Going through life working hard at a certain job, only to realize later that your heart lies elsewhere, isn’t a very pleasing thought. Nilanjana Dutta helps you figure out the right job for you from the start.
People spend their lives complaining about their jobs and how they were forced to become a corporate slave and how they should be doing what they love. But quite a few of these people, when they finally muster the courage to quit the job they hate, realise they have no idea what they would rather do.
CONSIDER YOUR FINANCIAL STATUS
Before we dwell into the soul searching part of it, let’s get over with the tough bit. What most ‘find your passion’ articles miss out on is one of the most important factors, ‘can you afford to find your passion?’ If you weren’t well off, you wouldn’t be reading this article to begin with but it’s not the current scenario, it’s the future we are looking at. On one hand your dream job will be satisfying as hell (read heaven) but it always comes with the disclaimer that it might not pay as well. But that’s part of the kick to it. So weigh your assets and secure your future financially for the rough road before you set off on it.
EXPLORE YOURSELF
Go on a solo trip or do something you have never done before. Find your fears, your strengths, your inhibitions and your aspirations. Not only will that help you sort what you enjoyed and what kind of things you liked doing but you will also discover areas of work and professions that you probably didn’t even know existed.
CONSIDER YOUR INTERESTS AND HOBBIES
While watching a movie did the cinematography catch your attention or did you critique the storyline? Do you like AIB, EIC and other comedians on stage or do you prefer wildlife documentaries on NatGeo? These are some of the questions you need to answer for yourself. Observe yourself and the things that catch your attention or keep you ticking. When you get bored, do you doodle or do you call up people and talk?
CONSIDER YOUR SKILLS AND TALENTS
This includes EVERYTHING you are good at. Be it delegating work to your younger siblings, faking small talk with annoying relatives or helping out in the kitchen;every small little thing you are known for around the house. If you are the one who plans hangouts for your gang or makes a big deal out of everyone’s birthday including your cat’s, cross reference your traits and abilities to a professional skill or in other words, how can you sell it?
EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS
Now that you know your likes and dislikes, as in what you would like to do and now that you are aware of your skills and abilities, as in what you can do, you need to check out your options. To find out about the types of professions and right kind of job opportunities you should not only skim through the internet but also talk to people who are in related fields, read up about successful people from your field and how they started out. After you are done with all the hunting and gathering, list your options and the jobs you would like to take up.
CONSIDER YOUR EDUCATION OR THE EDUCATION YOU MIGHT NEED
Before you start sending out your CV in bulk, refine it. Before you start your dream job, learn how to. Check out the educational qualification or experience you need for your dream job because if you rush into it without proper preparation you may face rejection which will confuse you as to whether this is the right choice or not. So take your time, get the additional knowledge that you need, spend a year or two to actually learn something useful before you start.
If these steps didn’t prove helpful, then there is a fair chance that you could be cut out for a regular 9-5 job. It doesn’t sound cool in theory and in the movies people keep quitting these jobs to become travellers or actors, but in reality not everyone hates it. Quite a lot of people who are in boring sounding professions are actually quite satisfied especially so with the safety and security it provides.
Also, if after following the steps above you could only list out abilities like chilling or sleeping for 18 hours straight, then you are just lazy and you should stick to your current job, it’s probably perfect for you.
Volume 5 Issue 6
