Have you started thinking about what you would like to do in life? Maybe you already have a career in mind or perhaps you are struggling to connect with any ideas? Do not worry if it’s the latter, few of us ‘just know’ what we want to do with our lives. This is why today we are sharing a few tips around how to choose the right career for you.
Play to your strengths
The first thing you should do is think about all of those things that you are good at. Think about the skills and interests that you have. Think about the jobs you can imagine yourself doing in your ‘dream life’.
Everyone has strengths, the key is understanding what yours are and how they might translate meaningfully into your future work life.
Do your research
It is always worth doing plenty of research, and do not be afraid to explore several areas. It is wise to investigate all areas that appeal to you to narrow things down a little.
There are plenty of ways that you can do this. Internet searches should bring up more information about what the job itself entails and any qualifications that you might need to get into that field. It is also worth looking at current career ads, for example you might want to see open positions for neurologists or check out opportunities for graphic designers, and look closely at the descriptions they provide and the skills that they are looking for.
In addition to this, talk to people already in those careers, and where possible, work alongside them to get a feel for the day to day role.
Do not settle
Some of the best advice that we can offer you around making a career choice is that you should never settle for a job that you hate. You will spend so much of your time working in your life, you really must ensure that you find something that fulfils you and brings your enjoyment.
Job satisfaction is not always as simple as picking the right profession for you, so do take care to think about each element of your work life here. For example, you might want to be a writer, but in order to keep on enjoying it you need to switch your publicist or maybe the genre you write. You might want to be a vet yet you dislike the ethos at the company that you work for, so maybe you could switch practices or start up your own.
If you really do find yourself in the wrong profession, do not panic. Recognizing it is actually a positive thing, as you can then make steps to make changes.
Do not pile on the pressure
Following on from not settling for any old job, we would suggest that you take the pressure off yourself when you are choosing a career. It would be great to get it right the first time, but millions of us don’t. You can make career changes throughout your life, you can try things and then move on from them. With every job that you do, you will learn something about yourself and there will be transferable skills.
A career decision that does not work out is not wrong, it is simply a lesson for you to take forwards.
