Job roles and responsibilities

Your list gives you a tool to help you become more focussed to identify the type of job you will enjoy doing.

Start by thinking about the responsibilities you would like your ideal job to include. You might want to prioritise the list into two categories: those you feel are most important and those which would be a bonus, but are not essential at this stage. These are some of the job aspects you should consider:

  • variety
  • decision-making
  • opportunities for promotion
  • freedom to control the content of your work
  • working indoors in an office or out and about
  • attending meetings and conferences
  • opportunities for further training or studying
  • working within a team
  • public or private sector employment
  • working conditions and hours
  • chance to progress and have responsibility for others

Then make another list of things you definitely do not like doing and do not want to feature in your job. For example:

  • working on your own
  • doing repetitious work
  • sitting at a desk all day

Everyone will have different ideas about what they would like from a job. This will depend on what kind of person you are – if you are an extrovert you will probably enjoy being out and about meeting lots of different people. If you prefer the peace and quiet of your own company, you might prefer to be left alone with a computer. Once you have been through the self-analysis and self-assessment exercises you should have a fairly clear idea of the type of work and the type of employer that will suit you best.