How to find out what you really want from your career

Here's my first article for the x4 recruitment Graduate section

How to find out what you really want from your career

If you’re looking to move up the career ladder or to negotiate a raise, more hours, or just a different type of job, here are the ways you can go about it.

What do you want?

Before you start you need to be completely sure of what you want to change. You might only want small changes or you might want a complete, major change. Getting a clear picture of what ‘better’ looks like right at this moment is the key. There may be things you can change straight away. However others may require more patience, research and effort.

Think about your work values

What will you need from your next job to make you happy? New challenges? A location closer to home? Improved flexibility and work-life balance? More opportunity for progression? More money? Your ‘wish list’ will provide a framework for your career change and allow you to rewrite your CV with a particular opportunity in mind to target your skills appropriately.

Formulate a career plan

Once you have a better idea of what you want and would like to change, the next step is to create your career plan. You may need new qualifications, extra training or experience of new projects. Keep reviewing your plan and revising it if necessary – it may change. You may need to be proactive and simply ask for help from those able to give it. Make it clear to everyone what your ambitions are.

Time to hit the books?

Further education gained at a later stage in your career can look brilliant on your CV. The desire to gain new insights and update and develop your skills and knowledge base shown by a return to education not only looks good; a return to studying could also provide the opportunity to network and make new contacts in your area of expertise. Not all learning has to take place in an academic setting; extra reading and researching, mentoring and short courses also aid development.

But what do you actually need?

Before committing to your new educational course you need to check what employers in your field are requesting. Often they will ask for experience in your field – you will need to make sure the course is relevant to your sector and doing some relevant voluntary work or shadowing whilst you are studying allows you to gain in skills and experience. Just a few hours a week makes a huge difference and shows you can put your education into practice.

Research your new role

If you are looking to change your role you need to get under the skin of your desired role and ask – would you be well suited to this? Look at the different problems individuals within the role are dealing with, the different working relationships they have and what different decisions they make. Don’t be afraid to ask individuals already in such roles for an honest chat about the best and worst aspects of it, as well as the path they took to getting it.

Speak to a prospective employer

If you can, speak to a prospective employer or HR department. Ask about what is expected of a new recruit to their area and what education, experience and training they are looking for for your chosen role. Connect to them on social media sites such as Linkedin and follow the people that they follow and join the groups that they belong to. A foot in the door is rarely a bad thing.