The most common mistake I hear people make when navigating a career transition is haphazardly applying to job postings on the internet without being clear on what they are looking for. It’s exhausting, demoralizing and, most importantly, may not even lead you to a job that aligns with what’s most important to you.
What if instead you felt confident that each role you thoughtfully applied to is well-aligned with your strengths, values, and goals for the next chapter in your career?
Before applying for that next role online, pause and take some time to build what I call your “career funnel.”
What is a career funnel?
Think about the possible roles out there that you could apply for or pursue. There are likely dozens if not hundreds that you’ve seen posted, heard about or imagined for yourself. This long list can be overwhelming and the process of applying for jobs is exhausting. How do you know which to pursue and where to invest your time and energy?
You need a way to filter out all of the noise so that you can focus only on the opportunities that best fit your needs and goals. So, imagine you are building a giant funnel – taller than you! At the bottom, the narrow end, is your career vision. This is where you aim to be in the next stage of your career.
Take Action: Find out why a career transition vision matters here!
Now, inside this career funnel you will build filters. One is for your values and the other is your strengths or natural talents.
Your career funnel will take all the possible roles or opportunities available and help you identify only the ones that will lead you to what is most important to you.
Building Your Career Funnel: 3 Parts
1 | Career Vision
Start by developing your career transition vision. That is, describing as much as you can about where you are headed for the next stage of your career (the destination). Imagine what it will be like when you get there, what you will be doing, who will be with you, and anything else that is clear. Here are five ways to create a career vision for your career change.
Take action: It is likely that this will become more into focus over time, so just capture what you know for now and add more details as they become clear.
2 | Personal Values
You will be most engaged and fulfilled if you are able to work (and live) in alignment with your values. What do I mean by personal values? These are what is most important to you in life, guiding your decisions and priorities in almost every interaction you have.
This was the single most impactful exercise I did when navigating my own career transition. Being able to put language to my personal values allowed me to rule out opportunities that weren’t in alignment and identify unexpected new possibilities I hadn’t considered.
Think about:
- A time you felt particularly engaged or fulfilled in your career. What value was guiding you?
- An extremely difficult decision or situation you’ve had navigate. What value guided you through that? Or what value was being challenged in that situation?
- An extremely clear decision that took little thought or effort. What value guided your decision?
Take action: Consider using a values card deck like this one to help you identify your personal values. As an alternative, try this free online values activity.
3 | Strengths
Your natural talents become a strength when you can consistently rely on them to be successful. They are your superpower that sets you apart from others in the job market. Knowing them allows you to focus on roles and organizations where you can use your strengths every day.
One way to identify your strengths is to complete the CliftonStrengths assessment. The assessment itself is powerful, but much deeper meaning can be extracted when discussed with a credentialed Strengths coach (like me!). Together we can identify how your strengths have helped you be successful and bring out the best in you. Clients often share that they feel more confident and empowered following a CliftonStrengths coaching session, particularly as they navigate a career transition.
Take action: Already completed the CliftonStrengths assessment? Contact me for assistance with accessing your results and to learn more about scheduling a strengths coaching session.
Not into assessments? That’s ok! You can also identify your strengths by reflecting on or discussing these questions with those close to you.
- What types of work or organization are you drawn to? What do you know you do well?
- What types of work are you doing when you lose track of time or feel extremely energized?
- What types of work come naturally to you, without much thought or effort?
- What have you been told you excel at? What are you known for?
Reference: These questions are inspired by Gallup’s “Five Clues to Talent” concept.
Using Your Career Funnel to Find a Job You Love
Now that your career funnel is built, you may be wondering how to find a job you love using it. To help you do that, I’ve created a downloadable worksheet to walk you through it step by step.
Have questions? Reach out anytime!
