In the UK we spend so much time at work that we really owe it to ourselves to do something that we really enjoy. Yes we need to earn money but why not do it doing something that you love!
Many
clients come to me who are in jobs that they really don’t enjoy and often
causing them a great deal of stress and I know from my own personal experience
what impact the wrong job can have on your life.
So
what is the key to finding a job that you will love? Well, personality is
important, we often need certain personality traits to do well in specific
jobs. But there is more to loving your job than a good fit with your
personality. Your job needs to really interest you. To help clients explore
what interests them I use an exercise and a psychometric instrument (The Strong
Interest Inventory), which are both based on Holland’s Theory of Occupational
Choice (in my professional opinion the best theory of occupational choice that
currently exists). Certain interest themes are aligned with specific
occupational areas and this is therefore a great way to see which specific
occupations and broader occupational groups are good matches for you. It can help you to understand why you haven’t
enjoyed previous jobs and to clearly understand what main activities a job
would need to have for you to really enjoy it. It gives you a clear framework
to understand the key to career happiness for you.