If you’re like most of my clients, when you hit mid-career
You start to QUESTION things.
Am I where I thought I would be by now?
Is this really what I want?
Is this all there is?
When is it going to get “better”?
The natural transitions of life often trigger these questions as well.
Becoming a parent
Becoming an empty nester
Getting married
Going through a divorce
If you want to reimagine what’s NEXT for you in your career
Start by doing a career audit
What’s a career audit?
It’s a self-reflection process
That can help guide your next steps in your career
Look BACK at your career
At all the jobs you’ve had as an adult
Which jobs did you like the BEST
And WHY?
Which parts of each job did you like best
Any WHY?
Now do the opposite
Which jobs did you like LEAST
And WHY?
Which parts of each job did you like least
And WHY?
Now map out your answers
I find this works best if you can display the answers
With post-it notes on a wall or whiteboard
Or use a digital tool that has the same functionality
So you can get a birds-eye view
Of all the data points
Spend 5 minutes evaluating the data
Look for PATTERNS in the data
TRENDS over time
Write down what you notice
Now rearrange the post-it notes to look at the following:
Put all the LIKES together on the left side
The JOB likes
And the PARTS likes
And the DISLIKES
JOB + PARTS
On the right side
Review each side for patterns and trends
Write down what you notice
You’ll be amazed at the INSIGHT you gain
From this simple exercise
Now think about what you want at THIS point in life
Your GOALS
PRIORITIES
PREFERENCES
Where are the commonalities between your
PAST likes and your
CURRENT/FUTURE goals, priorities and preferences?
That’s the sweet spot.
As you consider any job changes
Or even role changes within your current organization
Keep these in mind
Use them as your north star as you make career decisions
I recommend repeating the career audit every few years
And at any transition point in your personal or professional life
Want an outside perspective on your career audit?
Help with next steps?
I can help you with that!
Here’s to finding your sweet spot,
Denee