If you want a long, healthy and happy career, you should consider these four things.
When it comes to choosing a career, the endless options and pathways can be overwhelming. We all want to be in a job that makes us happy, keep us fulfilled, and sees us returning every day to do our best. But the hunt to find the ‘perfect job’ can be elusive.
How do you know that the job you want is the job you’ll love? What if the role is great, but the culture of the organisation is not?
When it comes to career planning, and landing the ‘perfect job’ there’s more to consider than just your skills.
1. Values
Consider your values and beliefs. What ideas and ideals are important to you and what are those that make you really mad? Write a list of non-negotiables and a list of those you’re willing to accept. Use that list as a guide to determine the industries and brands that do or don’t make the cut. Many large organisations like Programmed, a leading Australian recruitment and staffing agency, happily share their values so potential customers, employees and the community can get a sense of the purpose and vision of the business.
Mindtools recommends revisiting your core set of values as your career and life changes, so you’re making decisions based on your current life stage.
2. Workplace culture
Finding the perfect job doesn’t always end in happily ever after. How we, and those around us, go about our work and how we define our value and contribution to a business is unique and individual. To be happy, we need to know that those around us are happy too. Do people treat each other respectfully? Does hierarchy restrict or enable decision making? Are individuals encouraged to share opinions or is decision-making defined only by the designated leader? All these elements and more help make up the culture within a workplace and can ultimately impact on whether we succeed or spectacularly fail.
Leading organisations like Programmed, happily share their values so potential customers, employees and the community can get a sense of the purpose and vision of the business.
3. Flexibility
Workplace flexibility allows employees to make arrangements about how, when and where they work in conjunction with their employer, that may suit their lifestyle needs. Finding an organisation, and a role that is able to flex with and around your personal needs can be a key decision maker when choosing a role or career path. Consider your available hours of work (mornings, evenings, weekdays, weekends), patterns of work (shifts, job share, part-time or full-time) and location (home, office, travelling interstate and overseas).
4. Possibility
What role is right for you now, and what potential career path will it help create in your future? No matter what your age, experience or life stage, choosing a job and career path is often a difficult decision. Job Outlook offers a fun and interactive online quiz to help assess your areas of interests and suggest jobs that may suit you. Whether this is your first job or a complete career change, considering the short and long-term possibilities and opportunities of that career is a worthwhile exercise. Does the job you desire have lots of potential for a long career? Is the job market competitive or are the skills you have in high-demand? You may not be looking for a job for life, but considering your future earning and career happiness potential is highly valuable.
Programmed is a leading Staffing and Maintenance organisation, providing staffing, professional, technical, training and maintenance services across Australia and New Zealand with more than 20,000 employees supporting industry.
