{"id":2905,"date":"2024-11-18T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=2905"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:13:35","slug":"the-traffic-light-technique-a-tool-for-career-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2024\/11\/18\/the-traffic-light-technique-a-tool-for-career-exploration\/","title":{"rendered":"The Traffic Light Technique: A Tool for Career Exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you sit down for a one-on-one with a careers consultant, they\u2019ll get to know your situation, ask some questions and might suggest an activity to help you think about your next steps. One of these activities is the Traffic Light Technique (TLT), and it\u2019s super handy!<\/p>\n

Who would use this task?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you are exploring career options, or trying to narrow down your options then you can use Prospects job profiles<\/a> in this task. They are a great source of information on different job roles giving detailed insight into responsibilities and tasks, qualifications, skills, work experience and salary\/working patterns.<\/p>\n

If you are assessing job fit and have identified an advert you\u2019d like to apply to, using the TLT will help you assess whether it\u2019s a good fit for you.<\/p>\n

How do I complete the TLT?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Grab three highlighters (or use the highlight feature in an online document), ready to colour code (remember, you can categorise the info however works for you, other examples might be using bold\/underline\/italic or numbered lists).<\/p>\n

Green: Highlight aspects that appeal to you, tasks you are confident in, and elements that align with your values and motivations.<\/p>\n

Orange\/Amber: Highlight neutral aspects\u2014 feel no strong positive or negative pull.<\/p>\n

Red: Highlight aspects that don\u2019t appeal to you, tasks or environments that put you off, or elements that don\u2019t align with your values and motivations.<\/p>\n

Why It Helps<\/strong><\/h2>\n

SWOT<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Spot Your Strengths<\/strong>: The green highlights show you what you\u2019re good at and what excites you. This helps you focus on roles that match your strengths and preferences.<\/li>\n
  • Identify Improvement Areas<\/strong>: The orange highlights show where you\u2019re competent but not passionate. This can guide you to seek more training or experience.<\/li>\n
  • Avoid Mismatches<\/strong>: The red highlights help you avoid roles that might not be a good fit, saving you time and effort.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Applying your insights<\/strong><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Tailor Your Applications<\/strong>: Use the green highlights to emphasise your strengths in your CV, cover letters and applications.<\/li>\n
    • Prepare for Interviews<\/strong>: Knowing your green and red areas helps you confidently discuss your strengths and address any concerns during interviews.<\/li>\n
    • Set Career Goals<\/strong>: The TLT helps you set realistic career goals by showing you what you want and need in a job.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      A Quick Tip<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      You\u2019ll never find a role\/job that\u2019s 100% green or green\/amber. Everyone has areas for improvement, so don\u2019t count yourself out of roles or specific jobs because there\u2019s some red.<\/p>\n

      This task helps you visually organise your thoughts and make informed decisions about your career path. By categorising different aspects of a job or career role, you can better understand what excites you, what you\u2019re indifferent about, and what might be a deal-breaker. This clarity can guide your next steps, whether it\u2019s further exploration or preparing for a job application.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      When you sit down for a one-on-one with a careers consultant, they\u2019ll get to know your situation, ask some questions and might suggest an activity to help you think about your next steps. One of these activities is the Traffic...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1765,"featured_media":2907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[573,658,740],"class_list":["post-2905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-career-awareness","tag-career-discovery","tag-career-exploration"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2024\/11\/pexels-nishantaneja-2527248-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1765"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}