How to Find a Job That Makes You Happy: A Guide for High School Juniors and Seniors
Believe it or not, the search term “how to find a job that makes you happy” is pretty popular in Google. I’ll tell you something you won’t get if you click on any of the other search results….
You’ll never find a job that makes you happy every day, all day, 365 days a year. That’s a harsh reality you won’t hear.
Don’t start panicking and turn off your computer, you’re in the right place, because you can definitely find a job that makes you happy, but it won’t be all rainbows and butterflies.
Let’s face it, if you were happy 24/7, 365, would that be true happiness? I don’t think so. It’s important to go into this job search with realistic expectations and realize that your job should make you happy most of the time, not all of the time.
Let’s unpack that and help you find one of those jobs.
What You’ll Learn After Reading This Article
· The definition of a job.
· The characteristics of a job that can make you happy.
· Ways that you can find a job that will make you happy.
· Frequently asked questions about finding a job that makes you happy
The Definition of a Job
Just so we’re on the same page of what a job actually is and is not, let’s define the term “job”:
According to Webster’s dictionary, a job is defined as a paid position of regular employment. It can also refer to a task or piece of work, especially one done for payment.
This seems pretty obvious, but now in case we weren’t on the same page, we are now. Let’s also take a look at the characteristics of jobs that can make you happy. This will help steer us in the direction of how we can find them and what we’ll be looking for when we’re searching.
Characteristics of Jobs That Make You Happy
Before you get out there and start looking for the job that makes you happy, it’s a good idea to know what things about a job would make you happy.
Below is a list of a few of the characteristics that are good things to look for in a potential job.
Meaningful Work: Tasks that align with your values and interests, giving you a sense of purpose.
Positive Environment: A supportive culture with encouraging colleagues and management that fosters collaboration.
Opportunities for Growth: Chances to learn new skills, receive mentorship, and advance your career.
Work-Life Balance: Flexible schedules or remote work options that allow time for personal interests and family.
Fair Compensation: Competitive pay and benefits that recognize your contributions and support your lifestyle.
Ways to Find a Job That Makes You Happy
I’ll make the disclaimer here again that you’ll never be able to find a job that you’re 100% happy with all of the time. Even if you look at professional athletes, actors and billionaires, they all have days that they wish they could forget. Ask Leonardo DiCaprio how happy he is after a day when he spent 15 hours filming the same two scenes for a movie that’s not coming out for a few years.
With that in mind, here are ways to find a job that makes you happy
#1: Identify Personal Interests and Strengths
Finding happiness always comes from within first. If you are going to give yourself any chance of finding a job that makes you happy, you first have to figure out WHAT makes you happy.
The answer to that question won’t come from anyone else besides you. Sure, people can help you out and tell you what they think makes you happy, but you need to listen to your heart.
Let me give you an example.
When I was trying to decide what I wanted to do in college, I had a college counselor, my parents and teachers all trying to help me. They all thought they knew what I liked and rather than really taking the time to think about it, I just kind of followed what they told me, and wound up majoring in Sports Management, thinking I was going to work for a sports team.
Spoiler alert, I’m not working for a sports team, and I didn’t even wind up working in sports because the internship I took to work for a certain NBA team that plays in Madison Square Garden was so terrible I didn’t want anything to do with working in sports.
The moral of the story here is to take some time with your own thoughts, put down the electronics and just think.
Here’s how you can identify your interests and strengths:
1. Reflect on activities you enjoy and moments when you feel most engaged.
2. Take personality or career assessments to gain insights into your strengths.
3. Ask for feedback from friends, teachers, or mentors about what they see as your key skills.
#2: Utilize School Resources and Guidance
This is certainly a way to help you find a job that makes you happy, but it will really depend on your experience in school.
I hope my high school guidance counselor isn’t reading this because for me, she was terrible. She provided little to no guidance on anything, so if someone had told me to seek school resources for guidance, I would have laughed.
If you have built strong relationships with your teachers and guidance counselors, this could be a great resource to help you on your search. They see you every day, for 10 months out of the year, so they should know a thing or two about your personality and what areas you may be interested in.
