How to start when you don't know how to start - a simple list

We all wish we could wake up every morning with a clean slate, or start every year afresh again. But there are always loose ends, half-finished projects, forgotten plans and it can feel like a bit of a mess. 

Our careers can get into this state very quickly, like we’re being pulled in different directions, changing our minds every few months, and being overly influenced by what others are doing. We can get lost within our own careers, buried under a tangled pile of different aspirations. 

Well, if you want a new job or challenge but don’t know where to start, here is a simple guide for you. 

Discover your interests 

The obstacle we hear the most at Escape is, “I don’t know what my dream job is.” Whether it’s influenced by the early narrowing and specialisation of subjects as children or the traditional view that we have one job throughout our lives, a lot of people are restricted by this belief.

It becomes like a straitjacket over our careers, restricting each stretch towards something that might be interesting and exciting because it probably won’t be perfect. We become walled in by inertia and an overbearing image of a perfect future.

At Escape, our advice is always to follow your interests. Follow what makes you curious. What do you take breaks from work to read about? What newsletters have you signed up for? What do you talk to your friends about? These are the way out, these are the lights at the end of the tunnel. 

Get a piece of paper out (or open notes on your phone) and write down the things that excite you. Don’t judge yourself if your interests don’t sound as grand as you might think - when I did this, the word ‘compost’ made my list. 

Career dislikes

If you’ve had a few different jobs in the past you might get off to a quicker start here.

While discovering a shorter list of what you love doing is tricky, one way to make it easier is to first rule out things you know you don’t like. 

Don’t fancy being a lawyer? Write that down. Teaching really not for you? Get it on the pad. Write down the careers you know you really don’t fancy, then maybe see if there is something that binds all of these together, is there a more general trend you know you’re avoiding? 

Then get more detailed, what are aspects of jobs you don’t like, or dynamics you won’t put up with? Do you want to avoid jobs that involve being highly organised, or don’t involve much interaction with people, or where being good with numbers is important?

This can be an enlightening experience and help to narrow down the impossibly large field of choices into something more manageable. 

Define realistic success

What is success to you? Not to your parents, not something that would reflect well in your friendship group, not something that would get loads of likes on LinkedIn, but to you. 

This will require honesty with yourself, and you’ll have to get comfortable with uncertainty. Working out what success looks like to you probably isn’t something you’ll work out all at once, it might take time. Allow it to live in the back of your mind and be awake to any clues you encounter in your daily life.

One exercise could be imagining a future you’d be proud of, or that is really enticing to you. What is it about it that fills you with longing? What is it about that that feels ‘successful’?

What are your skills?

Feet back on the firm ground of the present at this point. What do you have that you can offer? It’s common to start hearing a fearful and doubting voice at this point and you may feel the temptation to stop. Don’t give in, you know meaningful change is behind this hurdle.

See what you currently have in your education and experience that you would put in a CV or cover letter at this point that would be attractive to employers. Let’s see what we’re working with. 

What are my gaps?

Now you know what skills you have, it might become apparent - thinking about some of those desirable futures - what gaps might need filling in. 

Read our article How To Upskill For a Career Change for more information and resources on this subject. 

Idea generation

Back to the fun creative bit. These exercises may have clarified a few things for you so let’s consolidate this.

Maybe it’s shown you that you’re desperate to work outdoors, or with children, or for humanitarian issues, or maybe flexibility matters most to you right now, maybe you want to go to a different country, maybe you want to start your own business. These are just examples, but whatever might have sprung to your mind, get it down.

The idea here is to come up with lots of ideas, not good ideas. 

Career prototype

Now you can start to craft a job role that might suit you. This job role doesn’t necessarily have to exist, in fact, it almost certainly won’t. Write down 3 things that matter most to you in a role, what are your non-negotiables?

How do I communicate my value with others?

Now you know more about yourself and what you are looking for you can get specific. Why do you want to do what you want to do? How can you demonstrate that ambition? Try and find the one skill that you are really good at, that might set you apart and think about how you can show this off to potential employers.

Take the feelings of purposefulness that comes with January to get your CV up to date. Allow the hammering rain on the window to keep you at your desk until you’ve done it. It may well be the best present you can give yourself. Check out our 4 easy steps to build your CV.

If you’re feeling like you want to be more active, to really attack your job search, then read our piece, how to write a speculative application and 5 big ideas.

Maximise Escape, browse our Escape 100 list, and set up alerts.

At Escape we only have the most purposeful jobs at the most innovative companies, so make use of us. Browse through our Escape 100 companies and ensure you click ‘create alert’ to ensure you never miss an opportunity.

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