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How to find a job i love


How to Find a Job You Love in 7 Steps

How do you find a job you love? Like finding a life partner, you need to take a series of actions—first understand yourself, then find out what’s available, and finally, have “dates” with prospects to identify your true career love.

Step 1: Do The Big 5 Personality Quiz

Finding a job you love starts with understanding yourself. Researchers have found that there is science behind your personality— there are 5 traits that make up every person’s character (and your character may surprise you!):

  • Openness: How you approach new ideas and creativity. 
  • Conscientiousness: How you approach details and get things done. 
  • Extroversion: How you approach people and socialize. 
  • Agreeableness: How you approach cooperation and teamwork. 
  • Neuroticism: How much you worry and feel emotionally stable.

Your personality can affect what kinds of jobs will best suit you. Check out the ideas below:

  • Openness:
    • If you are high in openness (remember to take the free test below), you should look for jobs that are highly creative and can be different every day.  
    • If you are low in openness, you should look for jobs with many routines and traditions. 
  • Conscientiousness:
    • If you are highly conscientious, you will likely enjoy jobs that require you to be very organized and self-disciplined. 
    • If you are low in conscientiousness, you may enjoy jobs that will give you a high degree of freedom.
  • Extroversion:
    • If you are high in extroversion, you can look for jobs with lots of human interaction.
    • If you are low in extroversion, you can look for jobs that allow you to finish most of the work independently.
  • Agreeableness:
    • If you are highly agreeable, you may enjoy jobs that require you to be empathetic and caring.
    • If you are low in agreeableness, you may enjoy more analytical and detached jobs. 
  • Neuroticism:
    • If you are high in neuroticism, you might do better with jobs that are more stable and less stressful.
    • If you are low in neuroticism, you may tolerate stressful and unstable jobs better than others.  

However, it’s essential to keep an open mind at this stage. A job title (e.g., analyst) may not reveal exactly what the job will entail. You may not be sure until you’ve seen the job description and talked to people doing a similar position (Step 5 – 7).

Action Step: 

  • Take the Big 5 Personality Quiz for free here. 
  • Keep a Dream Jobs List—write down what’s important to you in terms of the Big 5 and a few potential jobs that may match your personality.

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Step 2: Reflect On Your Previous Professional Experience

There is a lot of insight about what you like versus dislike from your previous experiences. You may also want to take time to understand what you’ve learned vs. what you’d like to develop next. Ask yourself the following questions as you reflect:

  1. Did you enjoy having detailed instructions for what you needed to do or having autonomy?
  2. Did you enjoy leading a team or being an individual contributor?
  3. Did you enjoy a quantitative analysis or creative process?
  4. Did you enjoy having flexibility around work location/schedule?
  5. Would you like to develop expertise because you were previously doing a “generalist” job?
  6. Would you like to develop more soft skills or leadership because you were an individual contributor doing quantitative analyses?

The answers to the above questions, combined with your findings from Steps 1 – 2, will help you figure out what you will likely enjoy doing and what goals you want to achieve for the next stage of your life.

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Step 3: Observe What You Do On Sundays

Another way to understand what you may naturally enjoy doing is to observe and ask yourself: What have you been doing on Sunday afternoons?

  • Reading books about investments?
  • Creating videos about your cat and sharing them on social media?
  • Playing pranks on your little brother? Shhh…

If a job can integrate elements of what you naturally enjoy doing, you will likely love that job. For example, if you have already been reading/writing stories in your free time, maybe you can work in PR, marketing, or even be a screenwriter in Hollywood!

Besides, if a job fits your current lifestyle, you will probably enjoy it more.

Action Step:

  • Reflect on what you have naturally drawn to without realizing it. 
  • Add your newly-discovered favorite activities and a few potential jobs based on them to your Dream Job List. 

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Step 4: Talk To Your Close Friends, Colleagues, And Mentors About Your Strengths

One of the best ways to fast-track your self-discovery is by talking to people who know you well and have had deep interactions with you. Your ex-girlfriends/ex-boyfriends may also be a great source but speak to them at your own risk (joking).

