How to Find Your Perfect Career IN 6 Easy Steps
Achieving Goals, Career Discovery, Career Enrichment, Cool Jobs
Finding a career can be tricky, and making a mistake can be costly, not only from a financial standpoint, but from a personal one as well. However, there are ways that you can narrow down fields where you’d be more likely to thrive. All it takes is a little bit of self-awareness and understanding of the difference between what you’d like to do, and what you actually can do and what you’d be great at. You also need to have a well-informed idea of the fields you are interested in to make sure that you’re a match. Here is how you can find the perfect career in 6 easy steps.
Make a List of Your Interests
If you want to feel fulfilled by your career, and you want to be able to enjoy your time studying for it, then you have to first make sure that it’s a field that you have an actual interest in. Rundown a list of some of your interests, and don’t overthink it. What subjects do you spend the most time researching? What kind of content do you consume? How do you like to allocate your free time?
Don’t think about jobs yet, and don’t think about salary. This will only give you a general idea of how you should orient your search later on.
Take Inventory of Your Talents and Gifts
Next, you should write down some of the things you’re actually good at. You could look at academic performance, but one easy way to know if you’re gifted is by assessing the opinion others have of you.
Do people often come to you for advice? Do they compliment you on your cooking? Have you ever been told that you had a great way with words, or an impeccable sense of style? These might seem like little things, but it could give you an idea of the areas in which you excel without being aware of it.
Which Skill Do You Actually Want to Use?
Just because you’re great at mathematics, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’d like to crunch numbers all day. This is why you should stack your skills next to your interests, and start building a career orientation profile. This will come in handy once you start looking at possible jobs, and will allow you to eliminate certain positions.
Start Looking at Job Roles
Now is the time to start looking at actual jobs. With your orientation profile in hand, you can start looking at role profiles, and what each job entails. Sites like Uni Compare allow you to check out specific roles, what your tasks will be, what type of education you’ll need, and what type of salaries you can expect. This will be a great way to start building a list of potential jobs, and what you’ll need to do to qualify for them.
Can You Picture Yourself Doing This Every Day?
Another thing you’ll have to consider when picking a career choice is if you can actually see yourself doing this day in and day out. For instance, you might have a genuine passion for finance and the skills for it, but you really have to assess if you could do the desk work needed. This is very important, as some people will like stability, and are comfortable with this kind of routine. If that’s something you don’t think you could do, however, you could always look at other options where you could use your skills but won’t have to be tied down to a desk.
You could always decide to work as a consultant, for instance, whereas others might want to work in academia. Or, you might use your skills to move into management. That is if you want to have more of a hands-on role. Figure out what you want to help find your perfect career.
Do You Have a Mission?
Most people have a cause that they feel particularly close to. If that’s your case, finding a career where you could advocate for that cause could be a great way to find your calling.
If you’re concerned about climate change, but want to work in a STEM related field, then you could look into something like environmental engineering. Maybe if you have an interest in business and management, you could look into not for profit work. Finding a vocation is more than merely finding a career. It’s about finding a way to ensure that you’ll be satisfied. It’ll also increase your longevity in the field.
If you follow these 6 simple steps, you should be able to make a list that will help find the perfect career. Make sure that you take everything into consideration. Then pick one with not only great prospects and salaries, but one where you’ll be able to realize yourself.
