Career Clarity: How to Find Meaningful Work [Free Workbook]

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If you’re like one of the many millions of people who quit their job during the “Great Resignation” or joined the “Quiet Quitting” trend, you’re likely feeling unhappy at work. And you’re not alone. When iHire polled job seekers for our 2022 Talent Retention Report, 58.8% said they had left a job in the past year, and job satisfaction dropped 11.7% across the board compared to last year.

But what can you do if you know that quitting and finding a similar job won’t solve your unhappiness? Your first step is to find “career clarity.” We put together this career clarity guide to help you enjoy your work – so keep reading to learn more and download the workbook on this page to get started.

What is Career Clarity?

Career clarity is an understanding of what you need in your job to find fulfillment. It means you understand who you are, what your strengths are, and how you can apply those aspects to your job. If all those are aligned, you’re ready to take your next step in your career and find work that is truly meaningful to you. If you feel like something is missing in your career but you don’t know what, you’re likely lacking career clarity.

Not only will career clarity help you find a job that will be fulfilling, but it can also help you when applying and interviewing. Hiring managers will notice if you’re sure of what you want and confident in your skills, and it will make you a more desirable candidate. Employers want employees who are passionate about their work.

How to Get Clarity in Your Career

In order to attain career focus, you need to dig deep and ask yourself some questions. These questions are designed to help you reflect on your strengths so you can better understand yourself and your career goals. To get started, try to answer:

• What are my talents?
  • What do I do best?
  • What do I love to do?
  • What am I not good at?
• What am I passionate about?
  • What motivates and demotivates me?
  • What do I value in a job?
  • What did I like about previous jobs?
  • What would I do if money wasn’t an issue?
• What really matters to me?
  • What is the impact I want to make?
  • What does success look like to me?
  • Who do I want to help with this job?

To get the most out of the exercise, journal your answers on your own or use the downloadable workbook we provided at the top of the page. Writing things down will help solidify your responses in your mind and make it easier to remind yourself of them in the future. There are also plenty of online career assessments you can take that will help put you on the right path.

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Turning Career Clarity into Career Focus

Once you’re clear on your strengths, values, and needs in a career, it’s time to turn that vision into an achievable goal. That’s where “career focus” comes in. Take everything you learned from your introspection and crystallize it into one job or career path. You can even include specific companies in your goal if you identified one as important to you during your career clarity exercise.

Once you have your career focus, it’s time to start working toward it. First, make note of any gaps in your skills or knowledge and take steps to fill those in. Then, depending on the scope of the goal, it could be smart to break it into smaller pieces. For example, if your goal is to get a management position at a non-profit but you’re only qualified for entry-level jobs right now, set an initial goal of landing that entry-level job to get your foot in the door, then aim for the management position.

It’s important to keep your values at the top of your mind when creating these goals. They’re your compass when thinking of how to find meaningful work, and if you stray too far you’ll likely end up back where you started. And don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t achieve your goals right away. It may be frustrating if you find the perfect job and aren’t hired for it, but don’t give up. Take a step back and consider what you can do to improve your chances of landing that job or getting that promotion.

If you’re feeling unhappy at work or don’t know what you need in order to enjoy your work, gaining career clarity is the answer. Work through the exercises above and use the downloadable workbook to help consolidate your thoughts, then work toward your goals. You’ll find that even just knowing what you want will improve your outlook on your career. If you’re still feeling stuck, check out our Job Seeker Resource Center for more tips on how to improve your career, or talk to an iHire Career Advisor.