3 ways to match your interests and skills to change career paths.
There’s no denying it: America is one of the world’s primary superpowers. Our increasing technologies; the high quality of post-secondary education; the sheer drive that most citizens have to go out and make a difference. But when you think about how Americans are raised with an emphasis on ambition, there’s a notable difference between the United States and other countries. Americans are really, really young when they’re supposed to choose which career they’d like to have. We can’t yet legally walk into a bar and order anything, but we’re expected to decide what we’d like to be doing for the next few decades.
Clearly, not all career choices pan out, especially not in an economy that’s no longer predictable. Maybe you began in a publishing house, but your position became obsolete with the rise of digital reading. Or maybe you started in an apprenticeship-based role, but you now feel you need something more challenging. No matter what the circumstances, most people have a similar objective: Which type of job will make me happy to be there each day?
A common mistake many Americans make is confusing this question with, What do I love to do? What you love to do and what you’d be happy doing every day for most days of the year are not necessarily interchangeable. Consider your main after-work hobby. Say, for example, it’s reading film reviews. Do you enjoy it so much that you’d be happy to read film reviews all day, every day, or do you enjoy it precisely because it’s your downtime? If you threw a schedule, deadlines, a boss, and coworkers into the mix, would you still enjoy reading film reviews, or would you find an entirely different hobby to decompress after a long workday? It’s worth thinking about when trying to match your interests and skills with a career so that you don’t end up ruining a passion rather than creating a new one.
So how should you pinpoint which interests or skills will help you make your next career move? The key is to cast your net wide—in other words, don’t get too specific. If your interest was piqued when organizing a recent bake sale for your child’s school, don’t think, “How will I implement my犀利士 self into an event-planning role?” Think in broader terms of, “Okay, I’m a great manager. Which types of positions will allow me to oversee a team while working toward a larger goal?” Some key tips:
Don’t limit your search history – When reevaluating your skills and interests, it’s often easy to think back only a few years—after all, we’re most familiar with what we’ve currently been doing. But don’t limit your reflection to your last five years of working. Try to look back even to your school days: What were your extracurricular activities? What were your strong points when interacting with peers? How did you behave during group projects? Understanding our fundamental preferences means figuring out where they came from.
Ask friends and family – We consult them on everything else. Relationships, breakups, children, vacations, life in general. Why would we stop at our careers? Your friends and family often know you best, so ask for their opinions on which environments you work best in. There’s a good chance they see qualities in you that you’ve overlooked.
Put yourself out there – And not just on internet job boards. Really get involved in the community by trying new activities or sports. Don’t keep passing up on the yoga classes your brother’s been inviting you to; try the cooking course now that a new session has started. Being open to new things is a way to reveal previously unseen layers of yourself. It’s also a form of real-life networking. The new acquaintance you’ve made at Euchre Night may know someone who’s looking to fill a position within their office.
Don’t just consider this a journey to finding a new career. Realize how helpful it is to learn more about yourself, especially as you enter a new phase of your working life. If your next role still isn’t the one you’d like, you’ll have had this period of growth to be that much more prepared when you’re back at the drawing board. And like you’ll learn with any career, experience is key.
Kim Ikemia Arrington is Executive Career Advisor, courage connoisseur and Founder/CEO of Courageant Consulting. Kim has been featured on Fox 5, CBS News and News Channel 8 in the Washington, DC, area as the go-to recruiting lead for large organizations. For several years she’s been the hiring powerhouse behind The Washington Post, Comcast Corporation, ICF International and several federal agencies throughout the United States.
Kim thrives on equipping her clients with industry secrets and tools to master and manage their career search, accomplish their career goals and obtain the courage to fulfill their dreams. She enjoys guiding her clients to “GET SEEN. GET HEARD. GET HIRED.” However, her ultimate goal is to lead the masses to living their dream life in work and business by
The sad, yet awakening reality is that many of passion filled, purpose driven people will never fulfill their dream. Here are the 5 reasons why:
5 – It was all a dream…literally – Well, how can you grab hold of a dream? If you do not take the time to make it something tangible, your dream will live only in your mind. Write, draw, record, take a picture of it…sing or rap about it…just get it out and record it! Vision boards, journals, poetry and even songs are all great tools you can use to capture your heart’s desire! Some people never take time do this; they therefore forget how amazingly far they can go.
4 – “Stinking Thinking” and Dream Killers– So maybe you consider your-self a bit of a rebel and are not confined by rules. What you may not realize, however, is YOU are the hardest person to convince that YOU have a lot to offer. Every now and then you may convince yourself that you are on to something great…but 85% or more, of the time, you get in your own way. You say or think things like: somebody is already doing this…I can’t compete…I have such a long way to go…nobody will want this…it’s too late…I should have tried this years ago…I’m not really qualified…I’m not the type to…I could go on and on. The hardest person to convince is actually YOU! You can beat yourself, far quicker than any competitor.
Another culprit is the Dream Killer, aka, the Toxin in your life. This is someone in your life who is negative, unsupportive, a naysayer, side-line critic or just flat out a “hater.” A Dream Killer can also be an environment that breeds negativity and drains life out of your enthusiasm. You must identify, acknowledge and remove the dream killer in your life as quickly as possible. Energy is contagious, keep it positive. Become your #1 fan, cheerleader and supporter.
3- You do not seek guidance – Ok, so you are a pretty smart person…besides, with all of the “how to”, self-help, do it yourself, kit in a caboodle bundle books, webinars, DVD’s and the good ole world wide web…you have it all under control, right? WRONG! You can easily triple the time that it takes to grow closer to your dream by doing it alone! In these cases, many often run in circles and fall out of their quest from exhaustion. Every great achiever has or has had a coach, teacher, mentor, advisor or guide. In order to be successful, you have to remain humble and be a student first and continuously. The moment that you think you have it all together and that you do not need anyone, is when it all falls apart.
