Start With You - Not the Job Title

By Kelly Magowan

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Summary: The best way to begin your job search is to start with you, your skills, interests, values, abilities and motivators.

In my experience with job seekers or careers clients, most people approach the job search by looking at the job titles and try to fit themselves into these boxes. Once you have a few years of experience behind you and have developed a vast array of skills and experiences, trying to fit into a box often causes frustration.

The best way to begin your job search is to start with you, your skills, interests, values, abilities and motivators. Rather than trying to fit yourself into a position description, create a position description of the types of jobs you are interested in and that suit you. It is a far more empowering process and is more likely to focus your job seeking and bring about a satisfying result.

To begin this process analyze your past work, education and voluntary experiences and asses your abilities. This does take time however it is a beneficial and rewarding step as it helps paint a clear picture of what you have achieved, what you have to offer, and most importantly will give you focus in terms of the jobs you consider applying for. Also take into account the types of work environments and people that you enjoyed working in the past that you have really thrived in. Finding the right working environment for many is crucial for job satisfaction. Questions to consider:

- What have I done successfully and enjoyed?

- What have I done and received praise from others?

- What areas of my chosen field of work am I really qualified to administer?

- What training have I received and benefited from since leaving school?

Develop a comprehensive list of the skills and competencies that you have to offer an employer; you are not 'just' an Accountant, a Systems Developer, Engineer or a Marketing Manager. Many underestimate their working potential and how transferable their experiences and competencies are, and go through their work lives using only a few skills, unaware of the full extent of their talents and capabilities.