How to build a career that's fun and multifaceted

Whether you’re looking for a career change or to start your own business, building a multi-faceted career lets you play to your strengths for increased career happiness and confidence at work.

What is a fun and multi-faceted career?

A multi-faceted career means offering offer a variety of services through multiple job types, rather than the traditional single job at one company. You may be a part-time teacher and freelance tutor who also takes temporary work as an exam marker. Or you might be doing two completely different things.

In 2018, there were over 250,000 people in the UK who define their work as a multi-faceted career. The impact of Covid on the economy and the growth of homeworking will boost this number significantly.

Having fun at work isn’t something that happens to you. You need to create it through action or mindset. Fun at work begins by consciously making an effort to focus on the good rather than the bad. You craft a multi-faceted career around your interests, strengths and passions, so the fun will be easy to find.

The benefits of a multi-faceted career

For companies, people with multi-faceted careers are better at working flexibly in different environments, are likely to have a greater range of soft skills and a wider network. People with diverse careers integrate faster and on-board more efficiently into their new roles.

There are many individual benefits to having a multifaceted career, including:

· Improving work-life balance

· Developing a diverse skill set

· Career growth

· Gaining extra cash flow

· Pursuing your passions

· Building a professional network

· Pushing you outside your comfort zone

A multifaceted career is a great option if you are a person who enjoys a variety of interests. Emilie Wapnick, the founder of Puttylike.com, refers to such people as ‘multipotentialities’. She believes that ‘instead of picking one thing and denying all of our other interests, we can find ways to integrate our many passions into our lives’. And follow what excites you.

If you're looking to start your business, a multifaceted career allows you to pursue a variety of interests.

Here’s our guide to building a multifaceted career that’s fun.

1. Play to your strengths for confidence at work

It's important to find ways to play to your strengths in the work you do. The first step is to discover your strengths.

The VIA Survey of Character Strengths is a free self-assessment of your character strengths. Research shows if you have an active awareness of your character strengths you are 9x more likely to flourish. Using your strengths is a great boost for your confidence at work.

If you are an entrepreneur or looking to start your business, design 70% of your day to day tasks around your strengths. Keep 30% to improve on other skills you might not feel as confident using.

To improve these skills take the time to create a career development plan. Professional development doesn’t have to be costly or time-consuming. Entrepreneur.com suggests some great free training tools you can access for efficient and effective career development. Career coaching can help you define your goals, identify the skills you need and how to develop these for success.

2. Get creative with your least favourite tasks for motivation at work

Unfortunately, even your dream job will include some tasks you don’t enjoy. The key is to find creative ways to do the tasks you enjoy the least and increase your motivation at work.

Melissa Orlov in Psychology Today suggests 9 ways to make (almost) any task fun. She suggests some quick, easy fixes such as listening to music, racing against the clock and teaming up with a partner.

Change your mindset to reframe your least favourite task by using the phrases:

· “I Choose To…”

· “This Will Help Me Learn/Do…”

· “This Task Is Important Because…”

See if you can build fun into even the most mundane tasks.

3. Choose your moments for work wellbeing

Research has shown that cognitive abilities change throughout the day and there’s a formula for a perfect science-backed workday.

But there will be days or times of the day when you will be more inspired to do certain tasks- seize these opportunities. It’s ok to change your schedule around from time to time to follow your inspiration and support your work wellbeing.

Team Gantt, project management software experts suggest using a self-assessment approach to find the ideal time of day for your productive work. This may be based on your natural energy levels, personal life commitments and the type of work you need to complete.

Madeleine Dore of Extra-Ordinary Routines offers some well-researched support for when you need to throw your routine out of the window!

4. Job Crafting for Career Happiness

See your work as a patchwork. Initially, it may seem like you’re stuck to do x, y, z but there are ways to add new components to your job that could fill up your work enjoyment jar.

PositivePsychology.com suggest using job crafting to find and create more meaning and career happiness.

“Job crafting is about taking proactive steps and actions to redesign what we do at work, essentially changing tasks, relationships, and perceptions of our jobs” (Berg et al., 2007).

By changing how you work you can add, change or remove tasks to focus on your strengths and motivation at work.

An example could be an IT technician with an interest in customer service volunteering to become the first point of contact for any queries about using a particular software programme.

And if you can’t find what you’re looking for in your current job, this is a perfect opportunity to build your multi-faceted career around your interests and passions. After all, there is a reason why freelancers don't want to go back to doing traditional jobs!

Career coaching can help guide you through a career transition and proactively craft a job you love.

5. Managing relationships for work enjoyment

Relationships with co-workers are one of the top drivers of engagement and work enjoyment. If you’re an entrepreneur or considering building your own business, relationships with clients, partners and your wider network are crucial. Gallup has found people who simply have a good friend in the workplace are more likely to be happy. What's more, good work relationships are linked to better customer engagement and increased profits.

TailoredThinking.com suggest 3 ways to develop your relationships at work:

• Building relationships - Forming new relationships and enhancing existing relationships, particularly with colleagues who boost your positivity and sense of fun.

• Reframing relationships - Reappraising how you view those relationships which may appear problematic or difficult.

• Adapting relationships - Finding ways to adapt and broaden existing relationships by connecting in new ways. For example, sharing interests through activities outside of work.

Sometimes choosing to spend less time with individuals who cause negativity can be equally as important for workplace wellbeing.

And if you’re not sure how to successfully develop working relationships, thebalancecareers.com offers some top tips including communication styles, honouring commitment and supporting others successes.

6. Connect different pieces of a puzzle to create a job that’s perfect for you.

The final element of job crafting, cognitive crafting, is changing your perspective to find or create more meaning. This includes reflecting on the value, purpose and significance of your role for yourself, the organisation, customers or wider society.

Have you heard the story of when US President John Kennedy visited NASA in the 960s? He asked an employee carrying a broom what he was doing, and the janitor replied: “I’m helping put a man on the moon”. Now that’s a sense of wider purpose!

Bringing your passions and interests into your work will help to ignite your sense of purpose. If you want a career change, turning a hobby or a passion into your own business can create a job that’s perfect for you.

7. Start building your multifaceted career

Multi-faceted careers can often begin with a second, often freelance job, or side hustle. In 2018, 25% of adults reported having a side hustle. And whilst a side hustle is often a means to bring in additional money, 73% of people who start a side hustle do so to follow a passion or explore a new challenge.

Or perhaps you want more of a significant and immediate change. Career coaching can help you through a career change or career transition. Guiding you to discover your values and strengths how to capitalise on them to achieve a fulfilling, fun and multifaceted career.

Click here to book your 30-minute FREE consultation with Zest Ambition and start your journey to career happiness.