Top Tips for landing a fabulous job

For most of us, work takes up a significant part of our everyday lives. The Office of National Statistics reports that 29.19 million of us are employed and it’s important that each and every one of us is in a career we enjoy, since we spend so much time in the workplace and so much time thinking and talking about work even when we’re not there.

How often do you find yourself saying about your job “I’m bored”, “I just fell into it” or “We all have mortgages to pay” or “Is it 5 o’clock yet?” What would it feel like to wake up in the morning and actually feel excited about going to work? What would it be like to enjoy your work so much that you forget to clock-watch and it’s a pleasant surprise when 5pm comes round? Although there haven’t been many recent studies, one suggests that as many as 4 out of 5 people are unhappy in their jobs. For those who find some aspects of their working life enjoyable, it isn’t salary or the love for the work that makes them happy. Instead friendly, supportive colleagues and a great manager are the primary factors contributing to happiness at work.

So how do you find a job that will keep you positive and motivated and ultimately leave you experiencing long-term job satisfaction? You are the only person in control of your future career – here are a few tips on how you can gain clarity on what you really want.

• Do you know your values? And are these reflected in your current role? If not, seriously consider aligning your next job with your principles—if you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll get a lot more out of it.

• Define your skills and capabilities, and think about how you are using them. Are there are any which are not being used and thus you find yourself feeling frustrated. If you can’t find a way to utilise them in your present career, start researching alternative careers that match up with your abilities and play to your strengths.

• Challenge yourself. Staying stagnant is the quickest and easiest route to boredom. Don’t be scared of the idea of shifting between organisations, careers, sectors, industries—such transitions have been made innumerable times before and there’s no reason why you can’t do it, if you’re smart about planning your path and putting the effort in.

• Network. Think about existing contacts who could help you. Have you been longing for a career in sales? Who do you know that works in this industry and who can they potentially introduce you to?

• Don’t hold back from having ambition. Too often ambitious women are portrayed negatively, but there is no rhyme or reason for this. Do you care about getting clear on where you want to be or do you care about what others think? Are you going to let other people’s opinions keep you in a job you don’t like? Employers and prospective employers want to have people working for them who demonstrate an appetite for personal growth and when it comes to career progression, it’s these people’s opinions that count.

• Go for it! You and you alone can make it happen.

About the author: Nisa Chitakasem, created Position Ignition to help support professionals through their career challenges. She has co-authored a range of ebooks to help people through various career challenges including: How to Get the Job You Want, How to Ace the Interview, 125 Twitter Job Search Tips, 125 LinkedIn Job Search Tips and 135 Networking Career Tips.