Ready to benefit from the "Year of Candidate Power?"

Thinking of changing jobs next year? If so, you will be joining millions of other professionals doing the same in 2016, dubbed the "Year of Talent War" and "Candidate Power" in CV-Library's new survey, highlighted by the HR Review this week.

So how do you identify what needs changing so you can make the right choices and find the best opportunities to ensure you have a happier, and more successful working life next year?

These seven career evaluation questions, taken from our INSPiRE Career Development Programme, will help you identify what needs changing and give you the key to unlocking your best future in 2016.

How to use this career evaluation questionnaire

​Use these seven career evaluation questions as a way to guide your decisions.

Simply answer each question with a score out of 10, where 1 is low and 10 is high representing how well this element is going for you at the moment. Make a note of any question which scores less than 7 and think about what's not right yet. If a question scores higher than a 5, reflect on what changes you need to make to increase your enjoyment and success. If any question scores under 5, it may be time for a major rethink! 

1. How well does my current work reflect who I really am?
There is nothing worse than work which is contrary or a poor fit with who you are. It causes unhappiness, illness and erodes your soul as you strive to be someone you're not. Career success and happiness comes when who you are and what you value is fully aligned with what you do.

2. How well does it reflect my needs and wants?
We all have particular needs whether they are: money, recognition, reward, autonomy, challenge, the opportunity to learn and grow, work life balance or anything else which is important to you. If you have a low score for this question, consider which of these elements is missing from your working life and how you can add them to the mix.

3. How well does it play to my natural talents?
Nurturing nature is much easier than trying to change her so being able to use your natural talents a lot helps to stack the odds of career success in your favour. Not only that, it is the most effective path to growth, happiness and well-being. After all, it's not easy to get a river to flow up a hill.

​4. How much do I love what I do?
Feeling passionate about what you do, or at least being very interested in it really matters if your work is going to sustain you over the course of a working lifetime, or even a week!! Of course your interests and passions may well change and if your work doesn't excite you, then perhaps it's time to find something that does.

5. How meaningful is what I do to me?
You may be passionate about something but if it is purely something which interests you on one level but isn't purposeful, or doesn't make the contribution and impact you want to make, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate or pivot in another direction.

6. How well do I fit with the people I work with?
You spend more time with your work colleagues, suppliers and clients than you do with your partner in the course of a working week, so choosing well here is critical. If you're not happy being with the folk surrounding you, then it might be time to divorce from your current job!

​7. How much does the location and environment I work in suit me?
If you give a low score to this question and find your workplace or location draining, perhaps it's time to move to an environment which feeds you rather than drains you.

​​A gift for you
I hope that working with these questions will give you a useful perspective so you can make an informed set of choices and have the career year you deserve in 2016.

As it is the season for giving, we have created a downloadable version containing a handy Career Elements chart so you can plot your scores and see what your career life looks like.

And to help you still further, we've added seven more questions to it as well. Designed to help you move forward effectively and feel the sun shine in your working life every day, all you need to do to access your copy is to complete the box below and you'll get the link with our very good wishes for a happy career year.
                   
                 Season's Greetings from all at Career Alchemy!

YES! Please send me the Seven Clarity Questions