Take a Better Approach to Finding the Right Career Path
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of having the perfect job—one that best fits our values, purpose, personality, and motivations? We’ve all attended parties where guests commiserate about awful jobs instead of finding the right career path. They’re unhappy but feel “stuck” in their job due to family obligations, financial pressure, and/or security. To make matters worse, they also have no idea what they want to do “when they grow up,” even when they’re on the backend of their career!
Adding to that pressure are the many articles, magazines, blogs, and TV reports discussing people that have found their career bliss. So what do people do? They obsess over finding that career path that has alluded them for so long. That obsession turns into over-analysis, and that over-analysis ends up being counterproductive and debilitating. They get exhausted and burned out trying to come up with the perfect career solution.
What can you do to avoid this vicious cycle? Or, what if you suddenly find yourself unemployed and aren’t sure what to do next?
Finding the Right Career Path For You
Finding a new career is best done by really understanding yourself first. You need to figure out what drives you, research jobs and companies that match these traits, and then find ways to get interviews. This process is the major foundation of the “What Color is Your Parachute Book” by Richard N. Bolles. This book has always taken a different approach to finding your next career or job. Instead of the usual approach to finding a job—such as answering ads, going to job boards, which research shows have a significantly lower success rate—this book approaches it in a more focused, pragmatic way that gives you a greater chance of success. The book has been so successful that it has been updated every year, selling over 10 million copies.
How many people have refined their resume again and again, then submitted it to a job board, hoping that of the 1,000 other people who did the same thing, theirs will get noticed…only to get rejection after rejection? It’s often not because they’re unqualified, but because every other person took the same approach going for that same job. That’s the proverbial definition of insanity; “doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.” It can become demoralizing very quickly.
It’s normal for busy people to take a career search approach that’s more passive. They often look for jobs, send resumes, and hope to get called for interviews. Sometimes that works. However, to significantly increase your success rate, you need to take a more active approach. Another great saying is, “Motivation follows action, not the other way around.” The more action you take to learn about yourself, research different jobs and companies, and network, the more clarity you will gain.
Hiring A Professional Career Coach
One of the different approaches you can take is to hire a professional who can help assess your needs and goals. A professional career coach can provide support, guidance, perspective, tools, and a roadmap to give you a path forward.
A career coach can help you:
- Assess what you really want in a career by determining your values, motivations, salary requirements, working environment, industry, culture, etc.
- Help you stop planning and start doing by developing an action plan
- Show you how to research jobs and companies that match your goals
- Help you develop strategies to brand and market yourself
- Help you understand the best networking and interviewing techniques
- Provide you an experienced, knowledgeable sounding board
Changing careers can seem like a monumental task. Taking a different approach and getting help can make it less overwhelming, significantly increasing your chance of finding the career path that’s right for you!