Gurleen Khaira

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23 Feb,17
How to find a job you love ?

How to find a job you love?

Commitment levels among Indian employees have been declining sharply in the last few years. It is reported that almost one -third of Indian employees tend to change their jobs within first two years of their joining. Further, a survey in 2015 revealed staggering results where 82 % employees indicated an intent to leave their organisation in the next 5 years. While many organisations are taking incremental steps to improve the company culture conducive to job -satisfaction among the workforce, yet employee retention remains a pressing problem for companies world-wide. 

While there are several causes that can be attributed to increased dissatisfaction among the workers, the biggest reason for low levels of engagement is when employee skills and interests are not effectively matched with the job role and duties. For a job to be intellectually stimulating and mentally rewarding, it should define all of who you are. Only when a job supports your interests, skills and competencies, will you able to perform to your fullest potential and find your work truly fascinating. That’s the dream, right?

In the lines to follow, I will attempt to offer some insights on identifying interests and skills that can facilitate your search for finding optimal opportunities.

Identify your skill and areas of interest: This step is critical to your career development. Knowing your interests and skills will help you in choosing the best career for you. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, said “People who work on the things they usually love enjoy life more than everyone else does simply because they are chasing their dreams.”  When choosing a career or a job, people often forget or ignore what they really love. Job-related decisions are usually driven by other people’s guidance and expectations. So, how does one identify his/her interests and skills?

Let’s begin with a definition of interests and skills.

Interests are subjects, ideas or things that you want to know more about. Interests can also be an activity or hobby that you enjoy during your free time. For example, I like to read books and solve puzzles. These are my hobbies. What are yours? Write two lists on one page, the left side with subjects or things that you enjoy learning about and the right side, a list of things you enjoy doing.

Skill is the ability to do something well. In other words, it’s your competency. While some skills are natural, others can be acquired over time. Skills can also be divided into more categories. For instance, functional skills are things you can do, like driving, negotiating, motivating, planning, memorizing, or cooking. Subject skills are things we learn about – in school, college or apprenticeships- this is your ‘expertise’. Finally, personal traits skills are the way you act, such as being on time, paying attention to detail, researching or inquisitiveness.

How you combine these three kinds of skills is what makes you unique. Once you have identified your interests and skills, you are more likely to look for jobs and careers that require the skill-set you have to offer. After all, you were born because the world needs what you uniquely have to offer. 

An independent and self-motivated entrepreneur in the education industry with excellent research, analytical and negotiating skills.

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