What is a perfect job for me? 10 steps to find out here!

Updated March 6, 2026.

To determine the perfect job for you, you need to start with a crystal-clear definition of what makes a career perfect in your eyes! It’s different for everyone — which is why generic advice and oversimplified career tests may not help.

So, let’s figure out your definition together!

Here are 10 steps to get clear on your ideal career path.

1. Take dedicated time for self-exploration
2. Create a love and hate list
3. Define your personal values
4. Consider your career interests
5. Assess strengths and weaknesses
6. Imagine the best and worst workdays ever
7. Make a shortlist of career options
8. Experiment with those careers
9. Contact your network
10. Choose your ideal career, make a plan, and get started!

1. Set aside dedicated time to explore your dream career change

Since you’re looking for your perfect job, you’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking about this already. Ultimately, you don’t want just another job — you want to find your ideal career path. (Explore the difference between job and career.)

You’ve been replaying bad days over and over on your commute. Laying awake at night, worrying about tomorrow. Venting to your friends at happy hour, or ranting to your partner. And maybe you can’t figure out why, after all this time and energy spent hating your career, you haven’t gotten any clearer on what you want to do next.

This is why:

You’re spending lots of time stressing about work. But it’s scattered, right?

You probably haven’t dedicated highly focused, uninterrupted time to figuring out exactly WHY you’re unhappy, and exactly WHAT would make you happier.

Am I on to something?

I spent nearly 10 years hating my career, overthinking about it, and getting nowhere. And it wasn’t until I set aside an entire day to get crystal-clear on what was going on… that I finally had a breakthrough.

So, I really can’t stress this enough:

Take real, focused, do-not-disturb time for career exploration!

It’s the only way you’re going to get unstuck and find your dream job. (BTW, even if you don’t believe in dream jobs, you deserve a career you don’t fuckin’ HATE!)

Are career tests helpful?

If a career test reveals your perfect path, congratulations! I’m all for anything that helps.

But if you’re like me, you might complete test after vapid-fucking-career-test, with surface-level questions that leave you wildly unimpressed.

“Would you be interested in patching roof leaks? You might like being a roofer!”

Seriously — you’ll find career test results just like this.

That said, there are some career aptitude tests and assessments I recommend (more on those later).

But what I don’t recommend? Starting your career discovery journey with these tests.

Because if all you had to do was look at a list of job titles and point to one that seemed fun, you wouldn’t even need a career test! You’d just look at a job board and BAM — find your perfect match.

But instead, you first need to get clear on who you are, what you want, and why — and no career test can tell you that.

So…

What in the world do you do with your dedicated time for career exploration? Start here:

2. Categorize love/hate aspects of your job and work environment

What did you used to love about your career, and what do you still love (if anything)? What do you wish you got to do more of in your career, and what do you never want to do again? Beyond duties, what about:

• Work environment (type of workplace, company culture, etc.)
• People (boss, clients, colleagues)
• Workweek structure (shift work, 9-5, night shifts…)
• Work-life balance
• Pay and benefits
• Room for advancement
• And anything else that comes to mind!

You can do this as a love/hate or pros/cons list, or just list out every aspect of each job and organize them later. Sticky notes are great for this!

Once you’ve jotted it all down, you may find that these career insights naturally line up with your personality.

For example, if you don’t have many positives around interpersonal communication, and most of your negatives center around client, customer, or colleague interactions, too… you just may not be a social butterfly at work (or at all). And that’s ok!

You might be a good fit for a remote, behind-the-scenes, or specialized interpersonal role. I’m an introvert who loves coaching because it’s meaningful to me — this career doesn’t drain my social battery like agency life did.

3. Get clear on your values

“Values” sometimes feels like a corporate buzzword. Companies design their mission, vision, and values to show potential customers and investors what they stand for and hope to achieve, as well as to guide company culture and hiring.

But let’s be honest — in a lot of cases, corporate values statements are about appearances and money. So when you try to apply “values” to yourself and your career, it might seem hollow.

Remember, though, that your personal values won’t end up on a landing page or in a pitch deck. They’re used to guide your decisions — not just in your career, but in your personal life, too!

To start, think of a time you felt proud of yourself. A time you felt you did the right thing. A time you felt aligned — when you did something that felt both important and natural. Describe those times, pulling key words that represent the moment and the feeling.

Now do the same with scenarios where you felt the opposite — conflicted, nervous, untrue to yourself. Describe these new moments and highlight words that summarize the experience.

