The Perfect Job Opportunity

This article is part of a series regarding Personal and Career development. It elaborates more on the “opportunities” of the earlier discussed framework. It dives deeper in how to look for job opportunities and a way how you can analyse them.

In the end we don’t need to forget that your career is also there to make a living, making sure you can pay the bills (and probably all your fun holidays next to it). But we want to do this in a fun and fulfilling way. The article about your profile focuses on discovering on what would make a job fun and fulfilling. But if there are no (job) opportunities out there that match them, it’s hard to get to that point. There is a reason why not everybody is doing charity work, how fulfilling it might be. So what are these opportunities? And how can you pursue them? Looking for this sweet spot where the opportunities out there match your interests and skills. And how do you assess what’s the best opportunity to take? In this article I try to give some tips and also provide a little framework that might help to assess job opportunities.

A way to think about Job Opportunities

So you searched hard for job opportunities, or maybe you got approached by a recruiter. What makes it a good opportunity? Is it the salary? Is it the job/role? Is it the company? Is it your future manager? There is a very simple answer: yes.

After assessing some job opportunities for myself. And after doing quite some coaching conversations with students who were all in the middle of the same search: getting that perfect first job, I saw a certain pattern. I would like to share this pattern which I converted to a little Venn-diagram/framework (did I mention I love conceptual frameworks?). You can see it below.

Note: I see salary and other perks (holidays, etc.) as a constant that needs to be met. Like a hygiene factor. You need at least a minimum salary to consider it. Above that level it will probably not be a decisive factor for whether it’s a good fit. At least I think it shouldn’t be, but some may argue.

Job / Role — doing something you like on a daily basis.

The job, role or position reflects on what your daily work and responsibilities are. It’s often the thing you will see online as a vacancy. I think it’s quite straight forward. You want to do something that you like, something that gives you energy, on a daily basis. If the opening describes “You will visit clients all over the world.” and you hate traveling, then it’s probably not a good fit. Make sure you get a good view of what these daily responsibilities are.

Culture & People — working in a nice environment.

This is not all about the best company parties (although it does say something). It’s more about how the company goes around, the people that work there, and how they interact with each other. A culture can be very important. On the one hand for what matches your personality but maybe also what matches the stage of your career. If you are looking for a first job I think personally that it is really important to look for a company that has a culture that stimulates personal development and growth. A company that for example stimulates mobility within the company, that has very proper guidance and coaching, and lets you try out new things.

For me I was lucky. Bol.com was growing and the culture was very dynamic. This really suited my personality in a way that each day was different and as soon as I thought I was going to be bored, there was always a new opportunity (and I was motivated to take it). But for some people this dynamic culture will also feel chaotic. Re-organizing each year, teams that change composition constantly, let’s just say there was a lot of change. And some people like a little bit more consistency. Which is fine. Be honest with yourself. Again the culture is a personal preference.

Company & Product — feeling connected.

This is illustrating what the purpose and the products of the company is, and if you feel connected to it. Sometimes this subject is overlooked, but I think nowadays with movements like “Start with Why” it gets more attention. We all want to make an impact, but what this impact is and what we want it to be is different for each person. Having a connection with the products or services you are working on will definitely help in feeling like you made an impact. An easy example is a charity organization. If you are passionate about animals you will probably feel very connected to the WWF, and actively working on fulfilling its goals will definitely make you feel like making an impact. But let’s take a more personal example. For me to go and work for a company that works on products for football fans, combining tech and football, is definitely a good fit for a football fan like myself.

Creating your perfect job opportunity

So how would your perfect job look like? What kind of activities would you do on a daily basis? On what kind of products/services and goals would you be working? And what kind of culture would there be while doing that? Again why not try to make a profile for yourself answering these questions. Making it concrete again.

Assessing job opportunities

This is where it should come in handy. If you are going to compare jobs/positions/whatever, just think about these different perspectives. Create the different “job profiles” and why not compare them with your own profile. Or compare them with each other and see which one speaks to you the most.

Some ways/tips for doing research:

In a career there are probably many, many, many opportunities that pass by. Some handed to you, some you searched and fought very hard for. These opportunities can be new jobs, new companies, you name it. But let’s assume you are now in a position where you are looking for a new job, or you are looking for a better fit. How do you do this, how do you start your search? If you are an accountant and happy with the role it’s easy. Google “accountant jobs” and there is probably a list of job openings from various companies. But what if you are a student and studied Business Administration like myself. It is not really if you were educated for a particular role. Maybe CEO or Entrepreneur comes close, but they are not really starting roles. So I think the best way to get started is just start your research. Start broad and try to narrow it down later.

Some ways/tips for doing research:

• Of course.. The internet. There are so many ways to start. Just go to companies that speak to you and see what kind of openings they have. Open LinkedIn and start your research in what kind of openings there are out there. There is a lot of input and it can all help to further shape your perfect job. In the end it’s as simple as: if you are reading the job description, do you think: is this something I can see myself doing?
• Drink lots of coffee with people. Build up a network and ask people if they are up for a cup of coffee where they can tell more about their job. You will be surprised at how many people will accept this offer. And if they don’t, you probably don’t want to talk to them anyway. Because you want to speak to people who are passionate about their jobs, and people who are passionate about their jobs don’t mind drinking coffee with strangers and talking about it. Trust me. I sat on both sides of the table now. During these conversations you will learn a lot about how their daily jobs really look like. And you will definitely notice if it speaks to you or not. And having a personal connection with this person also says something. Because if you are alike, and he or she is enjoying his or her job, you will probably too.
• Drinks lots of coffee with people. I am just stating it again. Because I know that this tip can be a bit “out of your comfort zone”. Cold calling, sending messages on LinkedIn just feels stalkerish. But just do it. One of the biggest benefits of this is also the network you’re building up. All of these persons can also look out for jobs for you in the future. And again if they are passionate people they will really help you.

Some last remarks

I want to end with a note that maybe deteriorates the conceptual framework, but… It’s not an exact science. In the end you need to go for a job opportunity that feels good. The “theory” above should just help to quantify that gut feel a little bit.

Also, don’t let the search freeze you. I had a coachee who was so busy looking to get the perfect first job that he wanted to do some extra internships after his studies. And although I really admired his ambitious goal of doing something he loves from the beginning, you should also just start. We live in a time where switching jobs is normal. And during your first job you will probably learn so many new things about yourself and about companies/jobs in general, you can better start in what might be a lesser perfect first job.

Again, hope this all helps to think about your career and to get a job that you are passionate about!

Imagine a world in which the vast majority of us wake up inspired, feel safe at work and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.