Figuring out your next career move can be overwhelming to say the least, but it’s a task that most of us are faced with at some point or another.
Whether you’re in a job that you love and are trying to figure out how to take your career to the next level, or you’re in a role that is clearly not meeting your needs and goals, coming to terms with how to figure out your next career move is an important step to take.
Instead of trying to figure it out all at once, consider breaking it down into a few actionable steps that can lead you towards the right path.
Consider what you love
Confidence coach Regina Bonds recently spoke on The Everygirl podcast where she shared an insightful exercise to tap into what makes you feel good.
Bonds suggest setting a timer for 30 seconds and writing down everything that you love. Simply think about what you love, write down everything that comes to mind, and write as much as you can in the 30 second timeframe. This should be more like a stream of consciousness than a polished answer. When the 30 seconds are up, evaluate what you wrote down to determine if there are any common threads you can find throughout your notes. Chances are that you will find a lot of common denominators.
This is a great exercise to use when you’re trying to figure out your next career move because it allows you to see what you enjoy in order to determine how you can integrate those elements into your career.
Take note of what is working and what isn’t in your current role
Regardless if you love what you do or if you are at a job simply for financial stability, do your best to determine what you enjoy about your job, or if there are any responsibilities you hold that that you enjoy. For example, even if you aren’t happy in your current role, try to think of any activities that you do enjoy at your role. Maybe you’re just not able to do as much of what you like because a different task has taken up too much of your time.
Once you’ve assessed what you love in general, try doing the same exercise but focus on what you love about your current role. Upon completion of this activity, compare your two lists for similarities and differences. You might be surprised at the outcome and the insight you gain from this evaluation technique!
Do some research
When determining your next career move, research is crucial. If you’ve found that a career transition might help you enjoy your work more, research what qualifications are needed to make the move.
The easiest way to determine what kind of positions are available is to search for a skill or phrase. Most people tend to pigeonhole themselves by searching for specific job titles. Instead of focusing on the job titles (many job titles don’t actually reflect the job requirements), focus on the skills you wan to use going forward in your career.
If you’ve found that you love coaching and mentoring people, consider searching for the phrase “mentor” or “coach” to see what positions are available. When you search for phrases, the results will likely show positions who have those phrases in the job description, so you’ll open yourself up to a broader range of job titles.
If you’ve found that you love designing marketing collateral, consider searching for terms such as “marketing collateral”, “marketing materials”, “design”, “Adobe InDesign”, or “Canva”.
If you have a clearer sense of where you want to go next in your career and have a job title in mind, use LinkedIn to your advantage. Search for others who hold your desired job title to assess their career path, certifications, specialized training, and their journey. This might help provide you with a strategy for how to make your next move.
Don’t be afraid to reach out and conduct informational interviews to gain more insight!
Take small steps towards your goal
Once you’ve determined your next career move, create a list of actions that you can take to help propel yourself in the right direction. That might mean conducting informational interviews, reaching out to your boss to see if you can assist with other projects at work, or even taking online courses to deepen your knowledge of a subject, skill, software, or a set of guidelines.
The more steps you take towards your next career move, the more relevant information you will be able to add to your resume, which will in turn help you on your path to success.
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When you’re trying to figure out your next career move, take a step back to evaluate what you enjoy, what you want to do more of at work, and what steps you need to take in order to reach your goals.