But seriously, talk to your exes if you are on good terms because they know you well and have likely seen both your good and not-so-good sides. 

Get a comprehensive view of yourself by talking to your colleagues and advisors, too! 

Specifically, ask them:

  • What are your strengths/talents?
  • What activities do they think may light you up?
  • What career paths might leverage both your strengths and passion?
  • What are your weaknesses?
  • What do they think you can improve for a more prosperous and fulfilling life?

Whatever you do in the future, you will have the best chance of success if it’s the overlap of your strengths and what you love. Many of us have imposter syndrome—we don’t know how good we are. Your close friends and mentors may see your strengths more clearly.

Action Step:

  • Talk to at least 5 friends, colleagues, family members, and mentors who know you well or have had close interactions with you. Ask them the above questions and identify any common trends.
  • Fine-tune your Dream Job List with your new findings.

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Now you’ve understood yourself reasonably well. You’ve done 50% of the work! Congrats! 

Let’s see what’s available in the LinkedIn Wonderland that may fit you. Don’t go down any rabbit hole yet. Our goal is to see actual job postings and identify those you might enjoy doing based on their job descriptions. This is a great way to discover jobs you haven’t thought of!

Go to Linkedin.com, click the Jobs tab in the top bar menu, and input jobs from your Dream Job List. For example, analyst, consulting, or product manager. 

LinkedIn will produce a large number of jobs based on your search terms. Some results may give you more specific information. For example, if you input “Product Manager,” you will see the job from TikTok looking for a Product Manager specifically for the TikTok Social team.  

Click the job posts that look appealing to you. Read their job descriptions carefully. Visualize you working there. Ask yourself: will I enjoy doing this every day?

If the answer is yes, write down that job in a new list—The know More List. 

Action Steps:

  • Input job titles from your Dream Job List in the LinkedIn search bar.
  • Pick the job posts that pique your interest, and read their job descriptions carefully. If a job description seems to fit your preference based on Steps 1 – 4, note it down in Know More List. Find at least 10 jobs.

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Step 6: Talk To Employees Working In Your Target Companies

Desk research can only go so far. It’s important to talk to employees working at the firms, or even better—the hiring manager or someone working at the team where the job is coming from (e.g., The Social team at TikTok).

If you have connections at that firm/team, reach out to them! If you don’t already have relationships, search for people working in that firm and request to connect.  

Look at their profiles carefully, and ensure you write a personalized note when you send the request. A customized message increases the chance of them accepting your connect request significantly!

Here’s a template for personalizing your note: 

Hi Jeff, I noticed you’ve worked at TikTok for 2 years as a Product Manager. May I chat with you for 10 minutes about your product management experience at TikTok? I’m trying to learn more about product management in the tech space, so I would greatly appreciate your insights! 

Most people probably won’t reply. Therefore, it’s essential to reach out to enough people. It’s a numbers game. 

Action Steps:

  • Reach out to people on LinkedIn working in your target companies.
  • Find at least 2-3 people to chat with you.

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The last step of finding a job you love is finally here (drum rolls…). Reading a job description is like watching a trailer—it may look like a good movie, but it’s hard to be sure until you’ve watched it.

Talking to people working in the firm is like watching that movie. 

If they’re doing the job you want to do, ask them about the specific job. If they work in the same firm/team but a different function, ask them about the firm/the team. 

As you ask them the following questions, picture you working there… And how it makes you feel.

Some questions for you to consider asking:

  1. What do you love most about the job (or the firm/team)?
  1. What’s your 9-5/work schedule like?
  1. What resources/training will you have access to?
  1. What would you change about the job (or the firm/team)?

If you’re not interested in that job after the chat, cross it off your Know More List and move on.

However, when you find yourself less interested in a job, it’s essential to ask yourself: are you genuinely not interested, or just being fearful—doubting your abilities to do it well because you failed at a similar job before, or afraid that you don’t have enough experience?

Answer the question with 100% honesty. Don’t cross it off if you’re simply afraid. Find more people doing that job and ask them how they got the job and overcame challenges similar to yours. 

