what do you do for a living

“What should I vì thế for a living?”

Bạn đang xem: what do you do for a living

It’s a question everybody has to tát ask themselves at some point in their lives.

Some of us are looking for a job. Others seek a career path. You may be searching for a destiny or a calling of sorts — how to tát find your passion in life.

While not everyone has the same recipe for the dream job, there are clear steps that will help you answer the question, “What should I vì thế for a living?”

No two career reinventions look the same, because everyone has a unique mix of values, skills, and interests. 

Here’s how you can get started discovering a path to tát finding purpose in your career — or just finding a job you don’t hate.

How to tát discover what to tát vì thế with your life in 5 steps

Some people start out with a childhood dream job in mind. But what about the rest of us?

Making a big decision lượt thích what to tát vì thế for a living is easier when you break down the process into smaller steps.

Step 1: Examine your core values

What vì thế you value most? 

It’s an important question that not many people have taken the time to tát really answer.

But when you don’t identify and live by your values, you will find it much more difficult to tát answer big life questions lượt thích what to tát vì thế for a living. 

Outside influences, lượt thích family, friends, or social environment, easily pull you in different directions and influence your career choices. If your decisions don’t match who you are at the core, you’ll feel that dissonance in your soul when you don’t live according to tát your truest self.

So when you find yourself dissatisfied with your career, start by taking a deep dive into your core values. Ask yourself, “What matters to tát bầm the most?” 

Some examples of core values include:

• Family
• Wealth
• Excitement
• Working smarter, not harder
• Advancement
• Work/life balance
• Professionalism
• Security
• Freedom
• Finances
• Contribution

Take some time to tát think about it. Talk about it with a friend, mentor, or coach to tát help better understand what matters to tát you. It may help to tát write down a long list of possible core values and narrow it down to tát three or five of the most important ones. 

During this step, you may notice right away how some of your most precious values don’t line up with your current job position. Alternatively, you may notice some areas that match up perfectly. 

Through this exercise, you will clarify where you are at versus where you want to tát be when it comes to tát making a living. 

Keep in mind that values are personal. What matters the most to tát you may not mean much to tát someone else. They can also evolve over time. When you feel lượt thích your life doesn’t match with what you want, go back and reexamine your values from time to tát time to tát see where you stand at this stage of your life.

Step 2: Uncover your strengths 

If you want to tát love what you vì thế, abandon the passion mindset (“what can the world offer me?”) and instead adopt the craftsman mindset (“what can I offer the world?”).

Cal Newport

When you recognize your strengths, you can nurture those aspects of yourself and reach your fullest potential. 

Strengths aren’t the same as talent. Talent can only take you so sánh far. A basketball player may have the natural ability to tát jump higher, but it’s the athlete who has dedication to tát train, day in and day out, who really makes it to tát the big leagues.

Strengths, lượt thích stamina, courage, and commitment, will see you through the long haul. 

There are several ways to tát approach identifying your strengths, including tools lượt thích the DISC profile assessment. Here’s how I define strengths:

• Aspects of yourself that you can grow and improve through practice
• Something you vì thế well, and enjoy doing
• Something you repeatedly excel at
• Any activity that makes you feel energized and empowered
• A skill that frequently evokes praise or notice from others
• An interest that makes you “lose track of time” when doing it

When you identify your strengths, and build upon them, you will feel more confident and competent. You will attract more opportunities suited to tát your abilities, where you can shine.

Step 3: Connect the dots

As you take inventory of your values and strengths during the first two steps, you will likely gain some idea of what you lượt thích, or don’t lượt thích, about your current career path and where you’d lượt thích to tát head next.

You may discover some obvious callings. For example, if you value health and have a strength for listening to tát others, you may consider shifting a career into public health, medicine, nursing, or therapy. Alternatively, if wealth matters to tát you a good khuyễn mãi giảm giá, and you have a knack for detail, a career in accounting or finance may suit you. 

Draw a venn diagram and identify at least three to tát five career options in the middle section of the venn. Try and connect the dots between your values and strengths. This will give you some ideas of your next direction. 

Perhaps you don’t discover your dream job right away, but you may have a better idea of your next career move.

Step 4: Assess the marketplace

To answer, “What should I vì thế for a living?” you also need to tát consider some of the practical matters: who’s hiring, salary expectations, job requirements, and so sánh forth. 

A little research can help you take calculated risks, rather phàn nàn jump in blindly. Some aspects of the industries and positions you research may intersect (or conflict) with your values — lượt thích where you want to tát live, earning potential, or room for growth. You may also discover positions or opportunities you didn’t even know existed.

