Simply put, this could be your dream job. You know you\u2019d love it even if you haven\u2019t experienced it professionally. Perhaps you know your strengths and recognise how much you\u2019d enjoy using them in the workplace. Think about what you enjoy and want to do more, and write those ideas in the top left quadrant.<\/p>\n How do you build relevant experience? Depending on your field of interest, you could consider one or more of these options:<\/p>\n It\u2019s never too late to discover new interests and gain experience. If you\u2019re considering a career pivot, you might have high experience in your current role but low experience in the one you want.<\/p>\n Very few of us achieve this straight out of university, because \u2018high experience\u2019 usually means you\u2019ve been working for a while. That being said, you might have more experience than you realise, so don\u2019t overlook or downplay this. If you\u2019ve been playing football most of your life, or writing since you could pick up a pen, I\u2019d say this counts as high experience. Write these down in the top right quadrant. You may continue to build experience in this area throughout your working life.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that high experience doesn\u2019t have to mean high enjoyment, as we\u2019ll see later on.<\/p>\n These are things you never or no longer want to do, no matter how much money or prestige is in question! Perhaps these roles conflict with your values, or maybe you just know you don\u2019t enjoy them. You don\u2019t need tons of experience to come to this conclusion. Pop these things in the bottom left quadrant.<\/p>\n You might wonder how this is relevant to your career plans. I think it\u2019s good to consider what we don\u2019t enjoy, have no interest in pursuing, or the things that don\u2019t align with our strengths. This helps us narrow down what we do enjoy, what we can pursue, and what we\u2019re good at.<\/p>\n These are roles you can do but you want to move on. You might gain lots of experience working a weekend job while you\u2019re at university, but know this isn\u2019t a long-term solution for you. If you\u2019re an experienced hire, you might have been working in the same role or sector for a while and feel it\u2019s time to move on. These things would go in the bottom right quadrant.<\/p>\n Why consider these experiences if you no longer enjoy them? Transferable skills, that\u2019s why! Communication, teamwork, organisation, attention to detail, time management \u2013 these will all serve you in your next job, even if the sector is completely different.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve used weekend work as an example, but it\u2019s worth remembering that even your first \u2018proper\u2019 job might not be your forever job. It\u2019s fine to try different things, build experience, and move on when you\u2019re ready for a change.<\/p>\n High enjoyment\/Low experience:<\/strong> This is what I want to do. How can I gain experience to make this a reality?<\/p>\n High enjoyment\/High experience:<\/strong> I love this and have lots of experience to show for it!<\/p>\n Low enjoyment\/Low experience:<\/strong> I have no interest in this. I tried this once or twice and I know it\u2019s not for me.<\/p>\n Low enjoyment\/High experience:<\/strong> I want to move on from this. How can I use experience to make this a reality?<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2024\/11\/Relevant-Recent-Matrix.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHigh enjoyment, low experience<\/h2>\n
(Top left)<\/h3>\n
\n
High enjoyment, high experience<\/h2>\n
(Top right)<\/h3>\n
Low enjoyment, low experience<\/h2>\n
(Bottom left)<\/h3>\n
Low enjoyment, high experience<\/h2>\n
(Bottom right)<\/h3>\n
Summary<\/h2>\n