3 Ways to Tell if You Need a Change in Your Career

Of all the varying jobs I have had over the years, none of them was a pre-meditated thought to change. In fact, I still remember getting my bachelor’s diploma, walking down those steps, thinking “Uhhh, okay, what do I do now??” Honestly, most of us probably think this way out of high school, or even college. It happens to most of us…and to the best of us.

YOU JUST MAY NOT KNOW YET…

…and that is okay to not know exactly what you want to do. Whether you are still in high school reading this now, trying to decide on your future, or whether you are an adult who has been working already for some time…most of you just have to go with what you feel is right when it comes to choosing a career or job. Traditional college just may not be your fit., That is okay as we have all seen, there are numerous other options available to you to earn a post-secondary (after high school) education/training/certification/diploma, etc. Whatever that may be, I assure you that without one you could possibly end up struggling more than succeeding. Even if you do not know what you want to do, have a plan at least to do something. I knew I wanted to go to college. I just did not know what I wanted to do. I had some ideas but nothing really resonated until I was actually in college and opened my mind to what was available. It took some time for me, but I realized that whatever I do in a career, it had to be with people, directing or teaching. In everything I ever did, I enjoyed the people-atmosphere of things and felt more “at-home” with myself. This is where I succeeded most.

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU SUCCEED MOST?

If you are reading this, you should have at least some idea(s) as to what and/or where you succeed at most. Think about this and write it down. If you have more than one, which most of us do, write down every aspect of your life that you succeed most in. You should then ask yourself for all or most of the ones that really stick out to you: “why do I succeed most with this?” The answers here should be immediate and short. Write them down. Don’t go into elaborate detail with yourself on these answers. Just answer the question with a single answer maybe whatever immediately comes to mind when you think of this. This method will help you to stay focused and/or decisive. Most of the time many of us just do not stay decisive enough when it comes to our own professional happiness. The areas of our lives that we succeed most in, we enjoy. If you think about it, most everything we truly enjoy doing, is because we feel naturally good and right doing it. It is a natural innate preference that we have,. We all have either a natural preference, or a “secondary” preference. Try this exercise to see how natural preferences play in our lives. If you are right-handed, try now writing something with your left-hand. Vice versa if you are naturally left-handed. It does not feel right, does it? It’s easy to write with our “dominant” hand, but to write with a non-dominant hand causes some stress and discomfort. We can do it, but it is just not as easy, fun or “natural” to us. My point here is that you should really think about and know what truly just “fits” you. What are you naturally good at?

WHEN YOU KNOW, THEN YOU CAN GO…

…out there to find what types of careers fit your natural abilities! Literally as simple as that. Don’t ever do what you “should” do. Do what you “want” to do. Certainly talent and skill set is a very important part in your ability, but the first step is to see what you feel fits you. There are literally dozens of jobs that could really fit all of us in some way. But your goal should be to be successful in whatever you do. The path to that success is to find something you could actually be good at…and enjoy. That only happens when you think for yourself and find what you natural preference is. I’m a talker and always have been. No matter what I did in my careers, communication was a huge part of it and I became better at it. Now I teach it to college students and have gained ears of experience in public speaking. To the point of developing an expertise in it and it was not even that hard to do. It just fit me. Honestly if I knew this when I was IN college, I would have made a lot more money and been evemn more successful.

It might be difficult to find these natural preferences. Whether in high school or a working professional, actually thinking for and about yourself is actually very difficult to do! Please work on this. This should be a goal of yours.

A NEW NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

Create a few goals for yourself. Easy ones. Goals that you see yourself actually accomplishing soon. Your first one should be to develop a list of natural preferences. Things that naturally fit you and you feel very comfortable at. This list will next be utilized in your career exploration journey. This is the start and how you should start. To find what types of careers or jobs that can just fit you. Another much more professionally sound way is to take any sort of reputable personality/strengths/abilities assessment that can kind of help you to hone in on what you are naturally good at. As a consultant, I recommend the Myers-Briggs personality assessments. These provide you with a historical record of success in helping people to find their true strengths and abilities.

My passion in my professional life is to do that very same thing. If you would like more information on how I can help you down your career exploration journey, visit me at http://www.thecareerdude.com.

Your success is my success,

Keith Lipke

Independent Career Consultant