We were asked as children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As a child with less knowledge of how the world works, we said things like “a doctor,” “a nurse,” “an officer,” and so on.
It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the jobs we listed; it’s just that we were looking at things through the eyes of a child.
Making this decision becomes more difficult as we grow older and begin to experience life on a different level; this usually begins during our adolescent and even adult years.
When we talk about a career, we are referring to an individual’s journey through learning, work, or other aspects of life. Your career defines you. It describes what a person does; it can be a profession, an occupation, a trade, or a vocation.
A career, unlike a job, is a long-term investment. A job can simply be going to work to earn a paycheck, whereas a career prepares you for responsibilities.
When it comes to choosing a career, many people make the wrong decisions. They just rush into something that will almost certainly never yield a positive result, and even if it does, it will be insignificant.
This article will go over seven crucial steps to take before deciding on a career.
How to Choose the Right Career
1. Self-Assessment: Before embarking on any career path, it is critical to understand your strengths, passions, and interests because they will determine how far you can go when you start.
Here are some suggestions for self-assessment.
1. Make a list of your interests (hobbies and abilities).
2. Recognizing your own strengths
3. Recognizing Your Personal Qualities
4. Choosing what you want from your career
5. Identifying core values
1. Make a List of Your Interests (hobbies and abilities).
When it comes to choosing the right career, you need to make a list of your hobbies. It is important to find a job that you love; find something that you’re passionate about; something that would make you get out of bed on a cold rainy day; not something you clearly have no motivation to do. While your passion might not be your forte, it is a good starting point to help you discover what you want to pursue.
Your abilities are your skills, and creating a list of the skills you have would also be important as it helps you navigate into the right career.
2. Recognizing Your Strengths
Identifying your strengths—what you’re good at is different from what you enjoy. For instance, if you’re good at organizing, it would be sensible for you to work as an event planner or a personal assistant.
3. Recognizing Your Personal Qualities
Identifying your personality traits or personal qualities is very important. You might be a introvert singer with a beautiful voice, but because of your kind of personality you may not be able to sing on stage because you would be anxious or probably have stage fright, and it would certainly not be good for your career.
4. Determining What You Want Out Of Your Career
A goal you should set for yourself is to determine what you want out of your career. It is necessary to identify what you want out of a career. It could be because you want a high-paying salary or a good role or title in a company.
Whatever your reason may be, it is important to narrow it down to something.
5. Determining Core Values
Determining the values you stand for is also an important aspect of self-assessment. It is important to identify your core values and use them to find a career. Make a list of these values or beliefs and use them to find companies with similar values.
2. Getting Proper Training
After properly assessing yourself and getting to know your strengths, passions, interests and even weaknesses, the next important thing to do is to get proper training. If you know the career path you choose requires more than you already have, get yourself properly equipped and ready to take the next big step. Take courses, read books, attend seminars; this would prepare you for what is next.
3. Consult with Experts
Talk to an industry expert and find out more about the jobs and the industry you’re trying to build a career in.
4. Look for Job Openings
You must have a little bit of experience before you take this step. It would not be advisable for you to just start applying for jobs without having knowledge about them. Make a list of the jobs you want to explore; choose jobs that sound interesting and desirable to you, and work with them.
5. Learn More About the Job
After exploring possible job opportunities, the next thing to do is to research what the job is about. You need to know about;
1. The average salary range of workers in your field.
2. What is required to start the job, if you need a degree or a certification.
3. Growth Opportunities—You need to know if there are growth opportunities for your career.
Keep an eye out for hiring trends and how the labor market functions.
6. Make a resume
Your resume contains a brief summary of you. It includes your skills, education, and professional experience (if you have any).
7. Begin Job Applications
After following all these processes, you can now start applying for jobs.