We all want a career that is fulfilling, enjoyable and rewarding? After all, we spend a long time at work and those enjoying what they do tend to be happier, more successful and have better mental and physical health.

Working out good job or career options starts with thinking about what’s best for you. Surprisingly, many of us either don’t bother to do this, or we have a very limited approach to identifying roles that would be ideal for us.

So, how do you come up with some career options? Roles that would be right for you and that you could get excited about.

Here are 3 quick ways to create job and career options.

1. Decide what’s important

Here we are looking at the ingredients that really matter to you. These are likely to change over time as we prioritise different aspects of working life. Consider the following factors and make a note of what’s important to you.

Engagement: How engaged do you want to be at work?

Health: How important is it that your work supports your physical and mental wellbeing?

Security: What does security mean to you when it comes to your career?

Growth: How important is it that you are developing new skills and reaching your full potential?

Contribution: Is it important that your work has a positive impact and that you find it meaningful?

Control: How much control and autonomy do you need in your role?

Financial:  What are your financial requirements for now and the future?

Environment: Where do you want to work, and who do you want to work with?

What jobs or careers does this analysis suggest?

2. What do you like and dislike?

Now we focus on those things you enjoy about work and of course, those things you dislike.

Thinking about your current and previous roles, what did you like and dislike about each one? Were these likes and dislikes situational or more fundamental? e.g., were they due to your situation, like a bad boss or terrible hours? Or were they fundamental parts of that role? One way to check is to ask yourself if that like or dislike is likely to change if you did the same job in another company. If yes, then it's likely situational, if not, it might be fundamental.

Make a summary of the things you like and dislike. Looking at this summary, what job or career options come to mind?

3. Understand and leverage your motivated skills

Skills can be one of, or a combination of, three different things.

Ability – This is about being able to do an activity or job well, especially because you have practised it

Strengths – A strength is something that is almost innate, a task you can do without thinking, something that comes easy to you.

Knowledge – what you know (about your industry or product or even about your clients)

Ability, Strengths and Knowledge: A good way of remembering these is to think of the acronym ASK. Those skills you enjoy using are called your Motivated skills. 

Make a list of your Motivated Skills – the things you are good at and enjoy doing.

Finally, 

Having considered 1, 2 and 3 above, start to create some career options in these 3 categories:

-       Options Similar to your existing role

-       Complementary Options – options that overlap with your current role, and

-       Breakthrough Options – options that are completely different from what you have done before.

Make a note of your ideas now and use these options to give you the energy, motivation and inspiration to consider making a leap in your career. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

If you are interested in finding out more about career coaching, look at my website to see the many ways I can help you in your career.

If you are unsure about career coaching, let's have an informal chat.

Bye for now!

Mark