If this doesn’t come easily to you, lists of values can lead you in the right direction. Just Google “free list of personal values” or similar.

4. Explore your interests

Sometimes, we conflate skills and interests, so let’s clear that up first:

• Skills and abilities are what you’re good at — otherwise known as strengths or talents. More on strengths in the next section!
• But while there’s usually some overlap, you don’t have to enjoy a skill to be good at it!
• On the other hand, interests or passions are what you like doing, want to do more often, and are excited to learn more about.
• Just as you don’t have to enjoy a skill to be good at it, you don’t have to be good at your interests in order to enjoy them!

That’s why getting clear on your interests and passions can lead to a fulfilling new career!

There may be new skills to learn along the way. You’ll need to expand your world with new knowledge and abilities, which could include formal education — like going to school to complete a certificate or degree. But if the industry is a match with your interests, you’ll likely enjoy the process.

So, it’s time to make a list of your interests! They don’t have to be career-related — you can make those connections later.

Sticky notes are a great option for this exercise because you can reorder your interests by degree of importance.

5. Assess strengths and weaknesses

I have a good reason for putting interests before strengths and weaknesses!

As women, we often put other people’s perceptions ahead of our own. So what we think of as our strengths and weaknesses typically come from the outside world. Throughout your career and your life, you may be told that you’re great at one thing and need to work on another.

Suddenly, you have a weakness that must be addressed!

But… must it?

Hot take: when it comes to your career, you only need to work on your “weaknesses” if you intend to stay in that field… and if you actually want to!

Plus, one person’s opinion is not a hard-and-fast truth. Your team manager may be the only person who sees this area as a “weakness” of yours.

So yes, it’s helpful to assess your career strengths and weaknesses. But I recommend doing so in the context of your interests and career goals.

• Analyze career duties and scenarios where you feel strong — and why you feel that way
• Analyze career duties and scenarios where you feel weak — and why you feel that way
• Revisit past performance reviews and/or client feedback
• Discuss with your manager and colleagues
• Take career aptitude tests (I like CliftonStrengths and Kolbe A — not affiliated)

6. Picture the best workday ever at your dream job — and the worst workday ever in the wrong job

You get to design these perfect and nightmare career workdays from scratch! It can include commuting, hours, how you spend your day, who you work with, and anything else that comes to mind.

There are many factors and infinite possible answers! Some prompts to consider:

• “I’d start at _____ in the (morning / afternoon / evening) and finish around ____.”
• “My commute would be (30 minutes / 15 minutes / nonexistent) each way.”
• “My ideal workplace would be a (office / home office / workshop / factory / storefront / facility / lab). (Optionally, I might also like to split my time between [environment 1] and [environment 2 / 3 / 4…]).”
• “I’d travel for work (never / annually / monthly / most of the year).”
• “You couldn’t pay me to _____ for a career — that would truly be the worst workday ever.”
• “If I knew I’d be paid enough to cover my needs, I’d like to _____ for most of the workday.”

You might see similar questions on career tests! But with a quiz, you can’t expand on your answer (beyond the allotted space or multi-choice format), add your own question, or skip ahead.

7. Make a shortlist of career options

Once you have the foundation for your ideal career path — your values, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and wants/needs in a career — industries and roles may start to emerge naturally.

There may be careers you’ve considered before, or new matches you’ve just come across.

If not, now is a good time to factor in career tests and other resources!

• Career Advantage (formerly OPgig) is a great career test that avoids painfully obvious prompts to deliver a career report with a list of jobs you may enjoy
• Truity and O*NET Interest Profiler are solid free options

With context on what career satisfaction looks like to you, making a list of best career paths may not feel so daunting. You can connect the dots more easily, spotting careers that are a good fit for your goals.

8. Research, learn, and experiment to find the right career path

When choosing a career, the best way to narrow down your search is to research and discover it for yourself:

• Attend seminars, workshops, or conferences related to your shortlisted careers
• Explore content from folks in these careers on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and more
• Read books, listen to audiobooks, or watch documentaries
• Take a course — LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udemy are all great options
• Look for volunteer, shadow, internship, or temp job opportunities (depending on your availability)

Completing this process will add another layer of clarity to your list of best careers.

9. Tap into your network

You could reach out to folks before researching… But by narrowing your list down on your own, you’ll avoid making unnecessary demands on other peoples’ time — all for advice on a career path you’re only sort of curious about.

So, use the experimental phase to narrow it down to 2-3 best career paths. At that point, it’s time to talk to your real-life and virtual networks!

