There tends to be three types of job seekers: those who know exactly what they want to do, those who are so overwhelmed by the choices that are available to them that they don’t know where to begin, and those who are underwhelmed by the choices available that they wonder if they will ever find something that will pique their interest.

Discovery

To begin, ask yourself these questions:
1. If you won the lottery and money weren't an issue, how would you spend your time? Why?
2. When were you the happiest at work (or school)? What was the project/subject? What, specifically, kept you engaged?
3. Do my friends have an interesting career path? What is it about this career path that is interesting?
4. Have your friends or family members said that they think you would be good in a particular profession? What reason did they give?
5. What do you want to be known for? For this question, picture your retirement party. Who would be there and what would they say about you.

Once you have thought through these questions, see if you can start to pick out any themes. For example, are you more driven by helping others, solving problems, conducting research, or debating?

Reality Check

It is important to include a healthy dose of reality in the mix. Some of the questions you should ask yourself include:
1. Do you have the qualifications required for the career path of interest? What would it take to get the qualifications? Are you in a position to invest the time and money to get qualified?
2. Can you make a living from the interesting career path?
3. Will this career path fit with my current lifestyle?

Try Before you Decide
Once you have a few ideas of interesting career paths, try to find opportunities to explore the career path:
1. Volunteer
2. Take it up as a hobby
3. Freelance
4. Interest Interview
5. Mentor
6. Job Shadow

Pulling it all Together

As you are exploring the various options available to you, you should be able to see themes emerge. You can take some of these themes and categorize them by a) your likes, b) your abilities, and c) your values.

The closer your list of possible career paths checks all three of these categories, the closer you are to finding a career path that you will love.

Final Thoughts

In addition to going through this exercise there are several books that you can read to help you on your quest:

1. What You're Really Meant to Do by Harvard's Robert Steven Kaplan. Kaplan shares a specific and actionable approach to defining your own success and reaching your potential. (http://tinyurl.com/zly8zej)

2. Business Model You by Timothy Clark, Alexander Osterwalder, and Yves Pigneur. This book applies the Business Model Canvass methodology to developing your personalized career path. (http://tinyurl.com/z4e23xq)

3. What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles. This is one of the most popular job-hunting guides in the world and is revised annually. (http://tinyurl.com/hq86lun)

Finally, there are several self-assessment tests that you can try to help point you in the right direction. One free test you can use is the MAPP self-assessment test (http://tinyurl.com/gm7spzf). There is a paid option, but the free version is an excellent start.

Knowing what you are looking for is the first step in finding your dream job. As I’ve said before if you don’t know what you are looking for then how will you ever know that you’ve found it? For some, this can be a long journey, but like most things in life, the more you put into this self-discovery journey the more you will get out of it.

If you have any questions about this or any other job search topic, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. If you have any questions, video ideas, or would like to collaborate, please feel free to contact me directly. For personalized advice, check out my website: http:jobhuntsolutions.com

In the meantime: Happy Hunting!

Email: nicole@jobhuntsolutions.com
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