Finding your true passion is a boon for professionals, creating opportunities to align their careers with what genuinely motivates and excites them. However, identifying your passion isn’t always easy. A field that initially sparks your interest might not keep you engaged long-term, something you typically only figure out after diving in fairly deep.
Thankfully, there are things you can do to make finding your true passion simpler. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are five tips that can help.
1. Understand That “Passion” Is Subjective
First, professionals must understand that “passion” is a subjective term. For some, it means work they feel is exciting. For others, it might be the ability to align their activities with a deeper meaning or broader goal, like benefiting their local community or facilitating positive change.
Before you worry about choosing a career that ignites your passion, take a moment to consider what that means to you. That way, you can focus on fields that align with your needs.
2. Draw on Your Experience
Your past work experiences can give you clues about your passion. Spend some time reflecting on your career and identify activities, projects, or workplaces that you had strong positive feelings about, creating a quick list along the way.
Then, think about why you found those tasks enjoyable. Was it the skills you used or the impact you had? Did it have to do with the people on your team or the environment in which the tasks were performed?
As you reflect, also consider what those events have in common. By doing so, you may be able to drill down into what was igniting your passion at the time, giving you some initial direction.
3. Envision Your Ideal Role
Once you’ve spent time reflecting on your career, start defining your ideal role. Don’t necessarily worry about job titles. Instead, consider what kind of tasks you’d like to manage, the skills you want to use, and the environment you’d like to be in a while working.
With this approach, you start outlining the type of job you’re after. Then, you’ll be able to use it as part of a career roadmap, helping you decide what comes next.
4. Identify Jobs That Align with Your Vision
Once you’ve started defining your ideal role, conduct a job search based on those parameters. Explore every position you see that aligns with your vision regardless of whether you fully qualify for the roles. See if some genuinely jump out at you. Then, determine what you’d need to do or learn to be eligible for the position.
5. Create a Plan for Your Dream Job
After identifying jobs that align with your vision, it’s time for career planning. Start outlining what you’d need to do to be eligible for the role, such as the skills you need to add or the experience you’ll need to gain.
Then, you can start working toward that position. As you do, take stock of how you feel along the way. If your energy and focus remain reasonably high and your excitement increases as you complete each activity to get closer to your dream job, the odds that you’ve found your passion are relatively high. As a result, you can keep going with greater confidence, knowing you’ve identified the best path for you.
If you’d like to learn more about finding your true passion, the team at The Advance Group wants to hear from you. Contact us today.