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Bonus Tip: What To Do If You Have No Passion?

Grow a couple. The first few times Roger Federer picked up his tennis racket, he didn’t enjoy it—he could barely hit the balls, and picking up 50 balls every 10 minutes was tiring. However, he kept on practicing. Slowly, he found himself enjoying perfecting every swing. 

Your genuine passion takes time to identify and develop. You may even hate it at your first encounter. 

If you have no passion, pick three things you know you wouldn’t hate to do (based on Steps 1 – 4), and force yourself to spend at least 20 hours on it. According to TED speaker Josh Kaufman, you can get pretty good at almost anything if you spend 20 hours on it. If you still don’t enjoy it after, grow something else. Don’t give up too soon. 

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How to Find a Job You Love Takeaway

Finding a job you love requires you to take a series of actions to understand yourself, find out what’s available, and have chats with people already working in the firm/team. Specifically,

  • Understand yourself through taking the Big 5 Quiz, observing your natural preferences on weekends, and talking to people who know you well.
  • Find out available jobs that match your preferences on LinkedIn.
  • Reach out to people already doing the jobs you desire and visualize if you can do that job every day.
  • If you don’t have a passion, grow a couple. Passion takes time to identify and develop. 

Now that you’ve understood what jobs you may love, it’s time to polish your resume and land your interviews at your dream companies, even with little to no experience! 

Because 8 Hours Is a Long-Ass Time

For most people, staying above the breadline means spending 8 hours a day performing tasks for money.

Many of these people experience genuine dread at the thought of pushing through that revolving door at 8:55 a.m., latte shaking in hand. (To translate for 2020: Going downstairs, making yourself a cup o’ Joe, and slumping over the kitchen counter with your head buried in your arms. )

I haunted this swamp for a long time. Here are a few ways to recognize that your job is bringing you down.

Many of my years becoming a professional writer were spent selling credit card terminals, administering insurance, and standing in shops handing out discount cards on behalf of a lawyer.

Many people justify having a job that fills them with rage by distancing themselves from it.

“It’s just 9-to-5. I can cram my life with enriching things like friends and hobbies and the fact that the new Dora the Explorer movie isn’t terrible.”

But, for most people, a job eats up 33 percent of your day. You might find that to be a prolonged enough period of misery to eat away at the things that genuinely make you happy, like relationships and having the goddamn energy to do anything.

Taking proactive steps to make money doing what inspires happiness has completely transformed the way I approach life. I thought I might share what I learned to help you spring out of bed for work.

This piece breaks down the steps I took to avoid meeting my work alarm with an agitated Nicolas Cage impersonation every morning.

Your career is directly linked to your lifestyle, in terms of how well they cover your basics and how drained you feel after work for your relationships and passions.

The best way to start out thinking about your career ambitions is to think of the lifestyle you want and work backward.

Do you want to get paid for your hobby and do it non-stop? Are you trying to live the high life? Would you prefer stability for your family? Would you rather dedicate your life to fighting for causes you believe in?

There’s no right answer, but it will shape how you approach building your ideal career.

1. Start with self-awareness

You need to understand who you are, your lifestyle priorities, and what gets you out of bed every morning before you can lean into one career over another.

The sad truth is that so many people have stomached an awful job for so long that they don’t remember what they wanted from work in the first place.

While sitting down and asking yourself these questions is a good start, it can be overwhelming to start digging solo. There are tons of resources that can help you ease the burden while developing your self-understanding.

Meditation may give you a leg up when it comes to being aware of your mental and physical needs. A classic book called “What Color Is Your Parachute?” is a great place to start. It provides information and exercises that help you learn about yourself while matching career paths.

Also, it might be a good call to consider taking a personality test, such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. This test also recommends certain careers based on your results.

These guides shouldn’t become your new Bible. However, they give you a new window into corners of yourself that you didn’t realize were there.

Caring for your happiness is essential. We found 25 scientifically-backed methods for taking control of your life.

2. Get a mentor

It really helps to feel like there’s someone on your team. Eminem had Dr. Dre, and Dora the Explorer has her talking map and backpack. (Look, it really wasn’t that bad, alright?)

