How do I know what work is right for me?

We’ve all asked this question at some point throughout our careers. We tend to think that we need to choose a career and stick to it for the rest of our lives, but that’s not true - especially in today’s fast-changing world.

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Where you started doesn't define where you'll go

Your background doesn’t define your next steps. While you can work in something related to your degree or current work experience, you can also explore new careers and open more exciting doors to meaningful work, regardless of your studies or past job.

Start by looking at what you prioritise, be it your work values, your strengths or your interests.

In our previous blog, we looked at how it’s possible for you to find fulfilling work that aligns to your work values. This time, we look at finding roles and teams that align to what you already have - your strengths.

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What are strengths and skills at work?

Your work strengths are transferable skills that you naturally do well or enjoy doing - or both! In a professional setting, people may start to recognise you for them. Work strengths are also known as talent, skills, capabilities, abilities and more.

The best part is that you can develop and transfer your strengths throughout your career. So you can take them with you to new job opportunities or use them to explore completely new career paths across different industries.

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How to figure out your strengths and skills

It’s important to know where your strengths lie. Your strengths don’t just help you understand what kind of work opportunities to look for, they also help you figure out what kind of teams will value your strengths.

You don’t need to have a long list of strengths; no one is great at everything! You just need to identify the strengths unique to you, then continue to develop and master them.

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Here are a few questions and tips to help you identify your strengths:

• What kind of things do you enjoy doing at work?
• What can you do really well at work, even if it’s not your favourite thing to do?
• Ask your co-workers where they have felt you’ve given the most value at work.
• When things go wrong or if there’s a conflict at work, what do you do well?

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If you’re just starting out in your career or still unsure about your strengths and skills, you can try a few different approaches:

• Think back to your school or university days. What kind of things did you do well? Perhaps you were good at taking notes with detail, or you were good at working with others during group projects.
• Think back to a personal project or task. Have you ever had to organise an event? Perhaps you helped a friend’s business run their social media account? Perhaps you had to negotiate during a buying/selling transaction.

Not sure what exactly are your strengths at work? Why not have a think about your day to day life and see if you relate to any of the below scenarios. Remember, you don’t need a long list of strengths to find work you’ll love!

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Why find jobs based on your strengths?

Boost your productivity and performance

When you put your strengths in action at work, you’ll get to do things you naturally excel at and enjoy doing. This can help you feel more motivated and engaged in your role to bring your best.

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Explore growth and development opportunities

Knowing your strengths will help you understand where you can keep learning and developing. You never stop growing in your career, and your strengths play a big part in helping you find new projects in your role, new roles in your team, new teams in your company, or completely new career paths.

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Transferable strengths and skills last

Technical skills are changing faster than ever, but your strengths will always be relevant. No matter what role or career you decide to take on, your transferable strengths and skills will help match you find the right teams that value you for all that you offer. A lot of employers are moving towards skills-based hiring, where they focus on strengths and skills over education and technical skills - this is great for people who are starting out or switching careers!

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How to find employers that value your strengths

If you’re ready to find a new job opportunity with companies and teams that are hiring for your specific skills and strengths, here are a few ways to get started.

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Read between the lines of job ads

If you’re looking at job ads, check the job descriptions for any mention of particular tasks, capabilities and any information that gives you an idea of what kind of strengths are needed to succeed in a particular role. Some typical job descriptions will start with a sentence like “The ideal candidate will...”

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Watch team videos

Some hiring managers share team videos in their job ads - listen to how they describe the way they work and what’s a typical day like. This usually gives you a sneak peek into what strengths you’ll need to thrive in that team environment. You can find team videos in job listings on the employer's website, job ads on job boards, the employer's LinkedIn page or even the hiring manager's personal LinkedIn pages.

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Learn about the employer’s culture

Check the employer’s website (including their career pages and blogs) to see what kind of culture they have and if there is any specific team content. For example, some companies may openly say that they’re fostering a fast-growing startup environment, which may need you to be quick to learn, resourceful and collaborate with others.

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Check out Hatch’s role pages with upfront info

A lot of employers on Hatch go beyond the resume to hire early career people based on their strengths and values. When you’re exploring new roles on Hatch, be sure to look at the top 3 skills needed to succeed in each role. Here’s an example:

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Even if you’ve never been in a similar role before, Hatch makes it easy for you to apply and stand out for roles based on your strengths and values, not your resume or studies.

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Keep your options open

Don’t just look at established organisations. A lot of startups prefer to hire early career people for their strengths and values, so they can learn and grow together.

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Find a role and team based on your strengths

Explore live roles on Hatch across Marketing, Data, Sales, Tech, Ops and more. Stand out in your job applications by showcasing your strengths, values and motivation, not just your resume.

Never miss an opportunity - sign up to Hatch and get matched to exciting roles based on your strengths, values and interests - sent straight to your inbox.