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Finding the right person for the job – and the right job for a person – is a bit like match-making. Work has to do with purpose, it's personal. This is why you can only thrive in an organization that’s right for you. And how do you find that? By understanding your career needs and communicating them.
What really matters
Apart from the compatibility of professional requirements and qualifications, the relationship between the company and the employee is decisive for successful cooperation. To find out who would be the right fit, it is important for both sides to really get to know each other – but also for each party to truly understand themselves.
For a company, that means knowing more than just the mere bullet points of the job description. An organization must fully understand its corporate culture and have embraced the values that derive from it. Moreover, it’s pivotal to be familiar with the existing teams, their specific dynamics, and their skillset. Because only when you know the shape of the hole can you find the right piece of the puzzle.
For a potential candidate, a similar thought process is necessary.
Assess
To comprehend your career needs, the first step is to look back and analyze.
The longer the professional career, the easier it is to recognize strengths and weaknesses. Don’t be afraid to be subjective! You can simply ask yourself retrospectively: in which (professional) moments did I feel particularly proud or inspired, and what was the actual motivation behind it? Was it the result achieved or did I already enjoy the process? Maybe you felt truly fulfilled with a project, even though the result wasn’t quite as successful.
Even in the early stages of a career you can already look back and apply this method to school days, training, studies, or private experiences.
Looking closely at gratifying and joyful situations, jobs, and projects helps to reveal the tasks and challenges that were involved and required. That, in turn, indicates the inner drive and leads to your career needs.
In the same way, you can uncover areas for improvement.
When have you felt specifically uncomfortable, what situations or tasks do you try to avoid? Where do you always encounter criticism? Even though it is admirable to try to turn your weaknesses into strengths – for example by facing your fears and choosing to leave your comfort zone – you mustn't torment yourself.
What you don’t want or need is as important as vice versa!
However, reflecting on the past alone is much easier than clearly and proactively defining goals for the future.
Talk about your career needs
Therefore, a good way to gain clarity about your career needs is by talking about them with others.
This is not trivial. It requires a trusting, safe, and non-judgmental atmosphere – the only way to ensure crucial honesty. Don't sugarcoat, be quick to pass over, or generalize!
In conversations, it’s often the pain points that are being swept under the rug. These, however, are essential. For example, to find out what really bothers a person about the current situation and why. Or what made someone leave a job in the past.
Articulate in all clarity what you are missing – to then derive from this what you need. After all, needs and wants are not always congruent.
Discussing this with others helps to gain different perspectives and a fuller, less distorted picture.
Synchronize
Both people and companies often believe they have to live up to an ideal image. That can be difficult to achieve and superficial at the same time. Being authentic, in comparison, requires courage.
Successful and lasting collaboration requires a high degree of congruence in values, manners, expectations, and work culture.
Today, larger companies in particular publicly communicate a philosophy, corporate values, or guiding principles. These are usually relatively general and objectively positive. However, the reality can look quite different from the expectation.
For example, general terms such as ‚transparency' and ‚appreciation' may sound good and easy to understand. But what someone perceives as appreciative is specific. How these terms are understood, lived, and manifested in a company also varies greatly. Even openly communicated facts can be interpreted, evaluated, or perceived very differently.
It is therefore vital to make sure to be on the same page, through awareness and communication.
The key to gaining clarity about your career needs and a fulfilling job is true, deep understanding – not presenting a shiny surface that fits the expectations of others.
Take your time
A reputable executive search firm can be a great help during all steps of the way. Even in the first interviews (before you get in touch with the actual company), this draws as accurate and realistic a picture as possible. Not only of the role but also of the situation and culture of the company. It also highlights challenges honestly.
Take your time to inform yourself comprehensively. Clearly outline what you dislike in your current position and would not want to encounter again – as well as what you would definitely not want to miss.
The right mindset helps, too. Don’t go into an interview seeking recognition or validation – but to truly find out whether or not the company is a good fit for you, based on your career needs. Ask questions you’re really interested in knowing the answers to. Not just to show off.
For example: directly question the company philosophy. How exactly does this philosophy manifest itself in the organization's daily business, how is it being lived?
In short: have an authentic, truthful conversation on eye level. This is the only way your specific career needs are going to be fulfilled. An environment in which everyone is happy does not exist. But every little pot can find its little lid.
Anja has over six years of experience in the field of research in HR consultancy with a focus on executive search. You can get in touch with her via e-mail here.