While it may seem like some people are born knowing exactly what they want to do, it’s totally normal to have no idea what your career passion is and to need some help finding it.
One way to find your career passion is to ask yourself some tough questions. If you’re unhappy with your job, it’s really easy to zone out, but now is a time to bring things into focus. Ask yourself the following questions and answer as honestly as you possibly can. Don’t worry about having realistic or practical answers, just be truthful.
To take some pressure off, we’ve provided a few simple questions for you to answer. If you take your time to answer them thoughtfully and are honest with yourself, they should lead you down a path towards discovering exactly what your career passion is.
Before we dive into the how, let’s work on finding your why. What excites you? What drives you? What wakes you up in the morning before you’ve even had that first cup of coffee? Spoiler alert: your why doesn’t have to be your career.
Your why can be you love to travel or have always dreamed of having a big family. You may want a job that doesn’t involve a desk, but not care what industry that’s in. Others may find climbing the corporate ladder a real thrill. Someone may have pinpointed their dream job when they were six years old and never looked back.
Your career can be something that thrills and excites you, but your career can make other areas of your life come alive well after 5 pm. So let’s examine how to find your career passion, whatever that passion may be.
It’s time to put some pen to paper and jot down answers to a few questions that will help you find career clarity. Remember — honesty is key here.
Now that you’ve completed this exercise, did any trends or patterns emerge? Which questions were you most excited to answer? Which ones made you feel tense? Highlight the answers that thrilled you and think carefully about how you can transform those interests, roles, and preferences into a career. Cut out the bad and make room for the good.
After this exercise, you may discover that your job description matters more to you than what industry you’re in. Or you may have your heart set on a few select companies that share your values. Start to think about how you can take the excitement you felt when answering some of these questions and how you can bring that energy into your everyday life.
Sometimes you think you know exactly what you want until you get it. That’s the thing about careers, they are always evolving and changing. If you discover that something you thought you wanted isn’t the right fit, you can move on and try something new. If you’re strategic and focus on building transferable skills, there is no reason you can’t switch jobs or industries. You can consult or start your own business, the sky’s the limit! If you’re interested in pursuing a new role or industry, consider one of these options for testing out your passions.
Guess what? You’re working on your personal development at this exact second. Any time you read a book on a subject you’re interested in, take an online course, or attend a workshop or conference, you’re working on your personal development. There’s no rule that says you have to be sitting in a classroom to learn, so explore your career passions and interests in whatever format you see fit.
An internship serves a few really important purposes. Let’s look at the benefits:
If you’re in school, you’ll have plenty of access to club and philanthropic opportunities. Post-school clubs are less common but you can easily spend time working with charities or can join networking and business groups. Both clubs and charities provide leadership and skill-building opportunities, a chance to expand your network, and an opportunity for you to learn more about your professional interests. Not looking for a major time commitment? Try stopping by some career fairs instead!
Of course, we can’t forget school! If you decide to attend college, you have a wealth of knowledge and opportunities right at your fingertips. Take a class that’s not required for your major. Go to that free seminar with that interesting guest speaker. Get to know your professors. Head on over to the career center after class. You’re paying a lot of money to attend college, make sure you’re getting the most out of it.
If you want to take things a step further, graduate school is also always an option! Some graduate school programs, like MBAs, are actually designed so that you can balance them on top of a full-time job.
Taking community college classes can also be a great option for furthering your education. Even if you have no intention of obtaining a degree, community college classes can be a fun and affordable way to keep learning. Community college can also provide you with an opportunity to finish your general education classes (aka the classes college freshmen and sophomores take before moving onto their upper division coursework) before transferring to a 4-year university. You’ll walk away with the same degree as your classmates at a fraction of the cost.
Once you’re working, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to grow, even if your career feels stagnant at first (it’s tough to be patient during those entry level years!). If there is a new skill you want to develop or you want to learn more about a different department at your company, speak up. Let your manager know and see how they can help you. They may be willing to pay for you to take a course that teaches you graphic design or to let you collaborate on a project with the HR department. You can’t get what you don’t ask for and the last thing you want to do is get too comfortable at a job and stop growing.
Not ready to make a big career switch? There’s nothing wrong with baby steps. Freelancing is a great way to see how you actually like a job you’ve been pondering, without committing 40 hours a week to a new career. Soon, we’ll be launching an entire course surrounding the ins and outs of freelancing called All About the Hustle: Freelancing Demystified, in case you’re interested in learning more about what it’s like to live that freelance life!
Want to keep progressing in your career? We have two career courses that can help you get on the right path and find your career passion—Career 101: The Building Blocks and Leveling Up Your Career!
Aelyn’s reason for existing is simple — to teach everyone the life skills necessary to not only survive, but thrive.
With every course, you take one step further towards building your dream life.
The trademarks AELYN and FIND YOUR SUCCESS A Logo are owned by AELYN. All rights reserved.
