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Succeed in the workplace
Succeed in the workplace

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4 Matching you and the work

A photograph of two hands with henna patterns on them.
Figure 4 Matching yourself to the work you want

Your research in the last section may well have uncovered practical issues that you might face, if you want to do a specific kind of work. For example, your preferred work options may not be widely available in your area. Or, you may have discovered that the type of volunteer work you want to do is restricted to the organisation’s head office, which is too far away for you. Before you let issues like these dominate your thinking, consider your timescales for finding this kind of work.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • How long are you prepared to take, to develop your career and obtain the job you want?
  • Do you have a time limit for entry into the job of your choice?
  • Have you got time to study for any necessary qualifications?
  • Do you have any other options? 
  • Are there other ways into the job?

You may not feel the need to answer these questions now and that is fine. Alternatively, if you have concerns, you might want to jot down your immediate thoughts in your notebook. This allows you to ‘park’ the problems for now and move on. You can always return to these questions and your reflections later.

In Weeks 1 and 2 you considered your preferences based on your interests, values, skills and personal constraints. It is usually only when you start to look at what is available that you discover that it might not be so easy to find job opportunities that match your preferences. Try not to become despondent. You may be able to retrain or find similar jobs that you can apply for. You may just need to think more flexibly, to take advantage of what is available. The next section encourages you to do this.