What would be your ideal job?
What would be your ideal job? This is always an interesting question that I sometimes get asked, and there are so many levels to it so is difficult to just choose one. It identifies values and beliefs as much as interests and areas you may be passionate about. It could show a deep interest in an area of work, an aspect that lights something inside them, or an area where they feel they can excel and be the person they’d like to be.
When you get to a certain age or time in life, you may not find that you want to aim for a specific job or job title, but more aspire for the desired workplace culture, beliefs, and to make the most of work-life balance and remuneration that enables your desired lifestyle levels. I hear of many people who don’t talk about wanting the next level but wanting the rewards of that level. So, what would THEIR ideal job be? You could argue it wouldn’t be their ideal job but the next achievable level.
If I were to map out my ideal job, there would be so many different components of it. I would want to do a job with purpose – be it helping others, playing a part in the wider system that is there to help others, or to provide some kind of guidance, coaching, encouragement, direction. I would want to do a job with sufficient opportunity to grow and to bring ideas not just to the table, but to be encouraged to deliver them. I would want to do a job where others around me have the same beliefs and values regarding what we collectively are looking to achieve. I would want to do a job where I can learn from others and grow as a person from interactions with those I am around. I would want to do a job where in a year’s time I can look back and see the growth in me as a person as well as what has been delivered in the meantime. Most of this doesn’t come from a job title or prestige from working for a specific organisation. It comes from an environment and culture that values people and their holistic value and contribution they can bring when looked after.
I’ve been very fortunate to have so much of this in many of the jobs/teams I have worked in over the years, including currently. I have learnt so much from many people, from managers, colleagues – older and younger, from communicating with stakeholders, managing projects and work packages, delivering changes, and it is through all this which makes the original question so much harder – what WOULD be my ideal job? It isn’t a title. It isn’t a specific grade or level. It isn’t necessarily in a certain sector or industry. It is a wider reaching all-round collection of aspects that enhances your working day, that enable growth as an individual, that rewards you for your knowledge, expertise, and delivery.
It could be one of many different jobs, but overall, you need your inner spark to be allowed to shine brightly.
