Testing the Unknown – Part of Chapter V of the upcoming book “Find Your Passion”

Testing the Unknown – Part of Chapter V of the upcoming book “Find Your Passion”

How are you going to test the waters? How will you find out if your ideal role resonates with your passion in real life? If this is indeed your ideal role? Or that your products and services will appeal to your ideal client? Spending time, money, and energy to get hired, and then try it out is an approach that I wouldn’t recommend, because you might commit to something that might not be a great fit for you. Plus, jumping from job to job can make you waste even more time, and most importantly, it can harm your reputation. The same applies if you start a business. Spending too much time, money, and energy to build and promote a product or deliver a service that your ideal client does not consider valuable, not only will it make you broke, but it’ll also harm your reputation.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”                    

– Warren Buffett – 

Put it another way. Would you marry someone on your first date? Of course not! Same applies to taking a role that you’ve read about, but you’ve never actually done before, and in the particular company you’ll work for. That’s why companies conduct interviews to see if you’ll be a great fit for the role, the team and the company’s culture. Unfortunately, a few interviews are not enough for anyone to evaluate a person and their skills, whether they include the latest personality tests, the most rigorous questions, and the greatest AI tools. What your ideal employer or client wants is to see you in action. They want to see if you can actually deliver the results you said you will and they expect you to deliver. 

So, how can you minimize the risk for both yourself and the people who are going to invest in you, playing a key role in your transition success? The informational interview was one way, but it doesn’t give you hands-on experience, which are the insights you want to have to test the waters. Moreover, how are you going to acquire the skills and qualifications you need to turn your passion into your dream career? Yes, you can both test the waters and acquire the skills you need without committing yourself to a long-term contract and a role that might not be what you expected. Here are a few suggestions: 

1. Volunteerism 

Volunteerism is a great way for you to test the waters and see if this role can be a great fit for you and your passion. You can ask to volunteer for a particular role or tasks available that your prospective employer might need. You can reach out via email, go to the company’s office in person, call them, or have a follow-up call with the people you had an informational interview with. In fact, the pandemic is a unique opportunity for you to do so. This pandemic has brought us closer than ever before. If you cannot afford to volunteer for a few weeks, you can still ask if you can contribute to a project that might resonate with your passion. 

The same applies to entrepreneurs. Offer to your ideal clients a sample of your products or services for free so they can see for themselves if you can actually deliver value for them or not. Once again, it’s all about the value you’ll bring to others. 

2. Internship 

Most companies always look for interns, as it’s a great way for them to find, attract, and retain talented and skillful employees. Internships, paid or unpaid, are a unique opportunity for you to test your passion in the market and see how your ideal role and your ideal day at work align with the real day-to-day tasks. The reason I also suggested an internship is that many of them last for a short period of time. So, the same applies to a short-term contract. 

3. Free work

On the one hand, you can volunteer for the company you want to work for, or generally for an organization, such as an NGO, in a role that is as close as possible to your “#1 Ideal Role Description”. On the other hand, you can work for free for the company you want in the specific role you’ll be interviewed for. You can offer your skills and services for free for one week. This way, not only will the employer see if you’re actually a great fit without any financial risk, but you’ll be able to do exactly the same. You’ll minimize the risk for both while everyone stays happy.

“Ok, Jim. But when should I suggest that?’’, you might ask. The sooner, the better. Remember that they interview many more candidates. You can suggest that in your first interview.

4. Shadowing

If you can’t experience the role firsthand without getting hired or the previous ways, you can watch others doing the tasks you would be doing. This is called “shadowing”. You are all the time with a specific person in the company and you observe what they do during their day at work. You become their shadow. This way, you can have some great insights as well. But how can you do that? Again, leverage the power of your network and the power of building meaningful relationships with others. 

5. Any other way. Utilize your resourcefulness.

Besides the above, if you are a future entrepreneur, here are a few suggestions you can apply, besides offering a free sample to your ideal clients: 

1. Google what your ideal customer googles. Put yourself in their shoes. What exactly would you type on Google to solve your problem if you were them? 

2. Ask for feedback & listen: 

a) Interviews for ideas and prototype testing (in-person/online – e.g. Craiglist, social media). Reach out to your ideal clients to ask them for their feedback on your idea or a prototype/sample of your product that you might have created. Depending on the nature of products and services, interviews can vary from 15 to 60 minutes. In any case, you have to, once again, add value first! Otherwise, no one will have an incentive to participate. You can offer them gift cards in return, or, even better, anything that they would consider of value. As long as you want the feedback from your ideal clients, I’d recommend you offer them for free something you know they would normally buy. You can also offer them the new product or service they’ll test in “usability interviews” to test their interest in advance. 

b) Surveys. You can conduct one to five-minute surveys, online or in-person. For online surveys, you can use SurveyMonkey, or create yours for free via Google Forms and reach out to your ideal clients on social media and ask them to fill out the survey. Again, offer them back something of value to show them you respect their time. Regarding the in-person surveys, when things get better with the pandemic, you can do street market research to find where they work/hang out and ask them on the spot, face-to-face! 

3. Research your competitors

• Collect info from the most successful similar/same products/services of your competitors.

• Ask for info from your competitors’ customers.

All the above will give you enough valuable insights about what products and services you should create and deliver. Because remember: before anything else, add value first.

“Before anything else, add value first.”

It’s time for you to manage your time properly to accelerate your transition into a career with more success, fulfillment, and passion!

But before you jump into your “Passion-work”, I want you to ask yourself this question:

“What will make me committed?”

You see, even a deadline might not be enough for you to follow through with your career transition. Because your commitment plays a key role in your ability to meet your deadlines. Most people don’t meet their deadlines. Don’t be one of them. If you set a deadline, honor it fully. If you can’t do this, then you need to answer the previous question. You need to find out what will make you truly committed to going for your passion.

That was exactly the case with Patricia from New Jersey. She was in IT and her 9-5 job didn’t leave her enough energy to transition into her passion to educate people about how money works. Her life wasn’t balanced anymore. Until one day, at a convention, she had her epiphany. “I felt that the more I stay where I am, in comfort, the more likely is for me to retire in this position. I didn’t want that! Why not jump? If I really believe in this, I have to fight for it!”, she told me. 

She wanted to be committed to her passion. So, she went back home and told her husband “I want to do this!” Now, she has already financially educated a million families in the U.S. Next goal is to educate 30 million people by 2030! 

The message is clear. If giving up your job and comfort is what you need to be committed, do it! That’s also what I did. This approach has worked with many people because they were forced to get out of their comfort zone and make things happen for them. So, find what will make you 100% committed and do it!

Passion-work:

1. Do whatever you need to do to be 100% committed if making a living from your passion is a priority for you in this period of your life.

2. Set a deadline (specific date and time) to start acquiring the skills and qualifications you need.

3. Use the reminders (post-it notes, wall posts, images, objects) that work best for you.  

4. Leverage and schedule your availability times: Evenings/weekends/free time/ move to part-time/ reduce your working hours if they’re not reduced.

Feel free to pre-order the “Find Your Passion” book to transform your career and life by visiting my personal site here.