Jobs from scratch: Mix and Match for Custom Fit

What if an exciting employment idea has aspects you can’t let yourself ignore but also includes some pretty impractical  and ill fitting aspects too?  Does it have to be an all or nothing situation or is there a way to salvage the good parts while letting the not so appealing parts fall away?  If so, how do we start that process?

Three tips for mixing and matching toward a custom career

Accomodations/assistance: If you absolutely love the content of a specific job but the sensory environment would be an attentional nightmare, perhaps you could inquire about the chances of working from home where you could set up your own working environment.  Also, if there is one or two sensory conflicts, perhaps you inquire about noise canceling headphones or adjusting the room temperature in your office.  

Same work, more independence- If you love the type of work offered but know you do your best work either on your own or out from under other people’s authority, perhaps you consider offering your own private services.  Keep in mind that if the back office and personal discipline piece involved for a private setting is a turn off, there are ways of addressing this too, such as hiring a personal assistant, leaning on close friends as body doubles, or partnering with another person in your professional boat who has skills that complement your own.

Same skills, different field- What if one of your options calls for skills you know you’re gifted at and enjoy doing but you really could care less about the audience being served or the overall goal the skills are directed at achieving?  Note the skills and look for other directions or goals you’re more passionate about and explore ways you could tailor those same skills to causes and populations that mean more to you.  

To wrap up, narrowing down that list of possible next right careers can seem like a black and white task at first. However, the above tips have hopefully shed light on not only the possibility of gray but also on the possibility of taking the hopeful parts of one option and mixing them with complimentary hopeful parts of other options so you eventually mix and match your way to a custom fit, all around hopeful, next right career for your unique self.