How to Choose a Career
High school is completed and now you must make the decisions on what
career to choose. You’ve just lost your job and must make a career
change, now what? The physician informs you that you must change careers
for medical reasons, now what? Research show people change their jobs
eight different times in their lifespan. Deciding what to do now is a
difficult decision to make.
What are your interests? Doing a
Self-Assessment of Your Likes and Dislikes
The first step in considering a career is
doing a personal self-assessment of what you like and do not like.
Choosing a career with duties you dislike would be like choosing a meal
with food that you dislike. It would not work. Think about the types of
things you do like and how it might relate to a career. What type of
things would you dislike doing?
Make a List of Duties You Like and Dislike
In this list write down your interests, abilities, and desired life style
you want in the future. Think about the different types of jobs with these
interests as well as any job with duties that you might not like. What
types of jobs and careers do you believe you would like? What types of
careers would you not like? Give this some serious consideration in
helping you decide what career to choose.
The Next Step Should Be A Personal
Inventory
Make a list of your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Everyone has
different strengths and weaknesses than others. These make a difference in
choosing a successful career for you. What are your skills? If you do not
enjoy writing then a career in journalism would not be the career for you.
If you enjoy counting money and doing accounting then the position of bank
teller or accountant might be the perfect job for you. Think about what
you are good in doing and how these link with different careers.
Consider Different Careers
Go to the library and get several books on different careers. Take the
self-assessment list and the personal inventory with you. Look at various
careers as you consider information from the list. What sounds like an
exciting career to you? Get on the Internet and type in different careers.
What interests and strengths sound positive with different careers? Make a
list of possibilities of various careers. Write down what you see yourself
doing in the next five years.
The Final Step to Choosing a Career
Take a close look at the information you have from your lists. What
careers do you see yourself doing? What types of jobs would you not want
to do? Talk to friends and relatives about these different types of
careers. Do they enjoy their work? What do they dislike about their
careers? What is important to them? Are there areas of their work that
they feel they might like to change? Consider every aspect of the job
before thinking about doing it. Close your eyes and see yourself five
years from now. What do you see yourself doing? This will probably be the
right career for you.
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