Finding the best job that suits your personality and your lifestyle is the ultimate dream for most people – and we often think that it just doesn’t exist, but it can and does – you just need to know what you’re looking for, and where and how to get what you want.

To better understand your needs and increase your chance of succeeding in your chosen field, you need to conduct a personal evaluation.

Is the career you want, really what you want? Is there room for growth in your chosen field? Are the salary and benefits good enough to meet your needs today and in the future?

You can’t evaluate a position unless you do the research.

Know what career you want

Knowing what kind of personality you have and your interests gives you an idea of how you would like to spend your day in a job. Make a list of the kinds of people you would like to be working with – is it people who like being told what to do or authoritative types; how about loud people or quiet types. Would you like to work in an industry where there is a lot of socialising?

Use the internet to search for jobs

The internet is a great place to start looking at potential companies you could work for. Be sure to check our the career development opportunities, their views on flexible working, maternity pay and leave (although these days most companies leave that on the company intranet so that only employees can access those details).

Use social media sites to get to know companies a little more – LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), for exampe lets you view company profiles, and have a look at emplyees within companies.

Here are some common job search techniques, and their effectiveness:

Change your career, change your LIFE