It’s a long time since Charles Handy talked about portfolio careers, where people had a number of different types of work, but one thing is for sure, that job for life no longer exists.
Whether you work in a smaller organisation, a large corporate, a not-for-profit or a government department flexibility is the watchword when it comes to career progress.
You spend around one third of your life at work – not counting all that travelling to and fro so it really doesn’t make sense to spend that time doing something that you dislike or feel dissatisfied about.
When you started your career you may have started out with rosy visions of the future or you may have just taken what looked like a good job without a clear idea of what you really wanted to do. Most people’s career path is more by accident than design. Some people are lucky and fall into a career that they absolutely love, but most people just get on the commuter train in the morning and simply exist until it’s time to go home.
What starts as a career with potential may have become a bit of a drudge. So, if you’re feeling unfulfilled what can you do?
Of course you can visit an agency, start searching the job boards and spruce up your LinkedIn profile – but are you simply swapping the job you don’t like much for a similar role in a different organisation?
The secret is to spend some time doing a skills analysis and research what other roles you might find more satisfying.
• What skills have you got?
• How else could these be applied?
• What do you like doing?
• What do you dislike doing?
• Where do you see yourself in one year, three years, five years?
These are the logical questions that will help you to reveal the core elements of your next role.
Now ask yourself ‘if money was no object, what would I spend my days doing?’
One lady actually said ‘Shopping and meeting people’ in answer to this question. She had not even considered a career as a personal shopper, even though her training and skills equipped her for this extremely well. Don’t limit yourself by saying ‘but that’s not realistic’, just get your gut instincts down on paper.
Actually it’s quite hard to do this alone as it’s all too easy to find other things to think about or do and avoid completing the exercise. Doing it with a friend who will hold you accountable is one way. An alternative is working with a coach who will ask you all the hard questions that will reveal your brand new career and then help you to get off starting blocks.
If you’d like a coach to help – you can always give me a call on 07723 017357.