Pick a person in your network who knows you and can act as your champion, such as a former manager, coach, or professor. I’ve had several guardian angels throughout my time as a stereotypical struggling writer, and they weren’t all from within the field.

People who care about your output, who push you, and inspire you are those you should hold close during times of proactive growth. They needn’t be a recognized figure from your ideal industry. They just need to provide advice and help you uncover your interests.

This person can potentially help you gain insight into your desired career, serve as a reference for you, look over your resume, or help you expand your network of opportunities.

Plus, they’re great to vent at in those lower moments.

If you’re in your twenties and struggling to find a suitable mentor, we’ve got you covered.

3.

Mingle like the pro you are

This doesn’t mean diving into people’s DMs asking about openings. But you should talk to as many people as you can on LinkedIn about the best ways to get into their industry.

Before you begin applying for jobs, educate yourself about different career paths by talking to as many people as possible.

Use LinkedIn to seek out people who have your dream job and ask for an informational meeting. Find out more about their current role and the path that got them there — everyone’s journey is different, and people love to tell their story (case in point!).

Treat these interactions as interviews — your contact may be hiring or can provide a referral. However, keep the conversation casual and curious. You’re trying to learn the ins and outs, not crowbar your way into a job.

If you make a lasting impression, people may start letting you know about openings. On a site like LinkedIn, being part of the discussion is your way in. You only get one first impression, so it’s crucial to nail it.

Before these interactions, prepare an elevator pitch that succinctly tells people who you are, why you’re looking for a change, and your career aspirations in the long run.

Getting fired might give you a chance to delve into this world more. We explored why it might be 🔥 to be fired.

4. Gain real-world experience and qualifications

You’re likely going to have to graft outside your current working hours if you’re planning to switch careers.

Volunteer or intern for organizations where you can offer your time and expertise in exchange for an opportunity to learn more about an industry. Alternatively, many qualifications can help improve your standing in a particular field.

A night school or online course would be great options for getting a leg up.

If you are pressed for time or don’t know where to start, check out relevant Meetups on Meetup.com (once we’re all allowed to meet up again).

This site offers tons of different niche groups where you can meet and connect with like-minded individuals. Another route to further insight is to attend industry events or webinars.

There’s also plenty of sites like Udemy that have an amazing roster of courses to try.

However you absorb relevant experience or skills, it’s always helpful to start dipping toes into relevant networks of people and stay current in the industry.

A word of warning: Learning more about a particular career path might steer you away from a job or industry you thought you wanted to pursue. This is a good thing in the long run, but adjusting your ambitions always feels weird.

And your career isn’t everything. We looked at how to keep your identity separate from your work.

5. Get your personal brand out there

This is the final step after learning about yourself, your aspirations, and the industry in which you thought you wanted to work.

Rebrand yourself by revising your resume, cover letter, and social media profiles to reflect your updated career goals and to highlight new and relevant skills.

Maybe even have a few headshots like a hungry actor ram-raiding agents around LA. The slicker your image, the clearer your level of investment in your new career becomes. And companies like invested people.

Make sure your personal brand is authentic, consistent, and tailored to each specific position for which you apply. Your brand should just be you. Because you, my friend, are totally worth selling to the world.

I truly appreciate where my path to a rewarding career led me. However, most of it was about as fun as a vinegar enema.

Many of my non-editorial jobs have been grinding, miserable experiences. On top of these, writing in my spare time meant that I was often working 15-hour days just to fit everything in.

But there was no balance whatsoever. My friends didn’t hear a peep from me. My wife found me excruciating to live with. I comfort ate like a hyena, reaching obesity within months.

If you’re in the same situation, you don’t need telling that it can suuuuuuuuuck. Boy, did those 8 hours a day stretch. As they warped and extended, so too did my spiraling depression and anxiety.

I’ve lost jobs I hated and still felt crushed and worthless after. Bouncing back after a knockdown is all part of the challenge, and handling rejection is a painful but necessary part of reshaping your life.

