8 Ways to Tell if Your Career is Working for You ...

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What was it that made you choose your career? What motivates you? Where would you like to be this time next year, in three years, in five? Think about what it is that you want from your career, and write it down. Then make them into a list of aims and goals, and put it somewhere you will see it often.

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Make an appointment to talk to your boss, and ask them where they see your career going. Ask where you could improve, and if they would consider you for promotion should a position arise. Talk to them about wanting to meet the companies goals, and your own personal goals. If you are confident and mature, your boss will be impressed and honest, and you’ll know where you stand. Then compare what you hear with your list of goals from above.

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Volunteer in the careers you are interested in. Find an opportunity to get inside the day to day action, and talk to those who do it full time. Get a balanced view on the good points and the bad, and see if its something you’d actually like to do or just something different to try. Most of the time you’ll find you’ve played up the job in your mind, and it won’t be half as good as you expected.

Grab some library books, and improve yourself. Work on your people skills, your organization, your ability to do your job the best you can. Work out what are your strong areas, and what needs work. Being well rounded but knowing what you enjoy is vital in telling if you are in the right career.

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Look at other companies, and what benefits and promotion opportunities they offer. While you might have gone to the best option at the time, companies are constantly changing, and you might find that you’d have a much more fulfilling career elsewhere. If you don’t want to leave, you could use your information to ask for a payrise, more training, etc.

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Look for someone wise that you can talk too about your career, your goals and how to progress. Someone who has inside knowledge of your industry will be especially helpful. You might find that it just takes someone else to look at your situation and find a solution you’ve been missing.

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Talk to people, and network. Join professional organizations, go to conferences and events, volunteer anywhere that you might be seen by relevant people. Get as many people as possible to know how competent and reliable you are, and you’ll find yourself very wanted.

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In business, your reputation is everything, and it shouldn’t be any different just because you are working for someone else. Make sure people know who you are, and how good you are. If you are known for being dependable, reliable and good, you’ll attract business, and make a name for yourself.

If you follow these tips, and still don’t feel satisfied in your career, its probably time to consider moving careers. This could mean a big drop in wage, or even working for free for a while, so it’s worth talking it over with as many people as possible before you take the plunge. Have you got a tip for working out if your career is working for you? Please share it with me!

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