Introduction
There are so many choices for jobs to pursue that it can be overwhelming to know which ones is best for you. It’s easy to get caught up in overthinking this. Common questions that people struggle with, are:
- I’ve never done this job before, am I even qualified?
- Will I enjoy this job?
- Will this job pay me what I need to make?Is this job in demand? If it’s in demand now, will it remain in demand?
And more. Often, this is where people first get stuck: right at the beginning. They haven’t even started to search for their next job, and they’re already stuck, unsure what to even be looking for.
Well, I believe I have good news for you. There is a technique that you can use to determine which jobs are the most ideal for you: it’s called person-job fit. There are many scholarly articles that have deeply researched this and have suggested ways to best identify your ideal person-job fit. And while person-job fit has its merits, it’s limited because it doesn’t account for whether the job is in demand or whether it will remain in demand.
To help simplify the person-job fit analysis and to ensure those jobs with a high fit for you are in demand, we’ve come up with our own technique called Person-Job Fit + Demand, and we utilize AI to simplify the whole process.
Person-Job Fit + Demand
Your ideal job requires 3 things to be true:
- You’re qualified to do the job and it’s something you will excel at.
- The job provides you with what you want and need.
- The job is in demand or will be in demand once you obtain the required skills, education, or experience.
For example, say you’re looking at becoming a surgeon. The job gives you what you want and need: pay is more than sufficient, and you’d enjoy the work. Also, the job is in demand now and won’t be going out of demand any time some. But one issue: you’re not a surgeon, that’s a problem!
Or say you’re interested in working in a preschool. You meet all the requirements and love working with children, and the job is in demand and will remain in demand for the foreseeable future. The only problem is that the pay isn’t sufficient for your needs. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like an ideal job for you.
Now, let’s say you’re interested in becoming a software engineer. You meet all the requirements (education and experience), the pay is sufficient for your needs, you find the work satisfying, and the job is in demand now and will remain in demand for the foreseeable future. Sounds like an ideal job!
By applying this test to a job, you’re sure to find jobs that are ideal for you: a job that you’ll enjoy, will excel at, will keep you employed as long as possible, and will prepare you for your next job.
But how do you apply this test to ALL the jobs out there to identify the ones that are ideal for you? And how do you this without spending a lot of time? Using AI of course!
How to apply Person-Job Fit + Demand
Begin by answering these five questions:
- How would you describe what you want from a job (work with your hands, able to be creative, 100% remote, autonomy, working on a team, job addresses a problem you’re passionate about, etc.)?
- How would you describe what you need from a job (salary, full benefits, career growth opportunities, etc.)?
- How would you describe your work experience/career so far (jobs you’ve had, ones that you’ve enjoyed, ones that you haven’t enjoyed, number of years, what you’ve excelled at, what you’ve struggled with)?
- What degrees, licenses, certifications, do you hold?
- What would you say are your top 3 strongest skills?
Keep your answers safe, because we’re going to use them here in a bit.
But first how this works…
We’ve come up with a prompt that you can use in your favorite generative AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) that will return to you two lists. The first list is the ideal jobs for you that are in demand today. The second list are jobs that I would call “stretch jobs”, jobs that you might not be qualified for just yet but are jobs that also just coming into demand. By the time those “stretch jobs” are in demand, you would have had enough time to gain the skills, education, or experience, necessary to be qualified for these jobs. In a perfect world, you would take an ideal job today, and that job will allow you to continue growing so that by the time these emerging jobs are in demand, you would be ready to move into them. This approach helps you both today and in the future.
Here’s where the magic happens. Copy the prompt below and add your answers at the end:
I’m beginning to search for a new job. I need help identifying the best jobs for me based on what I want and need, and what my current skills and experiences are. Ideally the jobs would be in high demand today and for years to come. Or, it would be OK for the jobs to not be in demand today, but will be in demand in a few years once I’ve gained the necessary skills and experience required for those emerging jobs.
Return 10 jobs that are in demand now and match my needs, wants, experiences, and education well today. These need to be jobs that I’m currently qualified for.
Also return 10 emerging jobs whose demand is increasing and that my experiences and education aren’t quite a perfect fit yet, but by the time those jobs are in demand, I could gain the experiences and education needed to be a strong candidate.
Insert your answers here to the 5 questions above
With your answers added to the prompt above, copy and paste this into your favorite AI tool and run it.
What to do next?
Now that you have some great ideas for jobs, the next step is to review the first list of jobs you are qualified for today. ChatGPT’s suggestions are just a beginning. Go through the list and consider each job and eliminate any that don’t interest you or that you feel just aren’t a right fit for you. For those that remain, research each one. Confirm that the job is in fact a good fit for you. Once you feel that you have slimmed down the list to the ones that are ideal jobs for you to pursue, try and connect with people who are currently in those jobs. Let them know you are interested in landing a job like theirs and ask them what they think of the job. Some great questions to ask them would be:
- What do you like most about your job?
- What do you like least about your job?
- How did you land this job?
- What did that look like?
- What advice would you give me to be successful?
Now you should have a much better idea of jobs that are worth your time pursuing. Bonus points awarded for identifying which companies you would like to work for the most. Using AI here could be a great way to narrow down your list of ideal employers. Consider searching for employers that align with your values, or employers that are working to solve things you are most passionate about. The more you can zero in on what the ideal fit for you is, the more effective the next step of the job search process, networking, will be.
Next, we’re going to address the kraken in the room: will employers find me to be a strong candidate? To really stand out, this is where personal branding comes in. Getting your personal branding right will help hiring managers see the value you offer and will provide you with more confidence during your job search.