Want to know how to find the perfect job? Here's a unique way of looking at your job search that will help you find the ideal career for you.
Growing up, we all dream of the perfect job.
The majority of us want to be doctors, veterinarians, police officers, teachers, etc. Think back to when you were young. What did you want to be? I personally wanted to be an orca trainer…
Often, those “dream jobs” change as you get older. (I found some other skills, thankfully!)
When you graduate from school, you realize the “perfect” job is not always within reach or maybe you don’t even know what the perfect job is to you anymore.
This drives discouragement and brings us down right after college graduation.
Nowadays, finding the “perfect” job could mean being out of work for years while you search. In fact, I know many people that fit that exact mold. They have a college degree but don't know what they want to do because they're waiting for the perfect job, so they either don't work, they become a career student, or they take a dead-end job that barely pays the bills (and requires no thinking).
The truth is, most people don’t find the perfect job right out of the gate.
That’s not meant to discourage you, but to actually encourage you.
Let's dive in!
This post is all about how to find the perfect job, which is most likely imperfect…for now.
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- 11 Habits of Millionaires that Make Them Successful Every Day
- How to Land a Job You’re Not Qualified For
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How to Find the Perfect Job
According to Forbes, 54% of people are satisfied with their jobs. That's actually pretty impressive! Since we spend the majority of our time at our jobs, it's important that it's helping you grow somehow in your personal life.
So how do we find the perfect career?
Often, the perfect job is actually something you find on your career journey.
Let me explain.
Jobs you take today can lead you to amazing opportunities tomorrow.
Therefore, instead of holding yourself to extremely high standards of finding “perfection”, find something you’re interested in and excited about.
The important thing is to START. Start your career, learn some new skills, meet people, and (most importantly) grow your resume with actionable talents that will help you later in life.
Once you start a career, you'll be surprised to see where that career growth takes you. You’ll often find that you enjoy a career you never even thought about doing.
On the contrary, you may absolutely hate it. BUT, it's not a loss because:
1.) You made money to pay bills.
2.) You learned new skills (even if they are just social/business skills). By the way, social and communication skills are the absolute best skills you can have. You can get any job if you know how to communicate well with others.
3.) You learned what you don't want to do.
4.) You met people and those people can help you get additional jobs down the line.
Why the Imperfect Job Can Be the Perfect Job
Story time!
I dreamed of becoming a CPA and working for a Big 4 Accounting Firm.
To make that dream a reality, I went through schooling, got a master's degree in that field, and worked as an intern but when I took the job at a top firm, I was actually miserable.
I thought I had landed the dream job! However, I wasn’t happy.
I ended up leaving within 6 months and going to a job that I’d NEVER imagined being in. It was in a totally different industry and I wasn't even excited about it when I started, but I knew it was a great job with a great offer at a fantastic company.
I was worried I would crash and burn, but I decided to give it a go (mainly because I couldn't wait any longer for the perfect job…so I took the imperfect job).
Well, I ended up LOVING IT!!
I was “employee of the year” 5 years in a row and absolutely LOVED my job. I felt so lucky to work for that company and made so many incredible friends.
This taught me a valuable lesson…that sometimes things happen for a reason.
In fact, some of those colleagues led me to another job (my current job) that I also love. I’m extremely happy at my job, but I would have never picked it for myself.
I also believe it will lead to even more amazing accomplishments in my future and I wouldn’t change it for anything!
I even have those previous colleagues (and new colleagues at my current company) that continuously reach out about new job opportunities.
You realize that once you have a network of people that know you and your work ethic, it actually becomes quite easy to land jobs in the future.
The point of my story is that if I had waited for the perfect job, I would have been out of work for a few years before getting the perfect job (the accounting job), which I ended up realizing within months that I didn’t like it anyways!
Don't fall into that trap.
So how do you find the job that's RIGHT for you, not perfect for you?
I'm glad you asked!