Before you make your next career move, research the marketplace to tát understand potential opportunities out there and your current situation. Consider some of the following:

• Pay attention (and possibly avoid) to tát saturated markets with more competition. 
• Who’s hiring? Consider industry shortages as possible career paths. For example, many places lack trained OBGYNs, according to tát studies. Google “talent shortage” or “job positions with shortages” for some ideas. 
• What kind of education/background would you need to tát qualify for a particular position? Consider the time, money, and effort you need to tát commit to tát get there, and if you want to tát make that investment.
• Do you know anyone currently working in the field? Reach out and ask them questions to tát learn more about what that kind of work involves before taking the plunge. 
• What’s the payoff? Consider the costs of training and education and the average income for someone in that field.
• How much risk would a big change involve? Do you have a safety net, or someone in your family, such as a parent or spouse, who can tư vấn you as you shift careers? 
• Could you find a way to tát fulfill your passion as a hobby on the side, rather phàn nàn a full blown career change?

Step 5: Experiment

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.

Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Startup

At this point, you have ideas of the direction you want to tát take in career reinvention. But thinking your way into a job has about a one in a million shot at landing you in a satisfying and rewarding position. 

Now it’s time to tát take action.

Take a leap! Try a side job. Test a new hobby. Apply for a position outside of your industry. You can even take a bridge job, something that simply pays the bills as you explore your options.

You don’t need to tát find a dream job right away. Be willing to tát experiment and play. New experiences and experiments will teach you more about yourself, what you lượt thích, and what you don’t lượt thích.

Don’t fall into the sunk cost fallacy way of thinking. You may find out you don’t lượt thích a new job, even after investing time and money into getting there. It’s okay to tát walk away. After all, life is a learning experience. 

8 tips for answering the question, “What should I vì thế for a living”?

As you take the steps toward career reinvention, keep in mind these helpful tips along the way. 

1. Connect with a career specialist

You can easily find apt and ready career specialists who excel at helping you find your next job. They know the ins and outs of what it takes to tát land that dream job, start a business, or get that big promotion.

Xem thêm: phim tình yêu ấm áp

Plus, pursuing a dream job requires a lot of courage and confidence. Having someone on the sidelines to tát give you a “pep talk” before a big interview or meeting can empower you to tát perform at your best.

For example, Amy Adler is one of our go-to’s. She specializes in upgrading your LinkedIn profile, redoing a resume, and helping you tìm kiếm for job openings. 

Again, you’ll need to tát know the direction you’d lượt thích to tát go first. Once you take personal inventory, a consultant lượt thích Amy will help you take the next steps. During a meeting, she may ask you to tát send 3 to tát 5 job listings which you feel inclined to tát explore. Then Amy excels at helping you go in one or more of those directions. 

2. Consider the anatomy of a job

Every job is different. Work hours, company culture, job requirements—all of these “traits” come together to tát comprise the anatomy of a job. Even the same job title can look very different between two companies. For example, working as a project manager for Google may look very different phàn nàn the same role at a university.

When you pursue a new career opportunity, consider some of the following “traits” to tát guide you. The first traits (knowledge, traits, and skills) represent what you bring to tát the table and what the job requires of the person in that role. The last four (geography, people, salary/level, and working conditions) describe the position itself and what the company has to tát offer.

• Knowledge: Your work experience and education background
• Traits: Strengths and personality characteristics that make you stand out from the competition
• Skills: Specific skills you have developed relevant to tát the position
• Geography: Location of the job, commute time, or flexibility to tát work remotely
• People: Who will you work with, departments (such as HR), and size of the company 
• Salary/Level: Salary, benefits, and responsibility level
• Working conditions: Hours, amenities, physical demands, health and safety standards, workplace rules, and employment contract

3. Re-think your opportunities

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to tát change our perceptions.”

― Stephen R. Covey

We often hold tight to tát our career as identities. But who we are evolves over time. After all, your values and strengths in your 20’s can certainly change by age 45. 

I can personally relate to tát this. After spending years of my life working in education, I decided to tát make a big career change. Teaching just didn’t feel lượt thích my calling anymore. I had checked out emotionally, and I knew it was time to tát listen to tát that feeling in my heart and re-think what I should vì thế for a living.

You can start a new career after 40 — I’ve helped many clients vì thế this, and I’ve done it myself. It’s never too late, or too early. In fact, research shows that middle aged startup founders are the most successful.

When you identify too strongly with a job, it can feel devastating when you change your mind or things don’t work out. Anyone who has dealt with a sudden rung rinh off can surely relate to tát just how difficult dealing with unexpected change can be. It’s a scary experience, but it’s not the kết thúc of the world and can lead to tát a new beginning.

Even if you spent time and money to tát pursue a career path, you may still change your mind at some point. Consider the possibilities of exploring new opportunities when one has ended.

