​Searching for a new job shouldn’t always be about chasing a pay rise or the next step on the ladder. Your search should be towards finding a role that you love; providing a challenge and progression opportunities.

In order to find a role that delivers this, it is important to match your skills, personality and values with an industry and role where you can put them to best use.

Here are a few considerations you should make when looking for a job that is perfect for you.

Your skills

Being in a job that does not utilise your skills can be a waste of your time and your employer’s, and is unlikely to lead to long term job satisfaction. Take some time to consider your skill-set and how you like to work; think about tasks you have enjoyed or excelled at in the past and determine why that was so. By identifying what you are good at and what you enjoy you can target roles where you will be able to put these skills to work.

A challenge

Being challenged at work is important and when work is easy it quickly becomes monotonous. Relying on your existing skills and experiences will only get you so far. Challenges do not have to be huge but are important in feeling accomplishment and satisfaction at work. So while you should be looking at jobs which utilise your skills, make sure that you are not doing something beneath your capabilities. Challenge yourself and your skill-set will grow as you move forward in your career.

Company culture

Feeling at home in a business is just as important as the work itself. When your values align with those of your company, long term job satisfaction is much more likely. It is always a good idea to research a company before you take a job; what is the working environment like? What kind of people work there? Do they have charity or community initiatives in place? All these questions will give you an idea of a company’s values and whether they align with your own.

Salary vs benefits

While it would be nice to be rolling in money, the reality is that a salary should represent fair compensation measured against skills and experience. When taking on a new challenge you may not be able to demand the salary you’d like but it is important to look beyond the numbers.

Finding a job which suits your lifestyle may depend on the fact that you need to operate on flexible hours, work from home or that you would benefit from comprehensive health care. It may be that in order for you to be highly motivated you need to be working on a heavily incentivised contract; if so find a job that offers this. This is when looking a little deeper is important and recognising that the base salary is only the start of what a job can offer you in recompense.

Career progression

A key indicator of job satisfaction is the opportunity for growth. While not everyone wants to progress right away it is important that the opportunity to do so is there when the time is right. When considering taking a new role ask if there will be professional training and development, and what the long term career prospects look like.