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When I finished university and started working in the corporate world, I was so excited about the adventures ahead of me. I was hungry to keep learning and growing, and I was convinced I knew exactly what my dream career looked like. Until I didn't.
The fast paced, fun, steep learning curve in every position I was in wore off in about six months. Every time, after six months being in a position, I found myself feeling a bit bored and unchallenged. I made an effort to join extra initiatives at work and create new challenges for me, but in the end I couldn't escape the real truth: the role wasn't right for me.
Luckily, I started my corporate career in a graduate scheme which meant every 12 months I was asked to switch positions and locations anyways. That meant that when I reached boredom at six months, I had another six months still to go. I learned to use the latter six months to focus on reflecting on what I enjoyed and what I didn't enjoy. I also did productivity tests on myself to see what helped me perform at my best. Then, when the 12 months was up, I got to move to another new exciting role.
I did this for three years before I finally admitted to myself that I was in the wrong industry and wrong company. It took a very intense coaching session to help me realise that. In fact, that very coaching session is what inspired me to become a coach and help others to do what he did for me.
Now that I look back on my past, and think about all the career tips I got along the way, I realised there were six simple questions I wish someone had asked me at the start of my career. I don't claim that I would have known all the answers to them, but at least having them handy to reflect on would have helped me adjust my sails a bit quicker than I did. Now, even on my entrepreneurial journey, I reflect on these questions at least every six months to make sure I'm on the right track.
1. Think of a time when you were performing at your best. What were you doing? What were you saying, thinking and feeling? What was going on around you?
Reflecting on times like these help you identify what helps you succeed. Often this is the marriage between what you do well and what you enjoy doing. The more detailed you answer this question, the more you will be able to get out of it. Don't feel like you need to limit yourself to performing at your best at work. Maybe it's in social situations, fitness classes or family interactions that you feel you've truly reached your potential. The things you learn about yourself from these kinds of situations are equally relevent.
2. What are your natural strengths that you love to use?
What are the abilities you feel like you've been blessed with? These are the things that come really naturally to you, and often when you're doing them you rarely even notice yourself putting any effort in because it comes so easily to you. Really be open minded here about what you define as a strength - it can be anything from being a great communicator to always being really positive to finding it really easy to love. It doesn't matter how you define that strength as long as you know what it means to you and that you make sure it's a natural ability rather than a learned skill (e.g. a mind that understands numbers really well vs. creating effective algorithms, an eye for beauty and design vs. using photoshop well).
3. What drives and motivates you?
This is one of the most important questions to reflect on yet we almost never stop to think about it. Often we assume what our motivators are and then we find ourselves getting frustrated when we're not feeling motivated by them. This is where it's good think about our values as being able to live our values and seeing others respect our values is what tends to drive us the most. Are you driven by creating positive change, or by having a sense of freedom when you work? Do you like to be recognised for the work you do individually, or would you rather collaborate with others? List a maximum of five values that you think motivate you the most.
4. What kind of why and positive impact do you want to have?
This is very related to question number three but it's so powerful it needs to be separated in itself. Even when you think you don't want to have any positive impact in the world, subconsciously in the back of your head you probably do. Humans are social creatures and we are all designed to help each other and make the world a better place. Sure, we do argue over stupid things and get involved in unnecessary battles. That's why it's so important for you to remember your own personal why as it will help you to avoid these arguments and battles more successfully. You'll realise that everyone has their own take on a purpose and that's what makes the world such a special place. We are all striving to make our mark on the world in different ways and the clearer we are about the mark, the easier it is to stay on the path that's right for us.
5. What do you love the most about your current or past work?
This is a simple question so don't try to overcomplicate it. Write down whatever comes to your mind when you ask yourself this. It could be a supportive manager, a funny co-worker, free snacks in the office, an office dog, a challenging project or a specific work responsibility you have. Write down everything and anything you can think of - and don't filter yourself. You can do the filtering later when you put all of the answers from these six questions together.
6. What do you dislike the most about your current or past work?
A process of elimination is equally important. Think about what you really don't like and wish you didn't have to deal with. The admin stuff? The lack of socialisation with your colleagues? The bad food in the office canteen? The rigid hours you have to be in the office? Write anything that you can think of that you really don't like.
Once you've got the answers to these six questions, you can start to the things that keep repeating themselves in your answers. These are your key career performance indicators. These are the things you know you want in your role, regardless of what company or industry it's in. You can even take these notes to your manager or potential manager, and ask them how they could help you meet these things to make sure you're at your happiest at work and being able to perform at your best.
Whatever you do or wherever you go, make sure to reflect on these questions regularly whilst you continue to grow and develop as a person. That way you'll always stay true to who you are and on the right track for building your dream career.
