5 Tips to Find your Professional Niche

Lucky are the ones that just know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. They go through life trying to reach their goal, of becoming who they set their minds to become, professionally speaking.

However, I believe most of us are not born that lucky. We go through different stages of existential dread, trying to match our personalities and characters with a profession. And let me tell you that most people don’t feel the need to do the same. For some, work-life is completely separate and has nothing to do with their personality traits. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I’m just saying that there is diversity in the way we all undertake our journeys in the professional, often black and white world.

Now here are five tips to keep in mind, if you’re confused and looking to find your professional niche.

1. Map out your interests & passions

For starters, it is really advisable to be able to list a few of your main interests and passions. I know it’s quite difficult, because sometimes our passions may not necessarily match our professional qualifications, but do give it a try. Think of the main areas you would be interested to work in, and what are the things that spark you the most curiosity and eagerness to get things done. Map these out, and try to narrow down your options to the most exciting opportunities.

2. Experiment

I think we can’t possibly know what our niche really is, without being a little bit involved in the business world beforehand. If you’re having a hard time finding yourself, definitely take some opportunities to simply see what the world offers, test your skills, see what kind of problems you can solve and which fields of expertise provide you with bits of purpose.

Yes, I am a millennial, and purpose in my professional life is fundamental!

3. Identify the benefits of your niche

Please, let it be known that I am not only talking about financial benefits that come along with your ‘thing’, with what you know how to do best. I am sorry, but I am not the sort of professional that will advise you on how to seek financial benefits, solely. I’m not saying it doesn’t matter! We should definitely know our worth, and ask for a solid compensation, however, what also matters to me is the sense of fulfillment, the opportunity to have continuous learning opportunities, a space to test out your peculiar ideas – a space where you can be free to grow, professionally. Your niche should guide you towards these spaces, and I do consider these last ones I noted as the right benefits to take into account.

4. Ask yourself the right questions

This may go along with the mapping of interests and passions. Ask yourself, what is it that makes you feel in power and in charge – while doing it? Ask yourself how do you like to spend your free time? What do you look forward to doing when you aren’t doing it? Remember the articles you read daily, what are the topics you mostly like reading about and learning about? Are there any clubs or informal groups you belong to? See if these, and other questions can shed some light.

5. Think of you & your niche in the long term

I always think that we should try to see ourselves in the future, and visualize how do we feel about our niche in the distant years. Of course, I think it is perfectly normal to change your mind in the meantime and decide to pursue something different. But think carefully about what you will choose to dedicate yourself to, as I believe we owe it to ourselves to not waste 8 hours of the day (at minimum) on something we do not feel at least minimally curious and excited about.

Photo: Daria_Lukoiko/shutterstock

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