A SQUARE PEG IN A SQUARE HOLE
It’s not surprising to find people in their forties struggling to find the right profession. They may have spent two decades working in a field or multiple sectors giving excellent performances. But are yet to find that round hole where they won’t be a square peg. So that you don’t have to fret anymore, MoneyQuin brings you ways of assessing where you would fit in. Read on:
Your Persona: Your personality is directly proportional to the career you choose. If you are temperamental, it’s advisable to avoid sales and public relations. In these fields, you need to be extraordinarily composed keeping your emotions under control. Well there maybe times when you’ll need to flex outside your natural style and self, but by and large your work should allow you to be yourself.
Driving Force: Each time you perform a task in office, it should prompt you to take on the next bigger project. Also, the work you do should involve you absolutely and completely. If you think it’ll be the other way round, that your work will de-motivate rather boost your morale, it’s time you looked for some other career. It depends a lot on your interests.
Proficiency: Most of the times we tend to ignore our skills while choosing a career. As we grow up we are tuned to believe that education-based careers like medicine, engineering, management, and civil services will only give us a status in society. Imagine your instinct pulls you to singing but you end up a half-hearted neurosurgeon! The best way to go about is to make your favourite hobby your career.
What You Covet: While choosing a career for yourself, assess what you want in life. It may be a lavish lifestyle, frequent travel, adventure sports. A career which involves intercity or international meetings and appointments will suit you in this case. It also has to offer a hefty pay packet to suit your wish for a luxurious lifestyle.
Limitations: After all the above is taken care of there are some other kinds of constraints which have to be looked at. These can be financial, geographical, related to family, your physical capabilities and educational limitations. You may not get the salary you want. The office you are being hired for may not be located in the city of your choice, the office infrastructure may not be suitable for the physically challenged and you may have studied just a bit less than was required to bag the job.
Ambitions . What are your long term aims? This might include questions such as:
- If and when you want to start a family and "settle down"
- Whether you want a single job for the rest of your life or have the option to change career
- Do you eventually want to set up your own business or climb the ladder inside a large organisation
- When do you want to retire?
Opportunities. Deciding what you want to do is of no use unless there are opportunities for you to pursue. You can find opportunities through actions such as:
- Responding to advertisements for jobs or vocational training/sponsorship
- Unsolicited approaches to organisations to see if there are any vacancies
- Networking through people you know to get referrals
- Creating your own business
