Career happiness is important because if you are unsatisfied with your job, the effect can carry over into other areas of your life. In fact, 95 percent of Americans who reported happiness in life also reported job satisfaction, according to the 2002 General Social Survey, conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. Furthermore, a worker who is unsatisfied at work is 28 percentage points less likely to report happiness in life, surveys show.
It can be tempting to stay put in an economic recession, when any job seems like a good job. However, this is often the best time to develop the skills and experience needed to switch into your ideal career. A gradual transition is the best strategy, and the following five tips can help you get started.
Personality
Assess your individual personality. Do you function better independently or in teams? What traits do you possess? Think about things like patience, compassion, motivation, organization, artistic skills, logic, etc.
Job Skills
You may have a special skillset that elevates you above the competition. Your ideal career could make use of your physical strength, musical ability, writing ability, logic and reasoning, childcare skills, etc. With careful thought, you can brainstorm ways that these can be turned into job skills.
Interests
The best way to determine what you would do for free is to think about your hobbies and interests. What do you currently do during leisure time? What did you enjoy doing and learning about during childhood? Thinking about play activities, favorite subjects in school, and even your favorite book or television show can help translate childhood passions into modern-day career happiness.
Observe
There are so many jobs available in the world, it can be difficult to know where to begin. The foremost thing you can do is observe the world around you. There may be careers you’ve considered with sub-sets you didn’t even know about. There may be careers you didn’t even know about. Observation can bring those to light, and keeping apprised of the latest business news can help shed light on the arrival of new industries and businesses.
Job Shadow
You may think you’ve honed in on your ideal career, but may have no actual idea of the pros and cons of that field. You will learn quickly if you job shadow a person in that field for a period of time as they go about their work duties.
Definition of the Perfect Career
The perfect career is somewhat of an illusion, especially if it is interpreted as an “obstacle-free career.” All careers will face obstacles at one point or another, and all careers will require hard work and dedication. The definition of the perfect career is when the work feels more like a hobby.
If you are unemployed, you have plenty of time to job shadow and take classes to enhance your natural skills. You might even intern or get an entry-level job in your chosen career field. This will provide easier entry and valuable experience you can then apply toward higher-level jobs later on.
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