Following a recent trip, my wife and I found ourselves on a long car journey home, looking for some inspiration to pass away the hours. Having discussed whether we should buy an electric car and in the interests of research and entertainment, we decided to see how many fully electric vehicles we could see on our journey.

 

We soon found that this is easier said than done, particularly if you don't take a great deal of interest in all things auto. 'How would we know if a vehicle is fully electric?' my wife asked—good question, how would we know?

Eventually, we came up with these three questions to guide our identification of fully electric vehicles (EV):

 

1. Is it a new car? Seems sensible; most EVs are less than three years old.

2. Does the vehicle have an exhaust tailpipe? EVs don't need one.

3. Are there lots of grills on the front? Traditional fuel-based vehicles have air and water-cooled engines, whereas EVs are usually water-cooled. This has led to many (but not all) EV manufacturers dispensing with front grillage.

 

The journey went by in a flash, and it also got me thinking about the importance of asking questions and how these can shine a light on those things we seek in our jobs and career. 

 

You see, when it comes to finding a job you will love and having a great career, questions are your superpower. Good questions help to guide your identification and selection. There are three types of questions that help you to get clear on your career.

 

1.  'Why' type questions

 

To help you look more clearly at your current situation, you can use a series of why questions. These enable you to take a step back and reflect on your job or career right now. Think about some of your current job ruminations and convert these into a series of linear 'why' questions.

 

Here is an example:

 

- It's the weekend; why is my mood so low? Answer Because I don't enjoy Mondays.

- Why don't I enjoy Mondays? Answer Because I dread work, especially the start of the week.

- Why do I dread work? Answer Because I find it boring

- Why does my work bore me? Answer Because I'm not interested in the work I'm doing

- Why am I not interested in the work I'm doing? Answer Because it doesn't match my personal interests, and I'm not using my skills and strengths.

 

 

Having cycled through some 'why' questions and seeing your situation more clearly, it's time to ask the next powerful question, ' what if?' These questions are about imagining what could be.

 

- What if I did look forward to Mondays?

- What if I found my job interesting and enjoyable?

- What if I was using the skills that most interest me?

 

These questions are meant to jolt you into thinking about alternative ways of working. They help you see that what you assumed was a 'fixed' reality is a choice in most cases.

 

3. How Questions

The last question type is 'how'. Having jolted your thinking into considering new ways of experiencing work, you should now employ the practical 'how' question. This question helps you to roll up your sleeves and work out the practicalities. Here are some examples.

 

- How could I find a job that I find more interesting and enjoyable? 

Possible answers: Make a list of those things that interest you. Or look at industries that you are interested in. Or look at companies that seem fun to work for. 

 

-  How could I find a job where I am using my strengths and skills?

Possible answers: Make a list of those strengths and skills that I want to use more of. Look for roles where those strengths and skills are likely to be required. See if I can redesign my existing role to include more of these strengths and skills.

 

You can quickly see that using these three questions - Why, What If, and How you can more accurately understand your current situation, see the possibilities for your job or career and begin to shape the path ahead.

 

Most people find that using these questions helps to bring much-needed clarity to your career thinking. If you find that you still need support, seek help from those around you or get professional support. 

 

If you need help from a professional coach, reach out to me and let's have a FREE 45-minute chat. I can support you to leap into a more enjoyable role.

 

 

So, there you have it, the three questions to ask to shape your career. 

 

 

And how did our questions help us with our EV spotting on our motorway journey? Well, you will be interested to know that we spotted 22 EVs on our 2-hour journey. I’m sure this was many more than we would have spotted without our questions.

 

 

Your call to action today is to:

 

Review these three questions and apply them to your career and see what a difference they can make.