Sital Ruparelia

10 years ago, when no one was looking, I’d often be reading personal development books (usually hidden behind a newspaper on the train).

15 years ago, when no one was looking, I’d be giving career advice to people twice my age (instead of doing my job).

20 years ago, when no one was looking, I’d be editing my fellow Students’ CVs/resumes (despite the fact that I had very little to put on my own CV/resume).

When on holiday, I’ve often been found quizzing the local taxi driver or waitress about their past and discussing their future career aspirations (..yes, I know, very sad!)

……so looking back, it’s no surprise what I now do for a living.

The clues are hidden in your past

When people are struggling to make career transitions, the answers or ‘clues’ to what they should investigate as career options are usually found – not on the internet or on job sites – but hidden in their past.

Usually it’s those activities or tasks that we have been drawn to when no one is looking that offer the best clues to the direction we should be heading in the future.

You see, when you let go of the ego-driven need to “look good”‘ and “avoid screwing up” you get much closer to doing the work you enjoy. The work you’re naturally talented at, the work you’re best placed to succeed at.

It’s the work that’s a natural expression of who we are, rather than the work that simply makes a buck and ensures a good self image.

So what are you doing when no one’s looking?

Here are some questions for you to ponder:

- If you were locked in a big bookstore overnight, with all the security cameras switched off and no one looking, which section of the shop would you go and sit in to read? (apart from the obvious travel section that most people would wander into!)

- If you were then to move on to another section later that night, which one would it be?

- If you could read any of the magazines at the store, which 2 would you be drawn to when no one is looking?

- If you could go off and “test drive”‘ any job or career without anyone you know finding out about it, which 3 jobs or careers would you love to test out for a week just for the fun of it?

- If you were to ask your close friends this question: “If you had to pay me to solve a problem, what types of problems would they be?” – what would their typical replies be?

- In your last/current job, what were the things you’d do most often when your boss and team were not around? The things you did for the pure love of it?

The answers to these questions won’t solve all your career woes – but they will give you some clues as to what subjects turn you on (professionally speaking) and the areas you could start exploring – whether professionally or as a hobby.

The dots join up backwards

When making a career transition it’s futile to compile a detailed career plan as it’s not something you can always plan in linear fashion. As I’ve found with my own career journey, when you make a transition, you’ll find that the dots join up when you look back rather than forward.

So instead of looking forward and ‘planning’ a career move, look back and discover the things you do when no one is looking…