Ever hear the expression “follow your heart” or “just do what you love”? These types of sentiments are usually offered as suggestions when the topic of analyzing career goals – or changing them – is being discussed. However, for most of us, the task of finding the right kind of vocation is a confusing and anxiety-riddled experience; indeed, you may have “liked” a plethora of subjects prior to graduating college, but how many of those can you say you seriously “loved” or had a passion for?

We all want to choose a career that makes us feel whole and, at the very least, inarguably competent, but how can we know what that will be? It’s not that difficult to find someone who started out thinking he or she would love their chosen profession, only to wind up despising it. In all fairness, how are you supposed to know if you will be happy as an investment banker, or an artist or a professor if you haven’t actually attempted any of these forays yet? Who has ever, in the history of mankind, accepted a job and had it turn out exactly the way they imagined it?

We’re going to cut through all the clutter of this matter and provide some tips for finding the job that’s right for you.

Define Your Skills and Value

Here’s the chance to take a good hard look at your skills and the value you can bring to a company – particularly those acquired outside of the workplace. What do you do well? What skills do you look forward to using in an office? Ensure you have plenty of up-to-date evidence of learning, skills development and voluntary initiatives.

Identify Your Must-Haves

What are you looking for first and foremost? Are you seeking additional responsibility or a shorter commute? Are you passionate about working for a company that allows your pet to travel with you? Taking time to identify your must-haves – large and small – will assist you in honing in on the types of jobs you should be looking at.

If you’re stuck, try tanking these five key factors in order of importance:

• Company Culture
• Growth Opportunities
• Pay and Benefits
• Stability
• Responsibility Level

Is There a Motivational Fit to Achieve Your Goals?

You want to choose an occupation that provides a solid motivational fit for you, too; some of us tend to see our goals, at work and in life, as opportunities for advancement, achievement and rewards, and if you see your own career goals this way, you have a promotion focus. Some see their goals as being about security – about not losing everything we’ve worked so hard for. When you are prevention-focused, you want to avoid danger, fulfill your responsibilities and be someone the company can count on.

Some other ideas when determining what job is right for you include taking a personality test, such as the Meyers-Briggs exam, to learn about the careers that fit with your personality and values, as well as talking to professionals in your field(s) of interest to get a rough sketch of what real day-to-day responsibilities would be like. 

Since you actually possess a sense of what your skills and values are – or should– this is a good starting place when searching for the job that's right for you.