3 Steps to Find Your Dream Career – Pick Dave’s Brain

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This week’s question comes from Ramzi in Quebec, Canada.

Q: I have tried for a long time to find the best career where I will be fully satisfied, but I’m having a hard time finding it. What do you feel is the best formula to find the right career, Dave?

Click to tweet this: If the job hunt is wearing you out, it may be wise to look internally before searching externally. @DaveCrenshaw

“Can’t get no satisfaction” when it comes to your career?

This week’s question comes from Ramzi in Quebec, Canada. He asks:

I’m an I.T. consultant with fifteen years of experience. I have tried for many, many months to find the best career where I will be fully satisfied. But I am having a hard time finding it. What do you feel is the best formula to find the right career according to your experience, Dave?
Thank you very much!

Dave:

Thanks for the question, Ramzi.

This goes back to a course that I teach on LinkedIn Learning about discovering your strengths. In it, I share a formula. In fact, I go into great depth, but I’m just going to give you an overview here.

The formula is: “gifts + loves + skills = talent.”

What do I mean?

Well, a gift is a trait that we are born with. It’s what you naturally came into this world being able to do. Whether that’s being able to speak to people, being able to create art, or, in your case, an aptitude for IT. Make a list of all the gifts that you can think of.

Next, think about what you love. By “love”, I mean the things that you’re passionate about, that you care about. What do you like to do in your spare time? What are your hobbies? What kind of blogs do you spend time on? Write down all of the things you love before you go to the final one—skills.

Skills are things that you have learned how to do. It’s knowledge that you’ve acquired over time. Perhaps you went to school, or perhaps you went through certain training programs. You might have even learned it from your parents when you were growing up. Make a list of all the skills that you’ve acquired.

Now, take these three lists and compare them side by side. Then, circle areas they share in common. For instance, maybe you have a gift for technology, and you have a love for video games, and you have a skill about designing video games. That would create a common path where all three of them would come together.

When you find that combination, it creates an interesting career path for you to explore. Your success will be more likely. Not only will you be knowledgeable and possess natural gifts, but you will also have the passion that is necessary to persevere in that career long term. And that’s really where the success comes from.

Thanks for the great question, Ramzi!

And if you have a question that you’d like to ask me, all you need to do is go to davecrenshaw.com/ask.


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