For some people, being without a job can make you feel as if you have lost sight of who you are. Maybe you have been thinking for a while now that the job you were in is not actually what you want to do with your professional life. Many people have been trained to believe that a job is just a job, so you don’t have to like it. While it is true that there are many other areas in life in which you can find fulfillment, there is no reason why your career cannot be one of them. A job is where you spend at least eight hours a day, five days a week. That's nearly a quarter of your life! Don't feel compelled to be miserable for that much of your time. Now is the perfect occasion to find what will make you happy. 

Keep in mind that no matter how much you may feel as if you have lost yourself, you still take you wherever you go. You may feel like you no longer remember your dreams and passions, but that means you've just lost your direction, not who you are. 

Think about times in your life that gave you a true sense of satisfaction.  What have you been proud of? These momenets don't have to be from your work life. They can be from your hobbies, volunteer work, or family life. If you can't dredge up any concrete examples from your life, try to recall what you dreamed about doing in high school. Now, try to figure out what specifically made you happy in these moments. What about them was so compelling?  This is not always readily apparent, and it may not be easy to come up with concrete reasons. 

Perhaps you helped orchestrate a major merger for your company. The satisfaction probably did not just come from a job well done. Maybe you were proud because you helped people come to an agreement, or because you were able to problem-solve in an innovative manner. You could have saved a lot of people from losing their jobs. These are all very specific reasons that might make you happy. The “whys” are what are truly important to think about as you try to identify your most gratifying next career move. 

The good news is that once you can name your proudest achievements, you have already figured out what you care about and are good at. That gives you a great start to trying to figure out what you want to do. Now you can look at industries that you are interested in, and fields within those that utilize the skills you just identified. These should be where you begin your search for new careers. And don't forget to highlight these skills in your resume and cover letters!