5 Things To Consider When Choosing The Right Job For You
Everybody faces a choice at one time or another of what to do for work. Whether it’s starting a brand-new job when you’re just out of college, making a change a couple years in from a job that’s not working for you, a mid-career change, or even later in life when you’ve already achieved personal heights in one area and are thinking to apply yourself somewhere else. Here are five major decisions that you need to consider when making that transition.
1. Your current passions and interests
First thing to consider is whether your current line of work satisfies some or all your passions and interests. If so, what are they, and what other jobs could possibly be a good fit? If not, what are some of the activities that you’d like your new job to incorporate?
For example, do you like doing work with your hands or prefer strategizing? Would you rather work on a team or have day-to-day autonomy? Do you have passion for sports, gardening, being outdoors, or hair styling? Identifying all of these can take you one step closer to choosing the right job. If you are a pet lover who also happens to love hair styling, then maybe a career in pet grooming would be something to consider. Or, if you’re an outdoor enthusiast, consider working for your favorite garden center brand. A lot of companies will offer a variety of positions, from merchandising to sales to experiential work.
2. Will this job get you closer to your dream?
I get it, your dream job might be becoming an executive at a well-known sporting goods company. Yet unfortunately, they don’t offer those on a whim. In that case, consider the long-term career progression. Is there a job that you currently qualify for that is a stepping stone to get you where you’d want to be in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years? If you have merchandising experience but would love to do sales, then starting as a sales associate at that sporting goods company and becoming familiar with the business will give you enough leverage to potentially climb the ranks and become that executive you’ve always wanted to be.
3. Do you have what it takes to be successful at this job?
When choosing a new job, consider if you fully understand what the day-to-day looks like. Will you be spending time in meetings or mostly working on your own? Will you be given training or expected to be the expert in the field? Then, once you know the requirements, consider how it aligns with your personal preferences and current knowledge level.
4. Does it fit your lifestyle?
“Lifestyle fit” might seem like a broad term, but if you think carefully about the way you spend your free time, you’ll notice certain patterns. Do you spend your free time outside, or do you like to be indoors? Do you feel excited about traveling to many different stores, or think of it as a minor inconvenience when you could simply work in a single store?
When choosing a job, pay attention the amount of travel required or if it involves any at all.
5. Are you choosing the right company?
Sometimes, you might be already doing the work that you like, but the only problem is that the company that you work for isn’t the right fit. A big part of job satisfaction is how you interact with people that you work with, including your immediate team and managers. Different companies will have different rules about acceptable behavior and practices which in turn will attract certain kinds of people. If you only worked for big retail companies with thousands of employees and are looking for more of a community feeling, consider smaller brands or shops. Other important factors to consider besides company size are benefits, company culture, and mission. A lot of this information is available on company websites and other independent sources such as Glassdoor.
Once you find a job that you think will be a good fit, check out these tips for your interview!