The job of any good recruiter worth their salt is to find out what motivates you. To find out what has brought you to meet with us and what’s driving you to make a change.
Is it money? Size of the organisation and the opportunity for development? Do you need flexibility, does the company have to have a great brand? Is it all about the team culture? Is to learn from a great leader?
Having recruited for the best part of 10 years (and for the majority of that time) for the charity sector, I’ve heard many times from people that it’s the opportunity to make a difference. And I have to say this is one of the main reasons I love my job as I get to partner with people who are driven by this desire to make a positive change.
I’ve met with so many awe-inspiring people, some of whom got to a certain point in their career and decided they wanted to switch to something more meaningful, something with purpose that provides them with a reason to get up in the morning. Something they are passionate about. And so, they decide to move into the for purpose/charity sector.
Unsurprisingly there are those too, that fall in the category of not knowing exactly what this would look like.
And that’s OK, you are not alone. It’s just harder for us as your recruiter when you have zero idea of what motivates and drives you.
With this in mind, I thought my first blog with Cause would be to help you understand what could be your why.
Because it is absolutely possible to harness a passion with your career (I’m one of many examples of this so feel free to ask more questions on this if you like) and so I will leave you with some points to consider that may help bring you some clarity.
- What are the aspects you most enjoy about your current and previous roles? By this I mean, what are aspects that you LOVE, that get you super pumped and fully lights you up! These are usually the aspects of your role you also excel in.
- Decide what aspects of your role you would like to continue doing and what you want to move away from.
- Come up with a priority list, so in your mind you know your role ideally will encompass X, Y and Z. Get some clarity.
- What do you love doing outside of work? What are your hobbies, interests, any volunteer commitments? What are you a naturally good at? Sometimes its worth having this discussion with some people closest to you as we often can’t see this in ourselves.
- Explore the opportunity of marrying your skills and experience with an interest/passion area. Conduct the research, speak to people in your network, look at organisations working in this space. What are the types of the roles they advertise that you could feasibly work in? Do you need to study? What other formal qualifications are required and/or experience? What is the job market like in this space?
- Seek quality counsel. I can also make some recommendations for a career coach if you need a referral.
- Be realistic. And be willing to work hard for success.
- What are the most important factors for consideration in the short and long term for you? Where do you see yourself?
- If you remove the fear of failure, what would you decide to do next? Do you require investment/study? What is stopping you?
- Absolutely NOTHING is impossible if you really want something. Believe in yourself, seek advice, formulate a plan. Build the support structures and connections and take that first step!
For me, I came to the conclusion my why is to connect people to meaningful work for them and help contribute to a broader community whilst doing so. I find working with people in the sector inspiring and have been privileged to place some really successful people who followed this process and whilst it took years of hard work and commitment, they are thoroughly loving and flourishing in their careers.