Match Your Skills to Your Ideal Workplace

A major factor in whether you have a fulfilling career is how well your job and workplace match your personality and working style; if you like what you do and where you do it, you’ll get more out of the work, and you’ll likely have more success.

Until you already have the job, though, it can be hard to know how if you’ll like it. Is it possible to avoid a bad match? It is, and from any point in your career. You’ll want to put your own feelings and experience into it, too, but you can use these tips to guide you.

For New Workers

People either new to the workforce or starting fresh, like after a graduation, don’t have much to go on when thinking about their ideal workplace, but there are still things that you can do:

• Focus on your strengths. What were you best at, both in and out of the classroom? If you can find a job that uses those skills or has you working for those interests, you’ll do better.
• What do you like to do? This matters for both the work and the work environment. If you like to talk to people, or if you like close-knit groups, those are factors as important as the kinds of tasks you’ll do for the job.

You can explore different kinds of work and work environments by volunteering or taking internships or going on job shadows. Treat those opportunities like regular jobs, and you’ll quickly see how you’ll do once you have one.

For Experienced Workers

If you’re ready for a new challenge, need a new job or are going back into the workforce after some time away, you may know what to look for, but there are other things to consider:

• Know what your past says about you. You know what you do well, but what have your supervisors said about your work habits? Have your co-workers commented on a particular skill or trait of yours? Going back over performance reviews is a good place to start.
• Network. You should be networking throughout your career, but definitely put energy into it when you’re looking for a new job. The people that you meet can tell you a lot about where they work and help you see if it might be a good or bad fit.
• If you like where you are but maybe just want a different job, ask your manager if you can visit another department that looks interesting and see if you might fit there.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll want to be comfortable in your workplace and happy with the work you do. Use this advice and these other pieces on GoodProspects to understand how to thrive in your work and build a successful career.