However, it’s important to know that not all crappy jobs are on the same level. I’ve had terrible jobs and terrible jobs. You can find yourself getting comfortable and even enjoying parts of a job that doesn’t suit you.

That steam will run out.

I took pretty much every job that made me miserable out of necessity, and going into any long-term situation without a strategy is a recipe for disaster. Doing so without knowing what you want can have even worse consequences.

Even if you’re not interested in a particular type of role, there might be a field you’d enjoy working in.

I was lucky. I’ve known I wanted to write since I was first able to. But even with that certainty, what did I want to do with words? Editing? Writing? Proofreading? Marketing? Communications? News?

It’s very easy to get hit by option paralysis when you’re digging to find work you’d love, even for people like myself who already thought they knew. Here’s how I paved my own road to career contentment.

Unless you’re willing to take an internship of some kind, plunging headlong into your preferred industry without experience is going to take either a lot of extracurricular work or a small miracle.

Finding the perfect job takes work, but it also takes time, patience, and a lot of blagging.

That doesn’t mean crowing about achievements that haven’t happened or lying about your qualifications. Every single job has elements that you may enjoy or that allow you to surprise yourself with how good you become at them.

If you’ve no idea what your ideal job looks like, slowly build a FrankenJob. Taking an example from my own life, I sold ad space for a food industry publication for 2 months and got fired for… well, being sh*t at ad sales.

However, I knew that I didn’t want my next job to involve outbound calls and convincing people to buy stuff they didn’t need. That landed me in insurance, and the job met those requirements.

During my 3 years in medical insurance, I started writing whimsical Christmas e-mails and took over the newsletter. I also grew to love the world of medicine and the notion of helping people feel better.

It wasn’t journalism, but it was something I could say I did in an interview. With this said, the job was brutal and the public unforgiving. It was the final straw, but it wasn’t for nothing.

I stayed there until I saw a role come up at Medical News Today, one of Greatist’s sister sites. I managed to combine just enough clinical knowledge and just enough freelance writing experience to warrant an interview.

Three years later, I’m still there and haven’t dreaded waking up once since starting. It took 7 years and nearly as many roles to filter out what didn’t bring me joy.

It may also make each day easier to get through. (These 34 ways to bust a bad mood could help too.)

A job can make you happy for many reasons. It might afford you a lifestyle you like. The task itself might fill you with warmth and inspiration. You might love the effect the role has on the world, or you may just be fascinated by a particular industry.

Whatever your reasoning, there can be stark differences between what you think you want at 15 years old and what you know you’re happy doing after solid time in the workplace.

Applying for jobs is not only about getting the job.

The feeling a person gets when they’re carrying out a task they want to do is markedly different from that which comes from performing obligations when they CBA.

Apply for as many jobs as you can, and not only for practice. You should take full stock of your emotions while you apply. Does it feel like a chore? Are you just applying for the sake of it? Complete the whole thing. Does it feel good afterward?

If you have these doubts and hang-ups during the application, imagine what 5 days of this every week would feel like. And then throw it in your bulging sack marked “Nope” and set it on fire.

Applying for a job, especially if you already have one you despise, should feel like an opportunity. You should want to get the application to the employer with the eagerness of a toddler showing off a finger painting, just to be able to start in the role sooner.

People often protect themselves from this excitement to temper expectations and cushion against fear of rejection and disappointment. However, it’s important to really feel that excitement.

It’s a taste of what a job you love feels like. Your gut will know what you’re after, you just have to listen to it at the right point in the application process.

Persevere

Work might feel horrible right now, but it won’t always.

The main reason I recommend planning and being proactive about building your career is that it makes your current employment feel way more bearable.

Being able to file your job under “stepping stone” rather than “all I’ll ever know before death” will help you feel a little less suffocated. That’ll give you a clearer headspace for career hunting.

It also shows the company to which you’d like to commit that you don’t always flit about between jobs and can return the investment they put into developing your skills.

The journey never ends. But you’ll enjoy it a heck of a lot more once you sort out a job that makes you proud and content.

Finding balance takes time and planning. A job you’re passionate about can go some way to supporting the overall balance of your life and contribute to real, ongoing wellness. I know mine has.