How to Find the Job That's Right for You
If you aren’t able to find the perfect job off the bat, find something that interests you and challenges you.
See where life takes you.
I guarantee that the majority of people in this world wouldn’t consider their jobs perfect and didn’t plan on being in those jobs either.
What do you look for in these jobs? Let's break it down.
Job Criteria to Look For: PIC
When it comes to selecting a job offer that will suit you, your lifestyle, and your career aspirations, I believe a job should meet at least one of these 3 criteria.
I call it PIC and it stands for Passion, Income, and Career.
This is actually an exercise I have my friends go through as well when they aren't sure if a job is right for them. I truly believe every job you take should fit at least one of these 3 criteria.
If you're in a job that doesn't fit one of these 3 criteria because you just need to make money, that's completely fine and understandable. However, that doesn't mean you should be complacent and sit back.
If a job doesn't meet one of these 3 criteria, you should be looking for a job that does. Does that make sense?
Grab a pen and paper. Let's do a little quiz to see if your job fits the bill.
*Just my opinion, not career advice.*
My criteria for selecting a job is that it should entail at least 1 of the following criteria (PIC):
- Passion– You are passionate or interested in learning about this topic.
- Is this something you absolutely love?
- Passion will drive work ethic so if it's something you absolutely love, it's 100% worth it because you will love your job every single day.
- Income (Good)– The job will bring in good, solid income.
- Now, for this one, I'm not talking about a job that is barely paying the bills. I'm talking about good, solid income that makes this job worthwhile because you're able to save money for something else you really want in life (house, wedding, business venture, retirement, etc).
- If it's barely paying the bills, it's not hitting this bucket. P.S. If you need assistance with budgeting to reduce those bills, you'll love my free monthly budget binder and personal finance organizer!
- A flexible schedule or working from home could also be argued under this criteria. I completely understand the value of a flexible schedule. I was an Economics major and the opportunity cost of your time is a true value. Therefore, I'll let you include a dollar value under this category if a flexible schedule is important to you. Personally, I love the flexible schedule I have in my job. I've been working from home for 10 years now in the tech industry (TFC is my side hustle) and I don't think I could ever go back to office life so trust me when I say, I get it! Here's my free job comparison tracker that will help you quantify the value of working from home.
- Career Growth Opportunity- This means one of two things:
- You have growth opportunities within the company. If the job can offer you management or a promotion you want, then that's perfect!
- That the experience at this current job will help you get the job you actually want.
- If the job does not help you with career growth, it doesn't fit this bucket.
I believe that if a job doesn't match at least one of these things, it may not be the right job.
If that's the case, you should sit down and write the reasons the job IS a good match for you so that you can focus on growing your skills through those reasons.
If it matches 2 or all 3, then dive in headfirst because it’s a winner!
Finding the Best Career for You
At the end of the day, what's most important is that you are learning and growing. I believe every day I don't learn something is a wasted day.
I want to strive to be the best person I can be each day, which includes habit tracking, eating healthy, working out, doing my devotionals, reading, and being the best employee I can be at my job.
You only have one life and EVERYONE is capable of making it a successful one.
Today is your day. “One Life. One Chance.”
I hope this was helpful! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at thefinancialcookbook@gmail.com
Resume Template:
If you need a resume template to help you with your job search, I actually have my exact resume template available here!
Book Recommendations for Personal Development:
- 5 Books Every Woman Should Read to Take Her Career to the Next Level
- The 5 Best Financial Books that Will Change Your Life
- Lessons from Rich Dad Poor Dad: The Finance Book That Will Make You A Millionaire
- 6 GIRL BOSS Books That Will Change Your Life
Related Articles About Career Development:
- How to Improve Your Confidence: 12 Proven Ways
- Job Offer Comparison Spreadsheet: How to Decide on Your Career
- How to Land a Job You’re Not Qualified For
- 11 Habits of Millionaires that Make Them Successful Every Day
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