Ask yourself the following questions:
What do I hate?
What do I love?
What do I never want to do again?
If I could do only one thing all day, what would it be?
In a job hunt, every day can seem the same and ‘selling yourself’ can become boring. So how do we get new ideas? We start by getting a new perspective. When I read the article, “When You Need a Completely New Career“, in Forbes, it started me thinking about my own career journey.
Originally trained as a foreign language teacher, I found that while I loved teaching, I didn’t see the kind of career choices that I wanted in that field. After getting my Master’s degree, I went to work at Eastman Kodak Company. For 17 years I had a wide variety of assignments. With each new job offer, I asked myself if the skills I would learn there would help me grow my own business. I didn’t know what that business would be… but I knew I wanted to try. When the timing was right, I jumped on the chance to strike out on my own.
Here’s an idea, write a short autobiography. In it, describe the things you’ve done that you absolutely loved doing. Don’t write, oh I loved the people… write what you did with or for people that you enjoyed the most. As a kid, what did you love to do? If you had no financial responsibilities, what would you do? Think about the things that make you light up and that you just can’t seem to shut up about. You may not find a career doing those things but it may help your creative flow.
Just thinking about these things isn’t as productive as writing them down. Once on paper, the ideas can be reviewed, sifted through and reorganized. If you’re stuck, talk it over with someone (I suggest someone outside your family). Have that person listen to you for 15-20 minutes; ask them to take some notes. Then you can listen and take notes for them
Let me know what you found out. Sharing is a very important part of growth and change. We’re all in this together.
What do you think?