Customizing your career used to be necessary for career changers and candidates transitioning between the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds. But, in the current job market, where there is no cookie cutter candidate and candidate supply in most fields exceeds demand, the onus falls on individuals to design their own careers. Everyone needs self re-invention skills to mould and shape their careers around their personal values, interests, needs, expectations and skills.

There is a lot of help available, but it comes at a price.  You could sign up for the endless offerings of career seminars, self-development courses and webinars, or you can sign up with a personal career counselor. But, before doing so, here is a simple, three-step program to help you customize your own career:

Step 1:  Look inside yourself

Step 2:  Look outside yourself

Step 3:  Find the fit, and realize the purpose

Look inside yourself

You may think you have a clear idea about who you are and what you want, but you need to be really articulate about what makes you unique.  This isn’t easy to do because you do things the way you do them, and what’s so what’s so special about that?  Here are four exercises to help you dig deeper:

• Think about and write down things about yourself that make you feel proud.
• Think about your activities – work-related and otherwise – that make you lose a sense of time.
• Think about what aspects of work are most important to you, then prioritize them.
• Finally, think about what in the course of your life you would do differently if given the opportunity.

Don’t make any distinction between your professional and your personal life – jumble them all up.  Do this exercise for several days – ask people you trust to give you their observations about you.  Notice if there is a mismatch between what they say and how you feel, which is a good sign that perhaps you are not being true to yourself in your current work or life.

When you are ready, start distilling your observations.  Explicitly understand your work and life goals.  Then think about your values – what really matters to you?  Is there a conflict between your values and your goals?  If there is, deeply think about which you want to adjust.  Think, too, about your interests, needs and skills – all three must be engaged if you are to find an appropriate job let alone attain career fulfillment. By the end of this exercise, you should have a good idea of what makes you tick and which  “core competencies” you will bring to the work-place.

If you are confused and trapped by conflicting objectives, here’s a technique that could help: First, draw a four-square matrix.  Now, for example, if you are torn between wanting to be rich and wanting to be happy, write the four possible combinations (poor-unhappy, poor-happy, rich-unhappy, rich-happy) in your matrix, and explore your options with these different variables in mind.  You’ll soon have a sense of your priorities and what compromises your choices entail.

Look outside yourself

Research and networking are two techniques for learning about the outside world, and you need to do both even though it is sometimes painful, intimidating, boring and/or discouraging. Find ways to make it more interesting and enjoyable.  If you hate using the internet, go to a library.  If you dislike hanging about at professional association meetings and can’t think of a thing to say as you watch others successfully work the room, try and set up one-to-one conversations with people you know or to whom you have been referred.  Build your confidence, and learn to approach people you don’t know if you believe they have some information or contacts that may be useful to you.  Usually, people are only too happy to talk about their roles, jobs, companies or industries, and they often are quite generous with referrals.

Essentially, you are looking for information and knowledge.  The information you seek is about which organizations operate in the areas of interest to you, and you want knowledge of how they are doing as well as what their needs, concerns and problems are.  If you can get insight into these issues and can propose yourself as a solution, then you are well on the way to creating your next job.  Once you’re in a job, no matter the role, you should continue to scan the environment and be aware of the world outside your company be it your customers, suppliers or competitors.

Find the fit, and realize the purpose

I believe the most motivated and productive people are those whose work fits their personalities.  Customizing your career is the creative act of bringing together your findings from the first two steps of your exploration.  Finding that sweet spot where you can match yourself with the requirements of the work-place is reward in itself, but it is likely followed by a deep sense of personal achievement and success and, quite possibly, by monetary reward.  When I say “realizing the purpose”, it is important to understand that this state of career fulfillment and meaningfulness may not be attained in a single step.  You may need to design a long-term, strategic plan mapping out the necessary steps to reach your ultimate goal.  But with courage, vision and the belief that it is possible, reach it you will!

Fredia Woolf , founder of Woolf Consulting, blogs to help people improve their workplace effectiveness and optimize their careers.  As an organizational consultant and leadership coach, she works with clients to increase insight, inspiration and impact. She can be reached at fwoolf@woolfconsulting.com.

Last updated on April 20th, 2010 at 05:44 pm