The Pathway to the Right Vocation

by sysop in Career Pathways

by Kristina Burroughs

There is no such thing as an easy three step process to find the perfect job fit. In fact, the journey is full of good and bad experiences, risks, sharp turns, abrupt stops, and unexpected opportunities that pave the way to the best possible vocation where you will be the most fulfilled in your work. We all know that “get rich quick” schemes don’t work, but we often believe that there is an easy way to vocational fulfillment. Most of us are looking for the “perfect” job that pays well, offers flexibility, and fits into our lifelong career goals in a one-stop shop. Stumbling upon the right vocation is more like a compilation of many experiences that take you a step closer to clarity.

Here are a few things to consider in deciding whether the next opportunity is another step in the right direction of your vocational fit.

1. Is there opportunity to grow and learn skills you need to move closer to what you think you want to do long term? Do you have a healthy curiosity and a desire to take the risk? Are you motivated to perform the required tasks of the position?
2. What will it cost you? Most jobs include some work you don’t like to do. If a job doesn’t require you to do something you simply do not like, it might be too good to be true. Even the most fulfilled and successful men and women have aspects of the job that they do not necessarily enjoy. That is life, and these tasks help you develop responsibility at any level or stage in your career progression.
3. Take a look at your career progression so far.  Consider what tools you have selected along the way that may have helped you succeed. What do they have in common? What did you like and dislike about the jobs? In exploring a new job prospect, consider whether it offers you more or less of what you genuinely and naturally enjoy doing.

Finally, after you have counted the cost, reflected on your experiences, and audited your internal motivations, then you have to make the best decision you can with the information you have right now. Successful people do not always take the perfect path but rather create it, even if it means recovering when the risk does not payoff.

 

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