It is important to understand who you are and what you want when considering your career. A job advert might dazzle you but is it really the right job for you?
Of all the opportunities you have had in your life, reflect on what you liked, what you disliked to help you continue on your career path. If you have not had any direct work experience yet, still ask yourself the following questions before starting your job search as your knowledge of yourself and skills is still enough to help you decide what job is right for you.
Ask yourself what you want from your job, this could be part-time, placement or graduate level opportunities. To help you do so, think about the following four categories and what each factor means to you.
For example, working hours – do you want a typical 9-5 job? Do you need flexible hours due to personal commitments? Are you happy with shift work, which could include weekend and bank holiday work?
| Needs and Wants | Motivation and Values | Likes and Dislikes | Strengths and Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic requirements | What's important to you? | Reflect on past experiences | What are you good at? |
| Salary | Money | Culture | What gave you energy? |
| Leave | Status | Management styles | Compliments? |
| Working hours | Travel | Responsibilities | What could you do that others couldn't? |
| Location | Ethics | Tasks | |
| Responsibility | |||
| Conservation | |||
| Promotional and developmental opportunities |
Having a better understanding of what opportunities are more suited to you, allows you to better identify suitable opportunities to apply for which in turn will lead to an increased chance of being successful and having a more positive experience while at work.
Take as many opportunities as you can to help you figure out what you enjoy, what you don’t enjoy – what is important to you.
Take a look at this webinar on reflection skills. It's good for those who learn better through visual prompts.
Here is a link to look at the 'Who I am' webinar - a similar subject to reflection skills discussed above.