want you to leave your notes for a few days and come back to it. How do you feel about what you’ve written? Are there things on there which you’d change or add? Great, do it! This list is not permanent, it’s evergreen. It will change and evolve as you do.
This is lesson number 1: We are fluid and though our core values don’t change, things we like and things we don’t like change as we evolve, grow and move through life.
Time for Lesson 2.
Lesson 2: Be truthful with yourself. Those lists of the things you love likely align the closest with your core values. So honour them. At the bottom of your list, I want you to try to write out some of your core values. It’s okay if you’re not familiar with them. This one is tough.
Should you wish to get some external help, I often recommend this site to my clients as a starter. But, please note there are many free and paid-for options. My favourite activity though is to work through values worksheets. There are plenty available on the internet. Here’s one example if you’re interested.Once you’ve distilled down your core values, they become part of your toolkit. Yes, your toolkit. I will touch on this in a future blog post, but park that term for now.
Great work! You’ve learned my top 2 lessons and opened your mind to introspection and self-exploration. It’s not easy so kudos to you. If you want an additional challenge, you can continue to challenge yourself by completing your 16personalities test or other psychometric testing. Please take the results with a grain of salt. It’s not meant to categorise you but rather provide you with information and possibility.
And if you’re up for the challenge, it’s time to look from the outside in. Try to find your person, your sounding board. I explain more about this concept as part of a blog I wrote for Charity Comms UK here. Essentially, this will be a person who you trust will be honest and truthful with you and one who’s feedback you respect.
Lesson 3: Your sounding board is key to your success and your career journey. They can be a mentor, partner, parent and even an old friend.
Now you’re all set. You have identified things which are important to you, things you can keep in your toolkit and have also hopefully identified your sounding board. You’re all set to take on the next steps of creating a fulfilling and rewarding career for yourself.
