I recently changed jobs—not because I had to but because I wanted to. I wanted to be in a position where I could contribute more strategically to an organization and I wanted more opportunities to live a service-oriented life. Before I made the switch, I did some serious soul searching to determine what job parameters were truly important to me. I did not want my move to be a knee-jerk reaction.
In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these five tips to help you find the right job that fits with your life, from Bernard Marr, an internationally known best-selling author and keynote speaker.
What motivates you? Marr suggests the first key step in a job search is to do what I did—assess what truly motivates you. Is it more money? More recognition at work? Bigger title? Everyone has different personal motivations. Figure out what that is for you; there is no right or wrong here. Once you determine your main motivation for work, it helps you know where to look for employment—nonprofits, corporations or opportunities that have core values and beliefs that align with your own.
Check your passion. Ask yourself if you are still passionate about the career you're in. During a job transition is the perfect time to ask yourself if your chosen career is still fulfilling before jumping right back into a job in the same field. If a passion for what you do is lacking, it's time to create a plan to find another career or create new professional goals for yourself.
Determine what you need. Next, Marr says to identify what you need to be happy in your next position. Do you want flexibility? A shorter commute? Perhaps vacation time is more important to you than salary or telecommuting is your ideal. List out the criteria for your ideal position and then determine what on that list is most important to you or is non-negotiable. While it might not be possible for you to get everything you want, it's important to get everything you need before committing to another company.
In my case, my new company pays for a week of my time to do community service with a nonprofit company, and, they pay that nonprofit for my volunteer time. It gives me the opportunity to be more service-oriented with the support from my new company.
Since most of us spend more waking time pursuing our careers than anything else in life, what we do every day is critically important to the quality of our life. However, when you reflect on what you truly want out of life, you might discover there are deficits outside of your career you can solve. A job change is already a large life transition, but since you have the opportunity to reflect on what's really important, a job change can open the doors to changing other areas of your life to give you what you need.
Be open and inquisitive. Marr also suggests taking time to be open to learning about new industries and be proactive about making new connections. The more open you are to learning about new opportunities in different industries and environments, the higher the chance you will come across a situation that might be your next ideal move.
Take advantage of this transition time to focus, not just on the next job, but on the next phase of a fulfilling life.
Source: Bernard Marr is an internationally known best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist and a strategic business and technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps organizations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain and the Internet of Things.