To find a profession that suits you better than your current one, it is not necessary to radically change your life. It often seems to people that the ideal job is somewhere outside their visibility zone, as different as possible from the one that led to burnout and professional deformation. Office workers dream of becoming surf instructors, civil servants – actors, accountants – stylists. However, if you have been engaged in a certain profession for several years, it means your personal qualities led you to this area (and keep you in it). Look for related professional roles that pay better or are more appealing to you than your current job. For example, a school teacher can become a self-employed full-time tutor, an accountant – a financial consultant, and a civil servant – a political strategist. More about how to search for a job that suits you best – read below.
Do a SWOT Analysis of Your Resume
The main difficulty in choosing a profession is that we do not see our characteristics from the outside and are not deeply familiar with the situation in the labor market. Before you open Google searching for LinkedIn alternatives, you should evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and make a SWOT analysis of your resume. Evaluate yourself as a specialist and make lists of your:
- advantages (strengths);
- shortcomings(weaknesses);
- prospects (opportunities);
- risks (threats).
Think about:
- In what professions your advantages may be more in demand than now, while your weaknesses will remain invisible?
- What areas have fewer risks and more opportunities for income growth and career development?
Don’t be surprised if a SWOT analysis leads you to the idea of entrepreneurship or freelancing. It is not necessary that the job that suits you or your true calling will be “on the surface.” Write down the answers, put them aside for a while, and then, looking with a fresh eye, try to identify what they have in common and what personal qualities, abilities, talents, or values are reflected in them.
What mistakes do people make when looking for a profession?
Unfortunately, many people are focusing on the wrong things when searching for a new job. We are talking about some of the most popular mistakes that are explained below:
1) They focus on children’s dreams
If all five-year-old “future astronauts” fulfilled their childhood dreams, we would have colonized Mars a long time ago. If all 10-year-old schoolchildren suddenly make the dream of blogging work, then there will be no one to cook soup for them, sew clothes and set up advertising. When starting to search for the job of your dream, you shouldn’t focus on your childhood wishes.
2) They push off the “viral” dream
Watching on social networks how some SMM specialists “work” on the beach by the sea, we begin to want the same. Even if we assume that a glossy photo reflects professional reality, SMM is not necessarily the default for you.
3) They romanticize the professions from popular TV series
Did you have any regrets about not becoming a doctor while watching the House MD series? Maybe you regretted that you refused to study law after watching Suits? Modern serials fairly accurately reflect the nuances of the profession, but they have too many generalizations and omissions. So, be cautious not to fall into this trap.
4) Mindlessly turning a hobby into a job
Making a hobby your job is one of the tips recommended by life coaches. But if you decide to use it, remember that you will get a job and lose a hobby – and with it, you will probably lose a big share of your pleasure.
Where to find the job of your dreams?
Having analyzed your strengths and weaknesses and keeping in mind all the mistakes that people make, you can start the search for a decent vacancy on one of the job search sites:
1) Lensa
Lensa is an excellent AI-based platform for jobseekers. It accurately evaluates all your advantages and disadvantages, offering the best matches. You can also filter the offers by numerous criteria or even initiate the search by company values.
2) Indeed
It is the largest aggregator of vacancies from sites around the world. During the search, you can view millions of offers collected from thousands of sites, both direct employers and recruiting services. Reviews of employees about employer companies are also published here. The website is also in demand among IT applicants.
3) Glassdoor
The site offers the possibility of searching for vacancies in most countries of the world. Here, company profiles are well represented and include photos and even revenue for the year. You can see the salaries for the main positions. There are general surveys of salaries for major specialties.
4) Monster
It is the largest international portal for finding a job. It has about a million resumes and six times more applicants per month. When searching, it does not provide offers for all countries and cities at once but suggests that you first decide on the geography of future work and then look at the results.
5) Dice
Dice works under the same principles as Monster. It is considered one of the best resources for finding vacancies for technicians and engineers. Some appreciate Dice; some don’t actually welcome it: there are a lot of offers from it, but it takes a lot of time to choose the worthwhile ones.
Finally, you shouldn’t forget about social networks such as Facebook or LinkedIn. They have already helped numerous people to find the job of their dreams. Follow our recommendations above, create your resume, and get your first offers in a few days! Good luck!