Who do you know in these career fields? Consider folks who transitioned out of those industries, too — they’ll have unique insights and can offer perspective you won’t find elsewhere.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Now’s the time to put yourself out there!

You can request:

• Asynchronous responses to questions you send over (email, LinkedIn messages, Loom, or something else)
• Informational interviews
• Helpful resources or advice
• Companies to consider
• Referral requests (when you’re ready to apply)

At worst, you won’t get a reply. (Been there!) But at best, you’ll learn something that adds context to your career search — which could save you time and stress down the road.

10. Make a decision on your new career — and build a plan!

Sometimes, when we’re in a “feeling lost” career phase, we hope that the right match will “reveal itself” or we’ll feel an indescribable pull to something. If that happens with your career change, maybe it really is fate — follow your gut!

But for most of us, your next career move will be a decision. You’ll sit with your findings, reflect, and make an informed choice.

Use everything you’ve learned from your introspection, exploration, and networking to decide the right career for you!

Then, make a plan. What constitutes a plan?

• A clear end goal
• Smaller steps to achieve that goal (work backwards from the end goal to now, forward from today to the end, or just one step at a time)
• A schedule (as flexible as you want or need it to be, but don’t proceed without one!)
• An accountability system to keep you on track and celebrate your wins

If choosing your career or building this plan feels too daunting, remember:

Most decisions in life are impermanent. Your career is no exception.

So, this isn’t a “forever” career decision! It’s just the next right decision.

And in the same way, your plan isn’t set in stone! You’ll learn along the way, so you’ll adapt and adjust as you go.

What is a perfect job for me? FAQs

How do I find the perfect job for me?

Here are the 10 steps to identify your future dream job (or just the next right job for you):

1. Set aside dedicated time for self-exploration
2. Explore what you love and hate about your current and past jobs
3. Define your personal values
4. Consider your career interests
5. Assess strengths and weaknesses
6. Imagine the best workday ever — and the worst workday ever — and describe them in detail!
7. Make a shortlist of career options with what you’ve learned
8. Experiment and learn about those careers
9. Reach out to your network
10. Make a decision about your best career, create a plan, and get started!

How do I decide what job is right for me?

This is the perfect question to ask. That’s because, for most of us, the right career change is a decision — not a random idea, suggestion, or coincidence!

You’ll determine this by clearly exploring it from all angles. What do you need from a career? What do you want from one? This includes:

• Current skills and interests
• New skills requirements
• Education requirements (more school, college education, etc.)
• Career satisfaction
• Work-life balance
• Company culture
• Work environment
• A values match
• Upward mobility
• Pay and benefits
• And many other factors

The right job for you should meet your wants and needs in most of these areas. If you need to compromise on something, it shouldn’t be a factor that’s top priority for your career.

How to find the perfect job for your personality?

We often consider our skills, talents, strengths, and weaknesses when thinking about our perfect job — but personality is a key factor, too!

If you have a clear idea of your personality type, you can use this to narrow your career choices. For example, extroverted personalities can be great in sales, customer service, teaching, or other careers that depend on team and client connection!

That’s not to say introverts won’t excel or be satisfied in these roles — we bring unique strengths! But it’s important to consider your tolerance of different scenarios when determining the best job for your personality.

Not sure of your personality type? Check out Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, and other tests for more clarity! There are many free tests as well as paid assessments and coaches specializing in these areas.

Why don’t I know what career I want?

This is a frustrating situation, but don’t beat yourself up. You may not know what new career you want because:

• You’re burnt out — it’s impossible to think about the future
• You’ve been in the same industry for years — you can’t picture something different
• You’re starting the job search already, scanning job boards and viewing different jobs without context

It’s time for a different approach! And I can promise you this:

Taking dedicated time for self-reflection is the best investment you can make for your career change.

If you’re someone who can’t (or won’t) get far with self-reflection on their own, consider career transition coaching services to help you get more powerful insights, move faster, and stay accountable to your goals.

Stuck on discovering your ideal job?

All of this is easier said (written?) than done!

If you struggle to set aside time for yourself or make progress on your career goals, you’re not alone. And it could be the perfect time to seek guidance from a career coach!

Look: choosing a career is an important decision — and accordingly, it can be an intense process.

That’s why the personalized guidance, dedicated space for self-discovery, and built-in support and accountability you get from coaching can help you shift from “someday” career dreams to ASAP action.

Ready to learn more? Discover The 4-Step Career Reset!