When people start thinking about their next job, they often begin with a list. Better salary. Bigger title. More flexibility. Shorter commute. Different organisation. 

All perfectly reasonable things to want. But there's another question worth asking before you start scrolling through job ads: What does my next job actually need to give me? Because a new job isn't necessarily a good career move. 

Start with what you need, not what's available 

It's easy to become reactive when you're looking for a new role. 

You see an interesting position. A recruiter calls. Someone in your network mentions an opportunity. Suddenly, you're assessing whether you want that particular job. 

Try doing the thinking before the opportunity appears. Ask yourself what you want your next role to give you that your current one doesn't. 

It might be: 

• greater responsibility 
• exposure to a new area 
• better leadership 
• more autonomy 
• an opportunity to lead 
• greater flexibility 
• a different clinical environment 
• better remuneration 
• new skills or experience 
• a clearer path to where you ultimately want to go 

Once you know what you're looking for, it becomes much easier to recognise the right opportunity, and say no to the wrong one. 

Think More, Less and New 

A simple way to get clearer is to divide a page into three columns: MORE — LESS — NEW 

• What do you want more of in your next role? 
• What do you want less of? 
• And what do you want that is completely new? 

Your answers don't need to sound impressive. 

You might want more challenging work but less travel. More responsibility but fewer direct reports. More patient contact. Less bureaucracy. More flexibility. A new speciality or environment. 

The point is to understand what matters to you before someone else starts selling you an opportunity. Separate your wants from your non-negotiables. Not everything on your list carries equal weight. There are things that would be nice to have, and there are things a role genuinely needs to provide for it to work. 

For example, flexibility may be a preference for one person and a non-negotiable for another. The same applies to salary, location, hours, travel, development opportunities and organisational culture. 

Try dividing your criteria into three categories: 

1. Must have: I wouldn't take the role without this. 
2. Important: This would strongly influence my decision. 
3. Nice to have: I'd value it, but I could compromise. 

This becomes particularly useful when you're comparing two opportunities and neither is perfect. 

Look beyond the job title 

A bigger title can feel like progression. It isn't always. Likewise, a sideways move can look like a lack of progression when it may actually give you experience that dramatically expands your future options. 

Look beyond what the job is called. What will you be responsible for? What problems will you get to solve? Who will you work with and learn from? What will you be exposed to? What will you be able to say you've done after two years that you can't say today? Sometimes the best career move doesn't look like a promotion on paper. 

Think one move beyond the next move 

This is one of the most useful questions you can ask about any opportunity: What could this role make possible afterwards? You don't need to have the next ten years mapped out. Careers rarely work that neatly. 

But your next role will shape your experience, network, reputation and future options. 

Imagine you take the job and stay for three years. What will you have learned? What will you have achieved? What sort of opportunities might you be considered for next? 

A role that looks attractive today isn't necessarily a great move if it takes you further away from where you ultimately want to go. 

Use the interview to assess them too 

Once you're clear about what you need from your next job, interviews change. You're no longer simply trying to convince the organisation to hire you. You're gathering evidence about whether you should choose them. 

If development matters, ask how people in the team have progressed. 

If leadership matters, ask your prospective manager how they lead and what they expect from their team. 

If autonomy matters, ask how decisions are made. 

If flexibility matters, find out what it looks like in practice rather than relying on what's written in the job advertisement. 

Good candidates don't just prepare answers. They prepare questions that help them make a good decision. 

Give your recruiter something to work with 

"I'm looking for my next challenge." 

"I'd like something more senior." 

"I'm open to opportunities." 

A recruiter can work with those statements, but they don't tell them very much. 

Compare that with: "I want my next role to give me broader leadership responsibility and exposure to service strategy. I'm happy to consider a lateral move if it gives me that experience, but flexibility is important to me." 

Now your recruiter has something meaningful to work with. The clearer you are about what you're looking for, the easier it is for them to bring you opportunities that actually fit. 

Don't just find another job 

It's tempting to judge an opportunity by comparing it with the role you have now. Is the salary better? Is the title better? Does the organisation sound more interesting? But your current job shouldn't be the only benchmark. 

Before you make your next move, ask: 

• What do I need this job to give me? 
• What will I be able to do, know or demonstrate because I've taken it? 
• And what could it make possible next? 

The goal isn't simply to find a better job. It's to make a better career move.