What motivates you?
We all have different motivations and different interests. The world would be a boring place if we all shared the same interests and wanted the same job. Luckily, this is not the case.
How to determine your motivations
1. Think about the last time you felt motivated to do something
What exactly was the motivation? Was it the process, the sense of community, the activity or something else? Did you find it motivating to help others? Or did you get to immerse yourself in something you found stimulating?
Do you see a recurring theme in your motivations, when taking on a project or a task?
2. Think about your dream job or the type of job you feel drawn to
Is there a job that sounds really awesome to you, but also seems unrealistic? Don’t worry. Try to break down aspects of that exciting job and e.g. note:
- What tasks and responsibilities are involved with this job?
- Which of these tasks would you enjoy, and which would be less interesting? Why?
- What and when are the working hours?
- Would you work independently or closely with colleagues?
In general, we see that attractive aspects of a particular job can be found elsewhere. What other jobs can you think of that have similar qualities to the ones you’ve noted from the list above? How can you look for these in a job post?
Write it down and revisit your thoughts when you’re looking for a job.
3. Ask others what they think you’re good at
What do they see as your biggest strengths? What do they think you’re particularly good at? What do other people thank you for?
Do you agree? How can you use this in a job?
4. Try it out
Now that you have formulated your motivations, preference of work tasks and your strengths, you have a solid foundation when looking for jobs.
To make sure that it’s also the case in reality, it’s a good idea to try it out. How can we know if it’s right for us, if we haven’t tried it yet?
How can you do so without investing too much of yourself? Our suggestions are to either do an internship, find a student job or volunteer. Maybe you can talk to someone you know who is working on something interesting at the moment. Maybe you can try out something online or pay a visit to a company or organization.
When testing your ideas, you discover what works for you and what you like. This will make it a lot easier for you to make decisions in the future.