Do what you can to find satisfaction and meaning in the activies in which you spend your days. If you can get paid for them too, all the better.

Can you say “transferrable skills?”

9 ways to find a job you love if you don't know what you want to do

It's okay not to know what you want to do in life. Since childhood, limiting beliefs have been imposed on us, calling our dreams frivolous. As a result, we refuse those professions that really attract us, and suffer from a lack of understanding of where to direct our potential.

If you are confused about yourself and your desires, you can use several methods below to help you find a job you love.

1. Don't listen to other people

This is perhaps the most important point if you really want to realize your potential and take place in your favorite profession. People around you will not tell you how to find your calling - they will only criticize your choice and confuse you even more. The same applies to close people: they want the best for you, and therefore they will advise you to choose a profession based on its simplicity and salary level.

Focus only on your feelings. Think about everything you wanted to do, even if you think these activities are stupid and useless. The main thing is that the work brings you pleasure and allows you to realize your ambitions.

2. Make a list of what you can do

You can open yourself up to new professional opportunities simply by making a list of everything you know. Perhaps you are an excellent swimmer, you know how to convey complex information to other people, you understand the exact sciences, you like to write content on social networks, you take pictures of your friends, or you often go on independent trips with a rich cultural program. Any knowledge and skills can be monetized if you have such a desire.

You don't have to be a professional at anything - if you like what you do, you can take courses, master classes or get an internship. The main thing is not to sit back and not look for excuses.

3. Remember what personal qualities you have

When choosing a profession, personal characteristics are as important as knowledge and skills. For example, it will be extremely difficult for a non-communicative person to build effective relationships with clients, but a sociable and loving person will find it difficult to work that excludes interaction with other people.

Think about what personality traits and behaviors would make you an ideal candidate for a job. Maybe you are stress-resistant, initiative, analytical, or you have leadership qualities that you want to show. It is easier to choose a profession when you know what you can offer the employer.

4. Analyze what you like and dislike in different professions

At this stage, after making a list of your knowledge and skills, as well as analyzing personal qualities, you should already identify several professions for yourself. If not, don't worry. Try to do it now by identifying what attracts and repels you in various specialties.

Divide the sheet into two columns: in one you will write what you like about work, and in the second - what you would not like to do. Try to list as many points as possible and make them as specific as possible. For example, in the “dislike” column, you can include sedentary work, irregular hours, floating holidays, informal employment, working more than eight hours a day, etc.

5. Try to understand what your main goal in life is

In fact, there may be several targets. Your task is to calculate exactly those goals that resonate in your heart. If you do not understand how a life goal is connected with the choice of a profession, we will explain: directly. The purpose of life is what you attach great importance to and strive for, despite external circumstances or the opinions of other people.

You can make it your goal to help people around you, access to passive income, the opportunity to see the whole world, etc. When you have a clear goal in life, it is much easier for you to navigate and choose a profession that will help you achieve what you want.

5 questions that will help you understand the purpose of your life

6. Choose a job that does not contradict your beliefs and values ​​

them. Otherwise, the work will only take away your strength and make you disappointed in yourself. Take time to think about what you can't do because of your values ​​and beliefs.

7. Get rid of the fear of change

Many people are unable to find their dream job because of fear of change - fear that you are already too old to change profession, that you will lose stability or that you will not have enough experience in a new place. Fear is perhaps one of the most dangerous deterrent forces. But try to think about this: if you think it’s too late or dangerous to change jobs now, then what will happen in five or ten years. Most likely, you will continue to suffer from a feeling of unfulfillment, convincing yourself that you should have looked for another profession much earlier.

If you are currently working but do not feel that you have really found your life's work, then you need a change. And the sooner the better.

8. Remember the people you envy

Maybe you have a friend or acquaintance who periodically tells you about his work, even if not the most interesting and exciting stories that you always listen to with special delight. Perhaps his stories even make you feel envious, and you begin to think about how you would like to be in his place. If you are familiar with the described situation, then do not waste your time and try to try yourself in a new profession. Maybe this is the work of your life.

