Does your work fuel your passion?

Isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic has given many of us time. Time to stop chasing our tails. Time to sit. Time to think and reflect. That includes those who have sadly lost jobs and those working in iso at home.

Time is valuable for assessing if we’re passionate about our jobs. Let’s face it, loving your job is key to overall career satisfaction, as well as your mental and physical health.

It’s pretty easy to know when you’re passionate. It can be hard to figure out what to do if you’re not.

Following these steps is a great start.

Step 1: Take stock

Take stock by weighing your options. Record the pros and cons of your job. List what you would love out of a job, asking questions like:

• Do I enjoy going to work, or do I drag myself out of bed to get there?
• Am I in the right industry?
• What do I want from my work environment?
• What do I get from my current role and is it enough?
• What am I passionate about?
• If I wasn’t in my current role, what would I choose to do?
• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• Do I want a job or a career (read our expert article on this topic)?
• How is my unhappiness at work affecting my home life and relationships?

Dream big and think big. Pretend money isn’t an issue. Go for it.

Don’t pressure yourself to take stock in record time. This self-evaluation process can take a few days, but don’t let it drag.

Step 2: Assess your answers

Assessing your answers can be therapeutic and helpful. Examine if your stock-take concerns:

• are major or minor
• within your control or outside of your control
• fixable or irreparable
• are confusing you or causing doubt.

Step 3: Talk to others

It can be helpful to talk family and friends about your situation, but even more valuable to talk to a career coach, mentor, or an expert recruiter.

Our recruiters have placed thousands of jobseekers into meaningful work, at all levels, across all industries and in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. They have the big picture and are expert at scouting for possibilities, including ones you haven’t thought of. They believe there’s a job for everyone … we just need to work together to find it.

Great recruiters will talk to you about:

• your story and what you want
• ideas you likely haven’t thought of
• how to transition from one job to the next and/or one industry to another and/or one sector to another
• how to position your strengths in your resume and LinkedIn profile
• how to get ready for interview
• the importance of networking
• how to keep focused.

Our recruiters will also help you understand the recruitment process, outlined in this article.

Feel free to register with us online or call us on 02 6199 5750 or email face2face@f2frecruitment.com.au Our services are free to all jobseekers across Australia.

Step 4: Develop a plan for moving forward

A recruiter will also help you develop a plan for moving forward. The plan should be straightforward, realistic and include short, medium and long-term goals.

Short-term goals could involve:

• updating your resume (use our free resume templates) and LinkedIn profile
• cleaning up your social media profile.

Medium-term goals could involve:

• applying for several positions, even if they’re not 100 per cent for you, to get interview experience
• spending time following and researching the organisation you’d like to work with
• practicing responding to interview questions using the star method
• reading Resume Success Secrets.

Long-term goals could be to:

• complete online and/or short courses to get closer to your dream
• complete a degree
• build LinkedIn connections with companies you’d like to work for.

Step 5: Move forward

You’ve done the thinking and developed the plan so now it’s time to implement.

Keep track of progress using our free reference check template and handy application tracker.

Spend free time reading relevant expert articles on our website, including:

Strengthen your interview skills today

Qs to ask (and not ask) at your interview

Questions you don’t have to answer at interview

Step 6: Stay in touch with your recruiter

A great recruiter will stand by your side while you continue to search for work. Yes, it can take time, especially in today’s competitive market, but as mentioned earlier, we believe there’s a job for everyone, and not just any job … a dream job.