How To Choose The Right Career For You
Many people fall into a career without applying any reasoning to their decision. It is estimated that over a third of workers in the
UK jobs market dislike what they do.
Quite often the top motivator for entering into a particular career is the level of salary involved, but over time this doesn’t always compensate for the daily grind of a job you dislike.
So how can you ensure that the
career you choose is the right one for you?
Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses…We all have our own particular skill sets that would be best suited to a certain career sector, and there may in turn be several positions within that sector that would be appropriate for us. The key to finding the right career lies in being honest about our own strengths and weaknesses.
Create an outline of the tasks your perfect
career would involve by listing the following:
• The skills you possess
• Things you are not good at
• Everything you enjoy doing (in all areas of your life)
• Everything you dislike doing (just because we are good at something, it doesn’t mean we enjoy doing it)
• Your hobbies and passions (this can reveal more about you as a person than the skills you have)
By paying attention to your answers, you can more accurately source a career that will play to your strengths and deliver the kind of challenges you will enjoy.
Consider your valuesYour own personal values will play a big part in how appropriate your career choice will be for you. Certain jobs require you to work longer than the standard 35 hour week; if you have a family and need to work part time, you will need to find a career that fits in with these needs.
Consider also the type of company you would be working for. If it’s a business that you support and have a genuine interest in, it may well prove to be home to your ideal career.
Try before you buy…If at all possible, try and get some work experience or do some volunteering in the same field as the career you are interested in. This will allow you to see whether you really are suited to it – and if you are, the work experience will be a huge benefit when it comes to applying for your dream job.