Let me give you some advice on how you can leverage these resources for your benefit:
1. Work on building the relationships early. If your getting ready to start your junior or senior year, find your counselors, find teachers you like, and ask for help.
2. Participant in events geared to jobs after high school or career guidance programs.
3. Get involved in clubs, extracurriculars where you can meet with teachers outside of the classroom setting (but in a safe environment of course)
#3: Network with Family, Friends, and Mentors
As a high school student, it would be a waste of your time to try and network with random people on LinkedIn or go to career fairs.
Why?
You’re too young and don’t have enough experience networking.
The best idea is to start with family and friends.
When I was a senior in high school, my uncle’s best friend was a lawyer. I thought I didn’t really have any idea what it was like to work in an office, and he was looking for help, so I figured it was a good opportunity to give it a shot.
To say it was boring would be an understatement. I realized in about 3 seconds I didn’t want to be a lawyer, and I did not want to spend the rest of my life sitting in a cubicle. While this wasn’t helping me to find a job that made me happy, it did something even better. It helped me to find a job that did NOT make me happy.
Networking with family and friends is a great starting point. It will give you the practice of networking without having to risk too much. I got to meet a lot of great people while I was working in that prison, I mean office, so in the long run it did benefit me.
#4: Explore Online Job Boards and Local Listings
*Here is a big disclaimer for this one*
Do not start applying for jobs online or on any job boards. This is strictly for informational and research purposes only.
Let me tell you why.
Job boards and online job postings are not great ways to apply for jobs, and if you’re in high school, your chances of getting any work this way are low.
You can use these for informational purposes because they’ll tell you a wide variety of jobs people are hiring for. For example, if you’re thinking you want to be an underwater fire prevention specialist (a term my high school teacher would love to use) and you check on a job board for that job and get no results, you may want to re-think the career path you’re choosing.
This isn’t to say that you should only work in jobs that are posted on job boards, but it should be something you could research on a job board.
How to Research:
1. Go to a job board like Indeed.com.
2. Search for a job title you might be interested in and see what results pop up.
**Expert Advanced Tip**
1. Search for a skill or thing you like to do, i.e. “write”
2. Jobs will pop up that have “write” in the job description.
3. These could be jobs you might be interested in as well.
#5: Gain Experience Through Internships or Volunteering
Here is a way you can find a job that makes you happy and you’ll have an advantage over a majority of people because you’re in high school.
Find a job you might be interested in and offer to work…. FOR FREE. This may sound crazy, but the skills and knowledge you could gain by doing this is worth more than any minimum wage you might get paid. Someone is much more likely to hire you if they don’t have to pay you and can pay you with experience.
If you are still living at home with your parents (who hopefully you are) you won’t have a family to feed and bills to pay, so you can survive a few months without getting paid.
I can guarantee that most people won’t be offering work for free, so if you can offer this, you’ll put yourself ahead of the pack.
Frequently Asked Questions About Finding a Job That Makes You Happy
Q: How do I identify a job that aligns with my passions?
A: Start by listing your interests and strengths. For example, if you love technology and problem-solving, you might explore roles in IT or coding. Using career assessments and talking with a guidance counselor can help match your hobbies to potential careers.
Q: What practical steps can I take to explore fulfilling job opportunities?
A: Utilize school resources like career centers and attend local job fairs. For instance, if you're interested in healthcare, consider volunteering at a hospital or shadowing a professional. Networking with family, teachers, and mentors can also reveal opportunities you might not find online.
Q: How important is real-world experience in finding a job that makes you happy?
A: Hands-on experience is crucial. Internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer work allow you to test out a career field before committing. For example, if you're passionate about the arts, working at a gallery or assisting with community art projects can provide insight into whether that path is right for you.
Next Steps in Your Journey to Find a Job That Makes You Happy
If you’ve read through this article and still feel like you might need help, look no further than Your Career Strategy. Our expert coaches specialize in helping high school students find their path and finding a job that makes them happy. If you reach out, you can get a FREE discovery call to get you on track to face the next phase of your life.