Most job-hunters know that it's a good idea to have a record of their work experience and education, but did you know that a record of your "life experiences" can be a valuable career tool?
By life experiences we mean every significant experience that doesn't fit into the categories of work experience or formal education.
For example, if you did missionary work, joined an expedition, or ran away with the circus - but didn't do it "officially" - that qualifies as a life experience. Your own life experiences might be related to:
- Family
- Hobbies
- Recreation
- Travel
- Self-study
- Social activities
It isn't possible to describe every human experience on this page, so we'll list just a few to get you started. For example, your family experiences might include:
- Child care
- Closet organizing
- Cooking
- Decorating
- Elder care
- Event organizing (e.g. a family reunion)
- Hiring contractors
- Hosting guests
- Household finances
- Housekeeping
- Pet care
- Planning parties
- Selling your home
- Shopping
- Vacation planning
Your life experiences have given you a wealth of information about what you love doing. Tapping into this resource can help you identify your dream career.
Using a note paper and pen or a computer, start recording your life experiences. Instead of listing everything you have done, you can focus on the activities you found most impactful, either in a positive or negative way. Questions you can ask include:
- How do you feel when you do this activity? (anxious, bored, frustrated, joyful, peaceful, proud, etc.)
- Which activities do you care about doing well?
- Which activities are "want to" and which are "have to"?
- Which activities do you find most rewarding?
- Which activities do you wish you didn't have to do?
- Which activities are you most passionate about?
- Which activities do you enjoy so much you would pay to do them?
- If money were no object, which activities would you prefer to pay someone to do for you?
As you work through this inventory and recall your experiences, you will probably start to notice patterns in the types of activities you have found most rewarding.
For example, you may discover that the experiences you loved most have involved working with people, or let you express your creativity, or challenged your intellect. Likewise, you will probably find patterns in the activities you have found to be most frustrating.
By taking stock of your past experiences, you can lay the foundation for your future dream job.
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Take inventory of your job skills and experience.
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Tag and Catherine Goulet are founders of FabJob.com and authors of the book Dream Careers: How to Quickly Break into a Fab Job! Visit FabJob to discover how to break into the career of your dreams.
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by Tag and Catherine Goulet:
Sisters Tag and Catherine Goulet are the Dream Career Experts. In 1999 they founded FabJob.com, a publisher of guides on how to break into a dream career, which has been visited by 50 million people. They have been featured giving career advice in media from ABC to Oprah.com and Woman's Day to the Wall Street Journal online, and their career advice appears frequently on the career pages at MSN.com and AOL.com. They are authors of the book Dream Careers: How to Quickly Break into a Fab Job! Visit FabJob.com to discover how to break into a dream career.
FabJob.com is featured in Woman's World Magazine ("Land Your Dream Job" article, April 2007).
FabJob Guides have been featured in stories at The Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine sites.
