10 Ways to Find Your Calling
Posted on May 04, 2022 by Paula Castillo, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
If you're wondering: "should I stay in this line of work or should I leave and find new career?" This post is for you
Do callings exist? If so, how can you find them? This blog post is the second in a five-part series exploring callings.
Ten Ways You Can Find Your Calling
Studies show us that people who want to leave their jobs know exactly what they don’t like about their jobs but can’t put a finger on what it is that they do want.
Researchers like Professor Herminia Ibarra advises to take a “test and learn” approach to finding your calling. You try out different jobs to see how they feel and take your experience as clues that can lead to your calling.
Below I’ve compiled a list based on research to help you begin your search, and the best part is that you don’t have to quit your job to do any of them.
At your workplace:
1. Ask for a temporary assignment at your current workplace that differs from your current assignments.
2. Ask to team up with people from other departments for specific projects.
3. Interview people who work in different departments that interest you.
Outside of your workplace:
4. Take a course in a subject that seems intriguing or exciting.
5. Sign up for a certification
6. Volunteer for an organization whose mission you feel passionate about
7. Intern for a company that interests you.
8. Interview people who have a job that intrigues you.
Making meaning from the experiences in your life:
9. Reflect on difficult experiences that you’ve gone through in your life. How has this shaped you in a unique way? What kind of work would be a good match for these unique traits?
10. What unique combination of skills and talents do you have that could be applied outside of your current job?
Visualization Exercise
Take three deep grounding breaths and close your eyes.
Imagine you are standing in front of three closed doors:
- The first door leads to trying out something new by volunteering somewhere, or taking a course to see if you would like to learn more.
- The second door leads to talking with experts that can help you understand if you can see yourself doing what they do.
- The third door leads you to exploring your past. Reflecting on your biggest challenges that you have overcome.
Which of these three doors do you feel drawn to opening?
If you feel like you’d benefit from coaching on how best to incorporate these steps into your life, I offer a free Discovery Call (details in my profile).
