How to Find a Job You’ll Love

How to Get a Job You Love

Lees, author of How to get a job you’ll love, says you may have to be more creative in your job search in hard times, but this can open up new possibilities. In fact, people who say they just need a job, any job, are likely to go to the bottom of the pile in tough times like recession, says Lees. The important thing is to know what you want and that means knowing yourself and what motivates you.

You need, in essence, to be proactive. It’s not just about looking for a job in all the normal places. It’s about taking risks, experimenting with options until you find what is right for you rather than staying in a career that may not make you happy.

In his book, Lees talks about how people tend to keep on in the same old same old job even though it isn’t what they want. He claims they stop themselves breaking out of the mould by making excuses – they are worried about making the wrong decision, changing the status quo, making a mistake, but this leads to them letting their career be shaped by accident or accepting second or third best. His book is packed full of exercises to overcome these excuses and find out what really motivates people.

Don’t Be Unrealistic

One of the main mistakes people make in looking for a job, he says, is a lack of realism – they wait, for instance, for the perfect job to come along. Instead, they should go out and investigate the kind of jobs which attract them, make approaches to people, ask to see round an organisation, get some work experience on a day off.

Dramatic upheavals in a person’s life can allow people to review what they want, says Lees. For example some people will use redundancy money to set up their own business and every recession has historically led to a rise in self employment. Other people might prefer to hedge their bets a bit by seeking part-time work – and the security of regular pay – while they build their own business up on the side. Some will be attracted to what is called portfolio careers. This kind of option is growing in popularity as technology allows people to work from home more, be their own boss and work for a variety of different organisations.

That means you need to be sure you are suited to working more under your own steam and juggling different jobs. You will probably also need a good range of contacts – most people go freelance or adopt a portfolio career by starting with regular work from a past work contact. You need to have the skill to spot a potential problem in your industry and offer yourself as a solution.

The benefits are clear. You can enjoy more flexibility, and more time as remote working can mean you don’t spend dead hours commuting to and from the office. On the downside, you may feel more isolated. You could also, says Lees, arrange meetings with people doing similar work in your home area. Another potential drawback is that if you are not visible in the office or part of a team every day you may be side-lined. If you can get a balance between homeworking and office working, for instance, working some days of the week at home only, this could offset the negatives.

Flexible Jobs for Flexible Workers

Lees says in exchange for flexible working workers need to show that they too can be flexible. “If you work very defined hours you are more likely to miss out on things like training. If you can supply a degree of flexibility it will look like you are more committed,” he says. “Being more rigid can be limiting.”

While he understands people’s fears about being exploited if they are constantly working outside their defined hours, he says it is best not to be too rigid. “Don’t put the focus on flexible working as being restrictive,” he says. For this reason he advises people not to bring up the possibility of flexible working early on in an interview. “You are giving people a reason to exclude you,” he says. If a job is not advertised as being flexible, you may have to do a few months of full-time working in a new post before you ask for homeworking or other solutions.

Ahead Of the Game

Another reason for ensuring you are stay visible in the jobs market, whether that is by attending group meetings or through social networking, is in order to keep ahead of the game. Job descriptions and roles are changing very rapidly in today’s international marketplace. There are jobs available now that didn’t even exist 10 years ago. To keep ahead, says Lees, you need to talk to people and network.

However he says it is easy to think, if you have been out of the workforce for a while, that you will never get back in because technology has changed so much. In fact, most people can pick up new software skills with half a day’s training from a colleague, he says. “Most employers are not looking at these kind of things,” he says, “so don’t draw attention to them. They are more interested in flexibility and people who have the right attitude. It’s about transferable skills. If you are returning to work after a career break what they want to see is that you are interested in the job and committed. They don’t want to feel that you are just seeing the job as a means to an income.”

Resources to Help You Find a Flexible Job in Your 50s

• Jobs/Redefined portal: A jobs portal that's age-inclusive and has flexible work for midlifers.
• Life/Redefined careers: Advice and resources to help you make a career change.
• Work/Redefined portal: Learn more about how business is tackling ageism and which companies are at the forefront of the age-inclusive movement.

Are you considering a career change? Look no further. Our article on jobs to help you navigate the life-changing next step in your career gives you all the information you need to make the leap.