Don’t choose the job you want, choose what you want from the job.

Assuming you don’t have a calling…..

…to a vocation such as teaching or religion and nor are you uniquely (freakishly) gifted enough to forge a career as a sports star or musician, then you may be thinking through the corporate/public sector roles that might be best.

My simple advice: don’t choose the job you want, choose what you want from the job.

What are the things you want from your job? Well lets start from your persoanlity preferences. The various psychological tools out there (of which there are many) can all help give insight into what you might prefer, in a way that makes career choices more accessible? (Personality I’m just grateful when those personality tools actually find a personality!) What are you uniquely good at? What do you have that others would value? From there you can decide on the ‘elements’ of the job that are important.

Having a view of the components of the role, rather than the role, means that you can take a broader view on your options – it’s no longer a job title, it’s a set of activities or environmental factors that you’re hunting for. 

As the old saying goes, you have a long time in a career, it makes sense to do something that you enjoy!

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that everyone must love their job in every moment. I’ve seen enough careers to know that if you enjoy some elements of your job much of the time then you’re doing well. LinkedIn has the same issues as Instagram… showing these wonderful careers/lives, with only the best moment captured. It looks as though everyone is having a truly awesome time everyday at work. They’re not (probably).

The upside though, is that choosing a job because it meets your true needs (and not just the surface needs such as title or social cache) gives you a better shot at generally enjoying each day at work. Finding enjoyment at work does still have a strong relationship to being effective and progressing your career.