By Katy MacKinnon Hansell for Huffington Post Woman
As a career, executive and leadership coach, a question I get asked the most is:
“Can I do what I love and still make a living doing it?”
My answer is always a resounding “YES!”
So what are YOU waiting for? Let’s get YOU going…
Here’s my proven formula to get you into work you love:
Step One: VISION
The first step is to get more clarity about what is your vision for your work. Even if you aren’t sure exactly what you want to do, you can focus on identifying what types of experiences put you in flow, what are you attracted to and what more of, what are you resistant to and want less of. So you might say, I like working across functions on cutting-edge ideas with innovative people. I want less time in meetings, traveling on the road, and need more flexibility to juggle my family life. Keep the list going and identify things that you love doing and begin to think about how to replicate them in your work.
Step Two: VALUE PROPOSITION
The second step is to develop a compelling value proposition: meaning, how you create value through your work. Begin by identifying: who is your target customer? What is a crisp definition of your work? What is the benefit the target customer gets from your work? The best way to communicate it is your ABC: I do A (the product/ service you provide) to B (your target customer) so that C happens (the benefit from your work). So I could say: “I offer career coaching to women re-entering the workforce to facilitate a smooth and effective transition back to work.” You have to be clear on the value you create before you can convince anyone else.
Step Three: MARKET TEST
The third step is to market test your plan. It’s really important not to develop your plan in a vacuum. Talk to people in your field you are already doing what you believe you would love to be doing. What you learn will help you to calibrate if it is really a good fit for you OR if it is not what you are looking for. The best way to do this is to ask people for “informational interviews” (not job interviews) all the way along so you are constantly gathering the information you need to refine it and to get a better mapping of your skills onto the opportunities that are out there.
Step Four: BRAND YOU
The fourth step is branding YOU! Why do retailers spend millions of dollars on advertising developing brands? So that we will all have the same mental shorthand for what’s the benefit we’re going to get when we buy them. We see the Nike swoosh and we all think high performance athletic wear. So what’s your Nike swoosh? What is the benefit you’re going to offer future employers?
Step Five: LAND YOU
The fifth step is to land you in the right work for YOU! You want to be strategic about what you go after in your job hunt. The key is to figure out what unmet need in the marketplace does your work solve. Structure your communication around how you solve that unmet need through your brand and your value proposition. Target those employers and educate them on how you solve their unmet need.
Use these 5 Easy Steps and Get Into Work You Love Today! You Deserve To Love Your Work! If we were all in work we love, we would have a happier, healthier and more productive workforce and society!
Source: Huffington post Woman
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