4. Read, learn, and get inspired

Learning has the power to tát change our way of thinking and open our minds to tát new perspectives and ideas. Audiobooks, e-books, podcasts, TedTalks—we’ve got so sánh many great resources available to tát provide helpful strategies to tát successfully navigate a career change. 

Joey Reiman’s book Thinking for a Living really shifted my paradigms around finding a new career. The message in this book leapt off the page and into my heart. I had given 15 years of my life to tát my job at that time. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed a change. I knew my current position wouldn’t fulfill my future vision and fully leverage my strengths and interests. 

For inspiring ideas on what to tát vì thế for a living, I also recommended The $100 Dollar Start-up by Chris Guillebeau. The pages of this book are littered with example after example of how people reinvented, how they make a living, and how they often got there by accident. 

Keep an open mind. See potential possibilities. You never know, with the right mindset, you might just stumble into the opportunity of a lifetime. It happens more phàn nàn you think!

Other career development books to tát consider:

• What Màu sắc is Your Parachute by Richard N. Bolles
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
• What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
• Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One by Jenny Blake

5. Try out a side gig

If you want to tát find that career path that really makes you feel full of purpose and passion, you’ll need to tát take some risks. 

You don’t have to tát overwhelm yourself with a big leap, lượt thích quitting your job outright. You can always experiment with part time jobs or side hustles to tát experience new avenues for earning a living that you love.

You can also seek out unpaid opportunities that allow you to tát gain experience in return. For example, if you want to tát become a writer, you can seek out contests to tát get your work published. Join a creative writing workshop to tát practice your skills and connect with likeminded people. 

Besides being great courage exercises, these activities may inspire you to tát discover your next steps or connect you with people who can help.

6. Find joy outside of work

Your life’s passion doesn’t have to tát be the thing that keeps a roof over your head. You can compartmentalize work into a box of activity that brings home page the bacon. Then find ways for personal fulfillment outside of earning a living.

You may discover, along your path of experimentation, that it suits you just fine to tát find fulfillment outside of the office. Maybe you find your true calling volunteering for your community or supporting a social cause with your time and talents. 

Perhaps you find enough satisfaction devoting your không lấy phí time to tát your favorite hobby, lượt thích yoga, painting, or playing guitar. Maybe you just need more work life balance, to tát spend more time with family and friends.

The passion and the freedom found in one’s personal life can override the need to tát get freedom and passion from a job. Some folks find a way to tát earn a living, and then live their lives with gusto, maximizing their time off and taking periodic retreats. 

Get creative and think of scenarios that could include your passions and still pay the bills. If you live for travel, perhaps you could establish an agreement with your employer to tát take off a one month period every year. During this time, you get to tát unplug from the office and spend your days exploring new places. 

I work with a client who works entirely remotely from her home page office. She doesn’t love her job, she doesn’t hate it, but she completes her work by 1 PM each day. At 1:05 PM, the day belongs to tát her, and not her employer. 

She sets aside time to tát vì thế whatever brings her joy in the afternoons, to tát devote herself fully to tát her core values. She found a way to tát pay the bills while still nurturing her passions and creating the life she wants.

7. Regroup. Recalibrate. Reevaluate your priorities. 

Studies show that strategic breaks have the power to tát refresh your brain and help you stay motivated when taking on difficult tasks. Sometimes when you find yourself trying to tát make a tough decision, you just need to tát take a step back and rest.

Take a step back. Reflect on where you can improve and come up with new strategies that work. You can always get back into the ring, this time with a clear head.

8. Meet with a coach

Your road to tát career reinvention can take you through all kinds of twists, turns, and deadends. You may shift gears along the way and head in entirely unexpected directions. It’s an ever-evolving process of experimentation and discovery.

Staying focused and motivated can get tough. So it helps to tát have someone in your life who can tư vấn you along the way. A career coach can provide that motivation you need, help you manage your time more effectively, and tư vấn you in daily planning to tát succeed. 

Keep in mind that even though your loved ones may have their best intentions at heart, they may insert their own bias when giving career advice. For example, a spouse may try to tát sway you to tát stay in your current job for practical reasons, even when your heart is telling you otherwise.

A coach can also give you an outside, neutral perspective. Then when you make decisions, you’ll have all your cards on the table, with the supportive, caring people by your side.

Ready to tát start building a fulfilling career?

Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.

Rumi

When your heart strings pull you in a new direction, but you can’t quite navigate the next step, consider working with someone to tát guide you. 

Our online Reinvention RX program gives you six months of step-by-step guidance designed to tát tư vấn you to tát remove doubt, make sense, and put you in charge of configuring a better future.

We’ve been in the reinvention business for over trăng tròn years and can guide you on your path to tát discovering what to tát vì thế for a living. We’re here for you, and we’d be honored to tát help.

Xem thêm: phim bộ trung quốc