9. Don't put money first

Very often, when a person does not know what he wants to do, it is the money factor that plays the decisive role in his decision. You start looking not for the profession that realizes your inner potential, but for the one that will bring more income. This is the wrong approach to finding a job, because when you find the specialty of your dreams, you get the opportunity to monetize your knowledge and skills and start earning as much as you want.

Where does the money go: how to properly keep track of your finances

How to find a job you like and not screw up - Career on vc.ru

My name is Anya, I'm 31, and I love my job guided in the selection.

25,094 views

Three legs

Three main questions I answered myself:

  • What am I doing?
  • Where do I do it?
  • Why am I doing this?

What is a question about a function. What is usually called the word profession - manager / accountant / programmer.

Where do I do it - a question about the field of activity. You can be a manager in small aviation, and in IT, and in kindergarten. A field of interest adds a separate pleasure to the process.

Why am I doing this - a question about ultimate meanings and goals. It is important that the achievement of personal goals helps to achieve the goals of the company. These goals must be consistent, at a minimum - not contradict.

And now more.

What am I doing? Feature

The main mistake of people who are looking for their destiny is the search for activities that give pleasure. It is a big delusion to think that the work of a vocation will save you from pain, suffering and problems. And here's why:

Suffering is biologically beneficial. Pain in all its manifestations is an effective way to get a person off the couch.

Evolution will not allow a person to relax. Pain, suffering and problems are our companions until death do us part. Sounds like a sentence, but as old Mark Manson writes:

Happiness comes from solving problems. The key word here is decision. Not avoidance, not denial, not shifting responsibility. Deciding is the way to happiness. True happiness comes when you find problems that you enjoy solving.

In a world where problems cannot be avoided, the only freedom available to us is the freedom to choose problems to our liking.

Ask: What problems do I enjoy solving?

For example, I got the following list:

  • I like to create order out of a mess
  • I like to make the incomprehensible clear
  • I like to make ugly beautiful
  • I like to explain to others what they don't understand

The word "problem" can have different definitions. In this context, I was looking for tasks that many do not like to do (problem), but I like it. For example, cleaning up an apartment is a headache for many, and I don’t even notice how I’m putting it in order.

You can observe what processes are bad for people and good for you, and you will learn a lot about what you are good at.

This technique shifts the focus of attention from finding a profession to finding a problem, which leads to a new level of understanding of what is happening. We live in a world of fashionable professions, but in reality, no one hires a person to close a position in a company. A person is hired to solve a problem. By omitting the question of the name of the profession, you can immediately go to the point - it favorably highlights at the interview.

The problems that humanity solves have not changed for thousands of years. The way to solve them is constantly changing.

Like two hundred years ago, we need to move from point A to point B, exchange messages, look for housing, teach children. But look how differently we solve the same problems today.

Focus on what doesn't change and you'll never be out of a job. And it does not matter what this profession will be called in 10 years.

Where do I do this? Field of activity

Most businesses solve similar problems - look for customers, sell something, build teams and business processes. If you know how to solve problems, you will be useful everywhere, but you can choose what you like. Small aviation, cosmetology, retail, construction, space?

You can successfully solve problems in any area, but in your favorite one it is more pleasant to do it. I am a supporter of following my own interests. Then any conference or article on the topic is a joy, and the growth of expertise occurs organically.

Interests can change many times in a lifetime, which is great. Your core - the problems that you know how to solve - remains with you, but at the same time you can try so many new things.

Why am I doing this? Goals and values ​​

Any action in life a person performs for himself. When it seems to us that we are unselfishly doing good for others, we still do it for ourselves: at least in order to enjoy helping another.

An important truth: every action at work is performed by us solely for our own benefit.

It's bad when the benefit is to avoid pain:

  • so that I don't get fired;
  • for the boss to fall behind;
  • to pay the mortgage;

It's good when the benefit lies in having fun:

  • I will learn something new;
  • I will get a cool case in my portfolio;
  • clients will feel better and I am happy about it;

Why do you go to work? What do you really want from your career? Not a single wind will be fair if the ship does not know where to sail.

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