Is this career right for me?

In my years of coaching leaders and mid to late-career professionals, one of the most common questions they have is, how would I know if this is the right career or job for me?

I get similar questions too from new or aspiring coaches whom I mentor or teach through the @ Build Your Coaching Career Program. How do I make sure I choose the right niche?

The truth is, no one knows what the right career is for you.

Right is relative. It can mean different things to different people. And it can mean different things to you at different stages of your life.

Whether or not you’ll thrive or at the very least survive in a career would depend on factors that are both within and outside your control.

So, Coach Kurly, how do I know if I should take this job, or at the very least determine my path forward?

Reframe your career mindset and ask a different question

Instead of asking, “Is this the right (or best) job for me?” , ask…

Is this the best-fit job for me now?

Using the term best-fit makes your question more specific. There is no perfect or best job. But there is one that fits most of your needs and maybe even your wants.

Adding now to your question, reframes it to the present. One of the Principles of Career Agility is seeing our career as an evolving masterpiece. This means recognizing that in the same way that we are evolving as human beings, and the world around us is evolving too, our careers would consequently also evolve.

My Career Story: Before becoming a parent, a full-time corporate job fit me best. I was always ready to work, even beyond work hours, because I didn’t have anything better to do! Ha! But since becoming a parent, having a flexible job suited me best.

Expand your self-awareness

In Career Development workshops I facilitate, I always remind the participants that they are the main stakeholder in their careers. Thus, they should also be the main decision-maker.

But making all these career decisions is tougher when you aren’t self-aware.

What are you good at?
What do you enjoy doing?
What motivates you?
What ticks you off?

The above questions are only the basics, and there can be so many permutations of these for every complex human being.

A shortcut to this could be to take a personality assessment. My favorites are the DISC Assessment and the Birkman Assessment, both of which I have used for my clients.

When you have an awareness of these, you can use it to your advantage in creating your career strategy and in navigating the job search process.

My Career Story: Artistic or Creative would always come up in assessments as one of my top interests and motivators. Through exploration, I began to understand what this meant for me and my career. I didn’t really need art per se, but I needed space to create.

Design your career

Even if you are not a freelancer or a business owner, you can still design your career (and life) as a corporate employee. Just because you took a job with a list of specific responsibilities, it doesn’t mean you can’t add your own touch.

✋🏼 You can volunteer for projects outside your scope of work.

✏️ You can create and use your own style when doing your work. (Ex. Don’t like receiving requests at random times? Create a system and a workflow to standardize the process)

🗣️ Voice out your ideas and suggestions to your boss or team

☑️ Set your own rules and boundaries

Designing your career allows you to further tailor-fit your career experience to what suits you best. This is why you need to expand your self-awareness.

My Career Story: My first job as a solo web programmer didn’t give me much opportunity to interact with people or get involved in project work. So I actively took part in projects within our team – organizing team offsite events, leading office relocation projects, etc.

Final Note on Making Career Decisions

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

This question sparked insight in one of my clients a few years ago. It made her realize that choosing the new path ahead of her isn’t the dead end. She, being able and competent, could always go back to her old path or find a new one that better suits her.

When you make your next career step, remember that you are not entering a one-way street with a dead end. You can always make a U-turn, detour, or even create a new path.