Find a Job That’s a Good Fit: How to Know if a Job is Right for You

How do I know if a job is a good fit for me?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Expecting the answer to just hit you. 

Have you ever found yourself typing that question into Google? Secretly hoping the top result would tell you exactly what you should do next in your career? 

Have you ever asked someone else what job they think you should do? Trying to hide your disappointment when they suggest something you absolutely don’t want to do.

You have? 

Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Trust me.

I graduated from University with no idea where I wanted to go with my career

I feel like it’s getting less and less common for us to know from a young age what job we will do when we’re a grown up. You’ve maybe heard me tell the story of my childhood dream to be a ballerina. Then I wanted to be a teacher for a bit, then I spent a bit of time wanting to do marketing. Then I spent 4 years of my life at University training to be a Speech and Language Therapist, only to realise it wasn’t the right job for me either! 

It wasn’t until I got really clear on what was important to me in a job, and how I wanted my work to fit in with the rest of my life, that I found a job that really worked for me.

Ever since I got clear on my priorities, I’ve been able to work out if a job is right for me, before I apply.

Then I had a baby and everything changed

For me, becoming a Mum changed everything. It changed how I look, how I feel, how I spend my time, how much sleep (or how little sleep) I get each night… You know where I’m going with this, I won’t bore you by listing every tiny detail of my life that’s different these days, not today anyway!

Becoming a Mum really changed how I feel about work. It massively changed my priorities.

In my career pre-kids: I was really ambitious, it was important to me to see how I could progress and gain responsibility. I was really focused on development - I used to love going on training courses. Knowing I was gaining new skills was a big thing for me. I enjoyed feeling busy and challenged. When I considered whether a job was right for me, these were the first things I thought about. You could say they were some of my deal-breakers.

Now I’m a Mum, I have a career ‘for now’

When I returned to work after having T, I dropped down to part time hours. As much as I love my job, I don’t want to completely miss these first few years. I have it on good authority they go really quickly! When I was choosing a nursery I chose one that’s on my way to the office, because I don’t want to be too far away if he needs me. 

It’s become more important to me, than ever before, to have a job I really enjoy. If I didn’t, I know I’d be sat at work second-guessing my decision to put him in childcare; driving myself insane wondering if I’d made the right decision to come back to work.

Since coming back to work I’ve appreciated the team I work with so much more. For me, it’s been so important to have an understanding manager, especially since she has kids of her own. In the first couple of weeks at work after maternity leave, I found it so helpful having supportive colleagues. The people I work with would often ask me how I was coping with being away from T. They would ask how he was settling into nursery. They would understand when I said I hadn’t had much sleep. There’s a lot of Mums in our team – I love it.

Since becoming a Mum, I’m way less bothered about progression and development and travelling and being busy. I love my job AND I love my time at home. 

Those are some my priorities, and what makes my current job the right job for me. Your priorities may be similar, they may be different. Your career path will look different to mine. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the best jobs for Mums - or whatever other box people like to put you in.

Don’t think of a career ladder, think of a career story

Often the people I coach find it helpful to consider their career in three parts. If we’re thinking about this in story terms, let’s look at it as the beginning (pre-kids for some), middle (career ‘for now’) and end (career ‘for later’).

Each of these sections of your career might come with very a different context. Like I said, for me becoming a Mum was a huge transition. Then I assume I will face another huge transition in a few years when my little boy doesn’t need me as much.

When you go through a big change, often your priorities shift too. When I became a Mum, it totally changed how I felt about work, because I had a different idea of what was important to me.

I often wonder about my career ‘for later’. What will I prioritise in my career once T isn’t as reliant on me? Will my priorities go back to what they were pre-kids? Will they stay as they are currently? Or will they change completely? I’ll let you know when I get there!!

For now, I’m happy to focus on my ‘for now’ career. Remembering what’s important to me in this season, rather than feeling bad that my career isn’t what it was in the past, or what it might be in the future.

So how do I know if a job is right for me?

So maybe you’ve considered what’s important to you in a job before, maybe you haven’t.

Here’s one of my favourite ways to map out career priorities with my clients. Here’s an activity you can do to get clear on how to know if a job is right for you.

Make a career wish list

You’re going to create your dream job description. Think of this process as making a list of all the ingredients that need to be present for you to enjoy your work.

Think about the place you want to do your work from. What would the space look like? How many people would work there? Consider the lighting, the noise levels, the chair you sit on, the kitchen facilities. Would you work from home some days? Picture your dream workplace, and get some thoughts down on your wish list.

Think about the kind of people you want to work with. What age might the majority of your colleagues be? How much diversity might there to be in the team? What might your ideal manager be like? What might the leadership team be known for? Picture the people you’d love to work alongside, and get some thoughts down on your wish list.

Think about the work you’d like to do. What kind of projects would you like to work on? What skills do you want to use? How many meetings would you attend? What tasks would you spend most of your day working on? Picture a really satisfying working day, and get some thoughts down on your wish list.

Then there’s other things to consider: your hours, annual leave, salary, values of the organisation, commute, progression opportunities. Anything you can think of that’s important to you. Add them into your wish list.

What are your deal-breakers?

Then this is the part of the activity that will help you to know if a job is right for you.

Get some coloured pens – you only need two, but if your house is anything like mine, it’s tricky to know which pens work and which have dried out, so grab a handful!!

Split your list into deal-breakers (the things that you absolutely won’t negotiate on) and your nice-to-haves (the things you’d like but aren’t essential for you to enjoy your work).

For example. In my current career ‘for now’ some of my deal-breakers are: working part time hours, working close to T’s nursery, under 1 hour commute, an understanding manager, to enjoy the work I do, to feel my work is making an impact, to feel my work is helping people, to work in a supportive team.

In my current career ‘for now’ some of my nice-to-haves are: a salary that leaves us with something left over after childcare costs, having a manager who is a parent, having the option to work from home.

Have a look at your deal-breakers, they will give you some big clues on what your priorities are in the current stage of your career. And that, my friends, is a great way to know if a job is right for you, before you spend hours filling out the application form!

How I can help you find a job that’s a good fit

If you’re thinking of making a career change, but struggling to know where to start - my End Career Paralysis mini course will help you make a decision about what to do next in your career.

This mini course will be helpful if you’re weighing up options of whether you should look for another job, or not; if you’re trying to make a decision of whether to go self-employed, or not; if you’re considering taking a career break to look after your kids for a couple of years… Basically, if you’re in the process of making a decision about what to do about your job, I know it can really help you.

You can sign up here. I would love to help you find a career that works for you.