How to find the right career fit for you

Some people know exactly what career they want to pursue from an early age and take all the necessary steps to get there. Some happen to fall into a career they absolutely love. However, many of us might at some point find ourselves in a career that just doesn't feel right - I certainly have. Career fit is incredibly important - without it, it can be tough to feel happy or fulfilled at work.

The idea of career fit can be hard to quantify, but we know when we don't have it at the end of the day. A good career fit makes us feel motivated, energised, and engaged with our work, whereas when something is off, we sense that we'd rather be doing something else (even if we're not sure exactly what).?

Determining what we really want to be doing and what the right career trajectory is for us may take some time. Sometimes it won't be about completely changing industry or profession but about reassessing which responsibilities we prefer to focus on in a current role. To understand how to create a career fit, here are five key factors to consider.?

Strengths

Everyone has unique strengths that they can use at work. Innate strengths feel natural to us, and we're often don't have to try too hard to apply them. It can sometimes be hard to identify your strengths; you may not be conscious of the actions or behaviours that are strengths because they feel so natural. Take some time to reflect on parts of your role that you enjoy and come easily to you, and consider elements of your job or life where you receive positive feedback regularly. If you get stuck identifying your strengths, ask others you trust what they think your strengths are, as this can give you valuable insight.?You can check out the short coaching video if you need help figuring out what your strengths are.

Values

Have you ever felt like your place of work just doesn't feel right to you? This feeling can indicate that the business values don't align with what's important to you. Your values are the principles or beliefs that you consider your true north and tend not to change too much over time. They are your personal judgment of what is important and shape how you look at the world. My advice is to understand your values and ask yourself whether you are using those in a work context. Because if you aren't, it's unlikely that you'll be working in a role or at an organisation that's a good career fit for you.?

Resilience

Building a resilience mindset is one of the most important things we need to think about in our careers. As the past 18 months have taught us, everyone goes through change, and nurturing our resilience can help us get through times of difficulty and cope with challenges. Not only does resilience play an important role when we hit rough patches, but it can also help us thrive day-to-day. Take some time to think about how resilient you are at work and if you would benefit from working on it. For some guidance on this, check out my free 10 Days of Resilience Coaching Course .?

Purpose

At the heart of it, working with purpose is about experiencing meaning. Consider what drives you in your career - maybe it's a monetary reward, or it could be facing and overcoming challenges, or perhaps helping others. Our careers as a whole might not necessarily create purpose - and that's OK - but there could be things that are part of our roles that do, such as creating an excellent outcome for a client, customer, or colleague, or having meaningful discussions with others. Sometimes it's the small things that keep us enjoying our job, and if you can incorporate small micro-meaning moments into your role, your job is more likely to feel like a good fit for you.?

Blueprint

Finally, create a blueprint for ways of working that matter to you. How can you make your working life fit your lifestyle? Is flexibility important, perhaps, or making sure you're working towards a purpose? After a year and a half of working from home, have you realised that you value connecting with your team face to face in an office? There will be ways of working that you value as an individual; it's vital that you identify these factors and find a way to incorporate them into your career if you want to create a good career fit.

Your career fit experiences?

I recommend taking some time to reflect on the five areas and jot down your thoughts about how these relate to your working life right now. Consider elements of creating a good career fit you have in place and which you need to work on to ensure you're content with your career trajectory and thriving at work.?

What are your experiences of creating a good career fit? Please share your stories in the comments section if you're comfortable doing so (feel free to share the good, the bad, and the ugly!).

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