How do you find out which professions or tasks you enjoy if the last time you took a career guidance course was when you were back in school? We have a number of working methods designed for the specialists already building their careers.
A method for those who like to dream
It's simple - just dream. Use your imagination and draw a picture of yourself having your perfect working day on your perfect job. Imagine that work is not about money, but about pleasure, a hobby that you want to do every day, and a way of self-realisation. Where and in what position do you work? At what time does your workday begin and end? Do you work at the office? What are your duties?
Write out the result description on paper and hide the sheet for a couple of weeks. Then repeat the exercise and compare the versions. Visualize the perfect work until you realize you're getting close to the most inspiring option. In the process, the dream itself can change, and the position, company, duties and areas of responsibility can move quite far away from the original version, and that is perfectly normal. The main thing is to understand which tasks please you and which you would be happy to abandon.
What if I can't imagine a perfect job?
Research career success stories of professionals in your industry, watch interviews and read about positions you can fill if you choose to grow vertically from your current position. Do you like a position? Place it on your personal list of theoretically ideal jobs and then try to imagine your workday on it.
A method for those who like to analyse
Examine your interests under the magnifying glass. It may be quite useful to write them out in a column and highlight the ones that bring you the greatest pleasure. For example, you like to read fiction, discuss the political news with friends, and learn Hebrew. At the same time, you enjoy learning the foreign language more than concerning yourself with new laws or wading through the jungle of metaphors and complex subordinate sentences. So underline "learn Hebrew" and go to the next hobby.
Take a few days to complete this exercise. Don't write out all your interests (even if it's not a "full-length" hobby, but a simple curiosity) in half an hour. Take your time. Once the list is ready, highlight the interests associated with the professional activity and observe the ways they are embodied in your daily work. If there are no such ways, the work is worth changing.
A method for those who like order
Create a table with three columns: 'I want', 'I can' and 'I need'.
The 'I want' column is about your interests highlighted in the previous steps. Mark the main hobbies intersecting with the professional fields of activity and write each one in a separate line. What does each of the interests you have identified mean? "Learning Hebrew," for example, is about writing in workbooks, doing exercises and watching video lessons. "Reading fiction" is about choosing and carefully reading books, highlighting the most interesting phrases and writing down the thoughts and emotions caused by each recently read book.
Highlight the points you like most and consider how they can be used in the professional area. Being interested in organizing family events is a practically ready-to-use business skill. The ability to find any props for amateur filming may help you succeed as a producer. In today's world, almost any competency can be monetized.
The 'I can' column partly coincides with the 'I want'. If you're interested in painting and drawing, you're likely familiar with art history and know how to combine paints with different textures. Or maybe you are good at planning trips with friends? Congratulations - you are able to lead people! You can convince them of your rightness. The list of abilities can be supplemented with the items that do not intersect with the interests in the "I want" column. Be sure to include in the list those of your competencies and skills that you have gained from online courses.
The column 'I need' reflects the demand for skills from the column "I can" in the labor market. This column is not necessary, because our main task is to find the professions that attract you as well as their aspects. However, the information it contains will help you assess whether it makes sense to continue to develop the skill and use it to make money.
The data on skills in demand can be found in industry reports on the labor market (search at SuperJob, PWC, or major university sites) and job descriptions (keyword search is available on any aggregator). Demand is considered a skill mentioned in 3 out of 5 job requirements and high salaries for the specialists who master it (above the market by 15-20%).
When exploring your interests, be sure to take into account the professional experience already gained. At school age, any field of work looked like a blank sheet in the case of career guidance, but today, missing out on your previous career development would be quite critical. Most likely, you are exploring the professions and tasks that are of interest to you to adjust your career strategy. So approach this mini-professional orientation wisely. Analyze how your work experience can be useful if you change your function or niche, and don't give up your previous knowledge trying to dive into a new field.
