Discovering what you really want in your career change can be challenging. I remembered the Job From Hell exercise recently in a coaching conversation, when I asked my client, ‘what do you love doing in your current role?’ There wasn’t much. So I asked; ‘Your job from hell – what does it look like?’ It got a big reaction!
Getting clear in my own career change
The Job From Hell exercise is taken from Barbara Sher’s book, “I Could Do Anything, If Only I Knew What It Was’. Although the book is a little dated now, creating my own Job From Hell when I changed careers, was super useful. It helped me to clarify and get specific about what I actually wanted in my career and my life, simply by listing all the things I didn’t want.
Sounds simple. Well yes and no!
It’s easier to describe what you don’t want
Sher says – and I agree – that most people can clearly describe what they don’t want in their next role, and with great detail. But how does this help if you’re changing careers or trying to work out what you want in your next role? If you’re feeling stuck in your career, or feeling like you’re at a crossroads, listing all the things you dislike in your job can be straightforward, if not depressing. Let’s be honest, you’ve probably already got an idea about what you hate at work if you’re reading this far, because you already know this ‘stuff’.
What if I could describe my Dream Job?
But what about the stuff you don’t know yet? What if you could clearly describe the opposite – the Dream Job? (Read on for the exercise). This is everything you’d love to have, do and be paid for in your work and career. Sound indulgent? That’s the beauty of it. You imagine and describe your ideal working day with free reign.
Both these exercises, The Job from Hell and the Dream Job are great at:
- Identifying the elements you want in a career change or in your next role
- What’s missing from your current role or career that you need to incorporate
- Setting clear boundaries on what you will and won’t compromise on
- Not repeating past career mistakes
Take a look here at my blog on Discovering Purpose in Life and Ikigai for another useful approach.
Job From Hell and Dream Job exercises
What you need;
A pen, paper, an environment to think or imagine. I invite you to take these questions, particularly the Dream Job questions, outdoors on a walk, somewhere green and calming where you won’t be disturbed. Read here about how greenery and nature enhances our thinking.
Job From Hell exercise – the ‘don’t wants’
Imagine your most hellish day on an ordinary working day, that starts from the moment you wake up and ends when you go to bed. Describe these hellish moments in vivid detail, focusing on these key questions:
- Where are you on your most hellish day? (the environments, surroundings, think about light, noise, place)
- Who are you with? (whether you know/ have worked with these people already, or you’re describing general traits and behaviours. Note: does not have to be humans – can be animals, tech, etc
- What are you doing? (specifically, the activities you hate doing, that drain you, that you feel are pointless, that make you feel miserable.
Dream Job exercise – the ‘do wants’
Now the flip. Imagine your perfect day—an ordinary working day that starts from the moment you wake up and ends when you go to bed. Describe it in vivid detail, all the positive moments and feelings, again focusing on these key questions:
- Where are you on your perfect day? (the environment/surroundings)
- Who are you with on your perfect day?
- What are you doing? (specifically, the activities you enjoy, that energise you, that make you feel happy/valued/purposeful – however you want to feel)
What do you notice from each exercise? Identifying key elements in both scenarios can provide valuable insights into what you want more of and less of in your life.
Top Tips
If you…;
…find the Job From Hell challenging or gloomy – do something light/fun/energising as a reward
…have identified what you don’t want, but are stuck on what you do want – flip the ‘don’t wants’ into polar opposites.
Example - and these are mine from when I did this exercise in 2019;
I don’t want to be sat at a desk all day
I don’t want to be in a small, dark, gloomy space with no natural daylight
Becomes…
I want to be able to move a lot more
I want natural daylight and space
Back to my client
My client began to work out not just what she needed, but what also was possible and achievable in her day. What was important in her life that enabled her to thrive, was becoming clearer.
3 Top Tips: What Do You Want in Your Career Change/Next Job?
- Identify what you enjoy and love doing most, who you’re with, where you are. Bring it to life, just like the Job from Hell and Dream Job exercises. Include what you love in your personal time too.
- Set yourself SMART goals. Ideal for having something specific and achievable to work towards to motivate you. Also great for when you find big ideas too big to navigate and need to chunk them down
- Do some good work on yourself – whether it’s self awareness, regular physical exercise or good sleep, ensuring the basics are there could make a big difference. Read here about the PERMA model – foundations to flourishing, which is a key principle in my life coaching work.
Earlier I talked about what you already know. In my experience, no matter how insightful the material, a meaningful career change requires time, energy, and commitment. It’s probably something you’ve been thinking about for a long time already. Doing this work by yourself enables you to scratch merely the surface of your perspective. Having an ally to support you can provide valuable viewpoints, uncover blindspots and reveal other rewarding possibilities that you might otherwise overlook.
So if you need support with your career change or challenge at work, book a call with me here.
What could you do, if only you knew what it really was?
