How Self-Awareness Can Help You in Your Job Search
There are many benefits to having a better understanding of your strengths, and here’s how it can help with your job search efforts:
1. Self-awareness will help you identify jobs that are a good fit.
Some jobs naturally appeal to each of us. And when you truly know yourself, you’ll understand what makes some jobs more attractive. For example, if you are introverted, you may be more attracted to roles that require less personal interaction. On the other hand, if you are an extrovert, you’ll likely excel in a role that interacts with customers, vendors, and other employees.
When you know yourself and your attributes, it can help you to identify roles that will allow you to achieve success. However, you’ll still need to evaluate the role and the company to determine if both are right for you. Each role and company will be unique.
When you know your strengths, you’ll confidently respond to interview questions that speak to job fit. Job fit refers to how well-suited someone is for the position. This is an important aspect that recruiters assess because it can reduce costly turnover if someone isn’t suitable for the job. To assess fit, an interviewer may ask you to describe a job you most enjoyed and what you liked.
With self-awareness and a clear understanding of your strengths, you can share elements of the job that align with your strengths. For example, someone applying for a sales and marketing role can convey how their strong communication and leadership skills help them build trusting relationships that lead to achieving sales targets. If these attributes are key components of the job, an interviewer will have more confidence in their ability and fit for the role.
3. Self-awareness will help you develop more quickly on the job.
With self-awareness of your strengths and motivators, you can focus on your strengths to accelerate your career development. Self-awareness is less about fixing flaws, rather, it’s about knowing and playing to your strengths. However, if you have a weakness in an area that is critical to the job role, this will likely lead to job dissatisfaction and lower performance. Again, understanding your strengths will allow you to do your best work with confidence and authenticity.