How to find the right career for you

We spend a lot of time at work. In fact, if we work 40 hours a week for around 50 weeks a year over 40 years, we can expect to spend approximately 80,000 hours at work. That’s a really long time, and a lot can be accomplished in 80,000 hours.

You may have heard of the “10,000-hour rule”, which suggests that this amount of practice can make someone an expert in almost anything. The reality is more nuanced. Sustained, deliberate practice can play an important part in developing expertise, but there is no universal number of hours that guarantees mastery.

What skills would you choose to develop during your working life?

Considering how long many of us spend at work, it is surprising how little time some people spend planning or choosing the right career for them. Think about your most recent holiday or day out. How much planning time did you give it? Did you do some research, speak to friends who had been there before or shop around for a bargain?

Have you invested the same level of effort in designing your career?

There are many reasons people find themselves in careers they don’t really like. Sometimes, we “fall” into a role rather than actively choosing it. Career decisions may also be made before we have had enough opportunity to understand ourselves or explore the range of work available.

To find a career you enjoy, three things may help:

• Knowing enough about yourself to identify your skills, strengths and the environments in which you might be happy.
• Knowing enough about the world of work to begin looking for a suitable fit.
• Developing confidence and competence in searching for work in today’s employment market.

Most of my clients are very smart people. Many have fantastic qualifications and experience. Yet, throughout their careers, they have rarely been asked: “What does success mean to you?”

Many of us assume that success means more money and greater status. That may be true for some people, but is it true for you?

One of the first steps in exploring a career coaching client aims to give them permission to ask how they define success.

We are constantly presented with definitions of success that are not our own. These can lead to confusion as we try to conform to what is expected of us or what we think we should want.

Here are a few examples of what clients have included in their personal definitions of success:

• Having much more free time.
• Achieving a better work-life balance.
• Doing more work that matters to them.
• Having greater flexibility over when and where they work.
• Working in a cutting-edge field.
• Working with people they like.
• Solving challenging problems.
• Having a different experience each day.
• Being recognised for doing a good job.

What’s your definition of success?

What kind of results do you want your work to generate for you?

The next issue on our agenda is to find out more about who you are and what makes you tick.

One way to think about this is to look at the natural world. A cactus has an efficient water-storage mechanism that helps it survive in the desert. A polar bear has thick fur and large claws suited to hunting and surviving in the cold.

People are far more adaptable and complex than this analogy suggests, but we also have individual combinations of strengths, preferences, experiences and needs. These may make some working environments feel more natural or rewarding than others.

People often get stuck because they have too many career options in front of them. One way to narrow the field is to focus on options that are more likely to suit your strengths, interests and priorities.

For example, someone may be a fantastic strategic thinker but struggle when a role focuses heavily on day-to-day detail. This might help explain why some previous roles felt like a poor fit.

Sometimes, there isn’t anything wrong with you. There may simply be a mismatch between your preferences and the demands or environment of the job. Equally, skills and working preferences can develop over time, so these observations do not have to become fixed limits.

Consider what makes you, you. Which ways of thinking and working come naturally to you? Which activities consistently hold your attention or bring out your strengths? Then consider which roles might value those qualities.

Job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn can be useful places to begin your research. You can review current vacancies and look at the skills, experience and capabilities employers seek for different roles.

iCould is another useful resource. It offers career videos featuring people discussing their roles, career paths and working environments.

I have repeatedly found that, when clients understand how they define success and what helps them work at their best, exploring suitable roles and deciding on their next steps can become easier.

Clarity can support action, and action can create opportunities for change. Go get ’em, tiger!