2 – You are a cheap procrastinator, with poor priorities! – You want the world, but you “do not have the time”, neither will you make the sacrifice or dedicate your all to get what you want. Instead, you want to achieve your dream relaxed and comfortable; participating in the necessary tasks only when it is convenient for you. Today’s “microwave fame” has really screwed up a lot of people. Some feel that all they need to do to get where they want to be and gain large reward is: be at the right place with the right (or wrong) person or, by putting in just enough effort. Those who are willing to study, practice, grind it out even when it hurts, invest their time and money where their heart is, and acts boldly and consistently, will have the sustainability to last a lifetime. You have to be willing to do the work even when it seems like no one is watching or no one cares. Anything worth having is worth grinding and fighting for. Anyone can talk and think about it…the difference makers are those that get in and stay in action….even when they don’t feel like it, don’t have the finances and have no guarantee. If you are not willing to put in the time, resources and energy it takes to achieve your dream, you are likely to get “half-baked results”.
1 – You keep it too real – Think about it, a dream often has no rhyme or reason. It often comes raw and untamed and with no boundaries! This…is what makes it so great! Think of one of the craziest dreams you have had. One moment you may be in your bed working on your laptop;犀利士 then within the blink of an eye, you are in a polka dot shirt and neon green overalls, singing the ABC’s during a live taping of American Idol…the great thing is that your mom, best friend and the nice waitress you just tipped extra are the judges! The point is, whatever your mind can create can happen in your dreams. Why then can it not happen in real life? It is often because we talk ourselves out of it. We remind ourselves that it does not seem realistic, it does not make sense, it is not logical or it is just too scary. We often want to keep it real. Sometimes you cannot wait for it to all make sense, feel good or be perfectly aligned. GET IN ACTION! Put all of that controlled, restraining thinking aside for a moment and listen to your heart, faith and instinct…what are they telling you? Having the courage to live in real life as you do in your dreams, is the ONLY thing that will get you to your dream. Now that…is the real reality!
Kim Ikemia Arrington is Executive Career Advisor, courage connoisseur and Founder/CEO of Courageant Consulting. Kim has been featured on Fox 5, CBS News and News Channel 8 in the Washington, DC, area as the go-to recruiting lead for large organizations. For several years she’s been the hiring powerhouse behind The Washington Post, Comcast Corporation, ICF International and several federal agencies throughout the United States.
Kim thrives on equipping her clients with industry secrets and tools to master and manage their career search, accomplish their career goals and obtain the courage to fulfill their dreams. She enjoys guiding her clients to “GET SEEN. GET HEARD. GET HIRED.” However, her ultimate goal is to lead the masses to living their dream life in work and business by
Yesterday, my kids and I went to see the Lego movie. My six year old was far more excited about it than I was. As the characters were in an action battle scene, I found my eyes glazing over as I began to drift off to sleep…I instantly popped up in guilt after a quick two minute nap…it was the best two minute nap of my life. When I glanced over at my son, I noticed the excitement in his eyes as he stared at the big screen with barely a blink. As I started to pay attention, I thought…“let me give this movie a fair chance”. Oh how happy was I, that I did! Let me start by sharing that this movie is brilliant and full of all types of life lessons. It’s amazing how sometimes, we can sleep right through our lessons…I’m so glad that I didn’t! Let me share with you the top 4, that still have me beaming.
1 – You don’t need an instruction manual to tell you what to do and be!Some people will go a lifetime looking for a reason, explanation or “how to” manual to guide them through life. The sad thing is that some have become dependent on this manual. Sometimes, you have to lose that guide and listen to your heart and instinct. Then from there, take action in faith and courage. You may be impressed and amazed how you had what it took and the road map within you all along.
2 – You don’t have to be special…to be special! What the heck does that mean? Everyone has a quality, trait or talent that makes them special. Quite often the most basic, ordinary average Joe (or Joan) can be just THE person to save the world. Just because you don’t have an “S” on your chest, or are too flamboyant or even a little basic does not mean that you are not special. You, just as you are, could be the perfect answer to someone’s problem.
3 – Some things, are just not that serious… they are created to bring joy, excitement or fulfillment. When it turns into something other than why you agreed to it in the 1st place…you may want to re-evaluate the situation. Never let things get so serious that you lose touch with the real reason why you took them on in the first place! It’s ok to be a kid at heart…take time to enjoy the simple things in life!
4 – Some things, are made to break and fall apart – Most of want to believe that things should remain the same once we have it all together. However, in order to continue to grow, develop and thrive, we have to challenge ourselves to re-purpose the “bricks” we have in order to build more. It’s not until you can build it up and break it all down, that you can discover the number of mountains and cities that you can create.
Kim Ikemia Arrington is Executive Career Advisor, courage connoisseur and Founder/CEO of Courageant Consulting. Kim has been featured on Fox 5, CBS News and News Channel 8 in the Washington, DC, area as the go-to recruiting lead for large organizations. For several years she’s been the hiring powerhouse behind The Washington Post, Comcast Corporation, ICF International and several federal agencies throughout the United States.
She thrives on equipping her clients with industry secrets and tools to master and manage their career search, accomplish their career goals and obtain the courage to fulfill their dreams. Kim enjoys guiding her clients to “GET SEEN. GET HEARD. GET HIRED.” However, her ultimate goal is to lead the masses to living their dream life in work and business by
