It’s almost four years since Steve Jobs died. In 2005 he spoke to students at Stanford University about his time with Apple and his life. One of the things he said was “For the past 33 years I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” What is a good career for me?
One of the hardest questions any young person has to ask themselves is what kind of career or job they want to do.
We all want to choose a career that will make us happy but how do we know what that will be? The lucky few know almost from the day they are born what they want to spend their working life doing but research suggests that most human beings are very bad at predicting how they will feel when doing something in the future. It’s not hard to find someone who started their working life thinking they would love what they are doing only to end up hating it. In fairness, how are you supposed to know whether you will enjoy being an investment banker, doctor or secretary if you haven’t actually done any of those jobs yet?
So if passion and expected happiness can’t be relied upon in helping you choose what to do, what tools do you use to guide you?
Well you can start by choosing a job that fits well with your skills and values. Since you know what these are it may be a good starting place. But according to Forbes magazine it is also important to choose a job based on what motivates you and there are two ways you are motivated to reach your goals.
Some people see their goals in life and work as opportunities for advancement, achievement and rewards, and what they can gain if they reach those goals. These are ‘promotion’ focused people. The rest see their goals as being about security, not losing everything they have worked for. These are prevention focused people. They want to avoid danger, are responsible individuals who can be counted on to keep things running smoothly.
Most people have some of both these motivators but one is usually dominant and it can be a useful tool in deciding what career path to choose.
Promotion focused people excel at working quickly, embracing risk, being creative and innovative, seizing opportunities to get ahead and generating lots of options and alternatives. If you are promotion focused look for jobs that offer advancement and growth. Fast-paced industries where products and services are rapidly changing and where the ability to identify opportunities will be essential like the technical sector or social media, where boldness and outside-the-box thinking are valued.
Prevention focused people excel at thoroughness and being detail oriented.
They are analytical thinkers, with good reasoning and planning skills, are accurate, reliable and excel at anticipating problems. T
hey are ideal for jobs that offer stability and security, jobs where thoroughness and attention to detail are valued, where you need to have a plan B and can keep things running smoothly like jobs in administration or the legal field for example.
When people experience a fit between their motivation and their career, they are not more effective but happier and at the end of the day that is the most important thing.
Good luck.
Journey Recruitment hopes you have a great day.