MAKING A GOOD CAREER CHOICE

There are so many options available out there that it is not uncommon at all to find young people unsure of what to pick as a career. With a few pointers, this problem can be surmounted and you can decide on a career that suits you and where you find fulfillment.

We have drawn up a list of pointers for you to go over before deciding on a career. This will sufficiently help to point you in the right direction when carefully studied.

STEP 1: SELF ASSESSMENT

STEP 2: DRAW UP A CAREER POSSIBLES LIST

STEP 3: RESEARCH THIS LIST

STEP 4: CONDUCT INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS

STEP 5: BREAK DOWN THE LIST

STEP 6: SET YOUR GOALS

STEP 7: DRAW UP AN ACTION PLAN

STEP 8: LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR NEW CAREER CHOICE

·         SELF ASSESSMENT

Making a career choice is an important decision and like all major decisions in life, careful thought should be put into it. The first thing you need to understand is yourself. You have to determine your goals, your ideals and your values. How do you envisage your future? Do you plan to retire early? Are you more interested in helping people than in making money?

To do this well, try our tried and trusted principle:

THE WHY, WHEN AND HOW PRINCIPLE

Why do you need a career?

Why are you looking at certain fields and not others?

Why is making money so important to you?

When do you intend to retire?

When do you plan to leave for and from work each day?

When do you plan to start a family?

How do you intend to advance up the ladder of success?

How do you plan to carve your niche in this field?

How do your choices fit into your vision of a better life for yourself?

These are sample questions that you can ask yourself to truly determine your underlying motivating factors and your vision for your life. Now for this test to work, you have to be totally honest with yourself and this is the hardest part because you might be tempted to overlook certain areas for different reasons. When that happens, take a break from the exercise and continue again after some hours.

· DRAW UP A POSSIBLES LIST

Your experience and skills will make certain career options more suitable for you and others not.

Make a list of 20 things that you enjoy doing.

Make another list of 20 things you’re very good at.

From both lists, draw up possible career options. This will create a very long list, we know. But now, you have a somewhat rather bleary map, which is of course, better than no map at all.

From your lengthy list, eliminate at will till you are left with only 10 options.

Now your map looks a bit more refined but do not be hasty to smile in pleasure because unless you possess supernatural powers, there’s no way you can work 10 jobs and give your best. So let us now look at narrowing down your list further.

·        RESEARCHING YOUR LIST

You now have 10 possible career choices right?.

Research this choices individually at a time taking note of required qualifications, remuneration packages, security benefits, work hours (if that is important to you), advancement opportunities and other requirements. This should help you to further narrow down your list.

·      CONDUCT INTERVIEWS

Now that you are left with only a few choices, its time to get cracking!

Find out professionals in each of the choices left behind and conduct interviews with them to get more in-depth knowledge about what it really means working in that particular field. Ask them questions and allow them answer without trying to lead them on. Leading them on will get you answers you want to hear but which are not wholly accurate.

·        NARROW DOWN YOUR LIST FURTHER

From the information obtained from your interviews, narrow down your list to the one that appeals most to you. This should be something that you can imagine yourself doing years down the road. This helps you to understand that your priorities are all in order and you aren’t picking the choice for the wrong reasons. Also, it helps to communicate to you that this is something you will enjoy doing and will therefore excel at.

·          SET YOUR GOALS

Outline clearly and concisely to yourself how you plan to set about getting this career. Options may include:

1.      Getting an apprenticeship/ internship in that field.

2.      Working for little or no pay to learn the ropes of that job.

3.      Getting more qualifications.

4.      Contacting people and letting them know you’re in the mark etcetera...

·                     YOUR ACTION PLAN

Now that you have decided on what you need to do to get into or advance up in your preferred choice of career, you need to put it into action. Because, goals without action are mere wishes and you do not want to be a mere dreamer.

1.      Find out organizations or establishments that will take you on for a period of time for apprenticeship.

2.      Apply to school for further study and begin attending classes as soon as possible.

3.      Hang out at places popular to people in your chosen career or other related field and introduce yourself. Also, friends and family should be aware of your choice so that they can help you look out too.

That’s it!

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