1 Find the Right Job For You

No two people are alike; we are each unique. You may know someone who loves their job, but you are thinking, “I could never do that!” As a university instructor one of my main job duties is to stand in front of the class and give presentations. The thought of speaking in front of groups every day for hours on end would be a nightmare for many people, but I love it.  It’s the right job for me. The thought of working with data or numbers all day is my personal nightmare, but there are many data analysts and accountants who couldn’t imagine being a university instructor.

The goal of your job search should be to find the right job for you. There is nothing worse than starting a new position and finding out that you don’t like it within the first month, leading you to need to start the whole process of looking for work all over again. This wastes your time and your employer’s time.

Therefore, the first step of the job search is to get to know yourself. Be honest, what type of work environment are you looking for? Do you prefer to work in teams or alone? Do you prefer remote work or do you thrive on being around others in an office setting? What are your true personal strengths and weaknesses?

This part of the job search can be gut wrenching. Being honest with yourself about who you really are, rather than who you would like to be, takes courage. For example, I recently had two job offers and needed to decide between them. The first was with a university as a classroom instructor. The second was as a Director of Development for an art museum. At the time I had taught for many years and the idea of moving into a professional role outside of education was attractive for a number of reasons. I was attracted to a new challenge, the opportunity to use my professional communication skills in a new arena, the opportunity to work in a beautiful place and to interact regularly with art lovers, and I would make a lot more money. Part of my responsibilities would include becoming a part of a local art community, attending fun events on weekends and evenings. . . in essence, this job was the opportunity to create a whole new me!

While this was exciting, when I truly analyzed my skills, abilities, and preferences one of the biggest things that became glaringly obvious is that I am an introvert. By definition, introverts need a lot of alone time to recharge, they work better alone, and interactions with people exhaust them. As much as I wish I wasn’t an introvert, I am an introvert. As much as I wanted to be the person chit-chatting about art at evening events with prospective donors, that really isn’t who I am.

I realized that if I tried to be this other person the likely result would be that I would be unhappy, exhausted, and I would lose a lot of self-confidence. Best case scenario I could make it through at this job for a year, but then what? I would look for another job and start this entire process all over again? This was not the stability I truly needed. I realized that I had make a big mistake. I had wasted my time and energy applying and interviewing for a job that wasn’t a fit for me. I decided to take the position teaching with the university, a job I could see myself in until retirement. A job that is a true fit for my skills and abilities, as well as one that utilizes my personal strengths and steers clear of my personal weaknesses.