How to Find a Job That Suits Me? My No BS Advice

What is the ‘ideal job’ for you?

It is a very difficult question to answer.

You probably have a million things you enjoy doing. But where do you start? How do you pick a job to dedicate your time to?

Try answering this question to figure it out:

“How would you want to fill your days?”

You can’t be a famous blogger or an author if you don’t want your days to be filled with writing.

You can’t be a coach or a presenter if you can’t hold a conversation.

Freelancing isn’t the right path if you hate communicating with clients.

It’s so easy to focus on the outcome, the glory, the fame. But if you don’t enjoy the journey that gets you there, it’s not the best career choice for you.

When people think of their ideal job, they focus on the outcome, not the process or daily habits required to get there.

In order to find a job that actually suits you, you need to identify what you’d be most excited about doing day to day and work backwards into what that ideal job would be.

It’s simple 🙂

What do you value and enjoy?

In the last 2 years, I’ve been writing down the days that make me feel good by describing what exactly happened that made them so enjoyable.

It’s a great practical exercise that helps me to figure out what brings me joy without having to force myself to think about it in one sitting.

I noticed that I’m the happiest when I am surrounded by people. In work situations, I feel my best when I can inspire someone or when I succeed in something that scares or challenges me.

Writing things down will help you to understand your personal values.

Defining your personal values and then living by them will make you feel more fulfilled and you will make choices that will make you happy, even if they don’t make sense to other people.

For example, I value honesty and always speak my mind – even if people don’t like it. This can get me into trouble, but the trade-off of pleasing people by being dishonest isn’t worth it because it makes me feel bad about myself.

I value adventure over security, which is why I’m well-suited for self-employment.

But above all, I value learning because new knowledge adds to my sense of achievement and purpose, makes me more relatable and helps me get better jobs and earn more money.

Learning is knowledge and knowledge is power.

The internet and the opportunities that come with it have given us all the power to create our own destiny.

If your current career path doesn’t make your heart sing, change it.

You don’t have to accept working for a company you aren’t passionate about.

Don’t be afraid to make changes to carve out something that you enjoy doing and that aligns with your values – life is too short not to.

Self-development can take many forms:

• Find a mentor to realise your career goals

• Volunteer for an organisation whose mission you admire

• Commit to reading a book every week on a subject that you care about

• Take online training courses or sign up for classes

• Go back into formal education and retrain into something you’ve always wanted to do. The most popular upcoming course is MA in Innovative Education Exeter’s Online MAED – a degree that sets you off to become an educator,  trainer, coach or a mentor.

Main takeaway

Once you can answer the 2 questions ‘How would you want to fill your days?’ and ‘What are my personal values?‘ , you’re more likely to be able to find a career that is best for your character.

Understanding what you’re all about and what you refuse to compromise on is essential because it will help to steer you towards a company that holds a similar vision. When you buy into the ‘why’ of a business, and it’s aligned with your own sense of purpose, that’s where the magic happens.

The same applies if you want to start your own business …

So next time you’re pining for a business life that seems super sexy in terms of the outcomes it can potentially provide, consider what the average day would be like to create and maintain it, and what those daily habits would need to become.

If the actual work involved doesn’t sound like how you want to spend your day, it may be time to focus your efforts on something else instead.

Optimise your life for how you want to spend your days.