Where to invest your 2000 weeks

In October I want to set out some basic ideas on how to succeed at what should be the most important 30 minutes of your career, the dreaded interview. If you’re in employment, the job interview is your doorway to increased salary and career progression. There are a couple of big considerations however, before we get to actually succeeding at interview.

Where do you want to spend the next chunk of your 2000 Weeks?

If you have read my website you’ll know that I’m passionate about helping people find work in which they can “Be Passionate, Be Exceptional and Make a Difference”. It occurred to me though that before you focus on being successful at interview, you need to be sure where you actually want to work in the first place!

According to research by the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), which interviewed 1,000 male and female professionals of different age groups from across the UK, a staggering 47% want to change jobs and more than one in five are looking to career hop in the next 12 months.

That’s a lot of people who were successful at interview but for the wrong position and are now miserable! There is no amount of money, no job title, no fancy office that will compensate for being in the wrong role for you, (trust me I’ve tried).

Your career (2000 Weeks) is just too large a chunk of your life to waste. Every major scientific study has been in agreement that three things bring lasting job satisfaction and motivation: autonomy, mastery and purpose.

DAN PINK- The puzzle of motivation

Most people drift into organisations and roles without ever asking themselves the question “Where do I actually want to work?” If money wasn’t an option, where would you enjoy turning up every morning and using your time, talents and energy?

The key to finding the ideal career lies in understanding yourself. Knowing your personality helps shape your future by giving you the range of your abilities. This lets you put yourself in the right situations. If you’re a risk taker, for example, then you could go into enterprising positions such as sales; while people who like orderliness might pursue a career in accounting or administration. The importance of ‘self-knowledge’ is one of the key reasons why we focus on personality profiling at 2000 Weeks. Using the HBDI assessment tool we can quickly and accurately help you understand you!

So, before your next job search, take time to think of work that wouldn’t feel like work, work that your natural talents should allow you to master, work that has a purpose and will lead to a sense of achievement. Fix that destination/goal in your mind. Once you know where you want to be it’s just a matter of plotting the course to get there!    

For more information on personality profiling or to arrange a personal consultation please contact Stephen at [email protected]