Is it time for a “spring-cleaning?” We are approaching that time of the year where we take a good look around our environment and ask ourselves, do we need a change? This change may include redecorating your home, garden, following up on your New Year’s resolutions, joining new hobbies, or even looking for a change in your career. 

Riverway commits to finding the right person for the right job as our mission statement affirms. For the following weeks, we would like to take it a step further and provide you with a guideline of how to approach the interview process, step-by-step. Although each interview process is unique to your own journey, we hope you will be able to apply these steps in your own way. 

Step One: Set Career Goals 

It is important to know what you are looking for before you begin your job search. This helps you know which opportunities to avoid or where to begin. The following exercises may help you narrow down what your career goals are: 

List Out Pros and Cons 

Before we begin a job search, we may have an idea of what we are looking for. Some reasons may be the salary, impact on others, industry, or proximity to our home. However, it is important to look at the BIGGER picture. By creating a list of pros and cons, you are able to see both sides. For example, let us say we have a recent graduate from a university looking for their first “real” job with a degree in Finance. As the recent graduate searches for a job, they see an entry-level Financial Advisor position that may get them the adequate experience to move up in their field. They also see an entry-level Sales position that has uncapped commission which can really help them in their current financial situation. 

Which one do they apply to? They can apply to both. It does not hurt to learn more about other opportunities you may be interested in, but you must also keep in mind, where do you want your career path to go? What skills would you like to learn that will help in the long run? By listing pros and cons of each job, as the applicant, you will be able to see which is the best fit. 

Create a Vision Board 

If you are a visual person, this exercise can help you SEE what you want to achieve. Bring out some old newspapers and magazines you may have lying around the house and buy a poster board from your local store. Look over the newspapers and magazines to begin cutting out words and images that resonate you and what you wish your career to be. You may catch yourself cutting out words and images that you may not have imagined and that can lead you to change your preconceived goals. 

It is important to note that your career goals can always change and that is okay! Always make sure you are happy in the industry and position you are in or search for something that will. By reevaluating your career goals every so often, you are able to analyze if you are in the correct career path or may need to switch lanes. Next week we will go to Step Two: Set SMART Goals!