Many of us are in jobs where we are not too sure how we got there, it just sort of happened and before you know it you’re earning the money but hate what you’re doing. I’ve worked with several clients where this has been the case and they come to a crossroads in their lives wanting more than just money from the work they do. They want to get up in the morning and actually want to go to work and enjoy what they are doing, for a company or organisation that has similar core values and values them as employees.
Some of us get forced out of work through redundancy, having been in the same job for 10 plus years and are out of touch with the job market and how interview processes have changed. Other’s leave their jobs because it is impacting negatively on their mental health, but by the time they leave, there has been a significant impact on their confidence. Whatever the reason, it can lead to us questioning our careers to date; is this the right job for me anymore? What else can I do? Can I apply for that job? I don’t have enough experience/qualifications/ confidence/ability. What do I do next?
Think about and do some work on the following things to give yourself some clarity and to see how much you have to offer an organisation.
- Purpose
Reflect to date on your career, what you have enjoyed, what you do not enjoy and want to avoid in your next role. How you want to see your career develop moving forward. Identify your ideal/aspirational job.
- Discovery
Carry out a gap analysis using your ideal job’s person specification. For each of the items on the person specification, identify them as green, amber or red.
Green – you have the knowledge, skills and experience to do this.
Amber – you have some knowledge, skills and experience of doing this.
Red – absolutely no knowledge, experience or skills at doing this.
- Clarity
Identify your own development plan so that you can gain the skills, knowledge and experience of the ‘red’ items on the person specification.
Identify ‘key strength statements’ that can be used in your applications and at interview to showcase your abilities. It may seem like a lot of work, but you can use these over and over again and you are more likely to be successful with some extra preparation.
- Direction
Produce a personal statement that clearly identifies how you are the ideal candidate for the job, using the person specification as a guide to what you need
to include.
Review your CV, it should be 2 sides of A4, show your key achievements, your transferable skills and identify your knowledge, skills and experience. Check out my other blog post on CV’s; https://jmcoachingwestmids.com/updating-your-cv/
- Preparation
Make sure you prepare for your interview using STAR competency-based questions. Again, these can be prepared in advance and used over and over again, until you are successful.
Preparation is key and provides greater confidence in our own ability and we are more able to articulate what we are good at through this type of preparation. Don’t take my work for it, also check out this website; https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/what-to-do-before-an-interview
