Do you feel that there is something missing in your career? Are you feeling lost and not sure what to do? Has your career has hit a stale patch; you feel like you’ve got so much more to give and it’s not being realised in your current role? Are you tired of feeling lost, considering a change in career, looking for new direction but not sure where to start?
Here are my top 5 ways to connect with what’s missing in your career:
- Reflect on your achievements. Do a brainstorm on your work and out of work achievements. Try a list of 30 – include from work, personal, big, small, recent or older. As you jot them down think about what was important to you about them, what did the achievement mean, what did it give you? Who were you with, what type of company, manager or team where you working with? What themes come through as you reflect on this? How can they help you look for a new direction? This will come in handy later for inspirational ideas as to what makes you light up and also for interview preparation.
- Consider the bigger picture as well as the role itself. What about the hours, location, commute, development opportunities, size of company, size of team etc. Think about all the important factors that impact your work, role and career outside of what you actually do in the job itself and then consider what is and isn’t working for you for each one.
- What would you like? One exercise I work through with my clients is to look at what’s missing for you in your career, what is it that you really would like to happen? Once you’ve discovered what it is that’s missing, assess if it’s possible for you to get that in or outside of your current job role. Sometimes the thing that is missing can be obtained in your current role but it might not have been obvious. It doesn’t have to be about changing careers.
- Get curious about what you enjoy, both inside and outside of work. What do you do with ease, what comes naturally, what boosts your energy, what do you look forward to doing? Which of these would you like in a future career?
- What would need to change to make your career better? Think about the last time you really enjoyed a role. What was it about that role that was different to where you are now?
What insights come up for you as you reflect on these questions? What are the themes, what changes could you implement? If you have a lot of ideas, decide what’s the first change you could make and start there?
More Support
If you would like more support, download my free “Changing My Career Journal” which is full of more insightful questions to help you get closer to your dream career.
The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this blog. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this blog. Claire Bolsover disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this blog.