How to Choose a Career (Career
Guidance)
Most people have a level of uncertainty on
where to get help in how to choose a career and career
guidance. There are 3 basic steps that a person can take to help them
with the question of How to Choose a Career.
Listed below are several suggestions to help you choose a career. These steps
are especially helpful for students as they develop a career plan.
Steps
in Choosing a Career
Step One -
Figure out where your career interests are
by asking yourself:
- Where
do my interests lie?
- What
do I do well and enjoy?
- What
kind of personality do I have?
- What's
really important to me?
- What
are my values?
Take any career-related tests your college's
career center might offer, or take an on-line
career assessment such as the Career Liftoff Interest Inventory to help you
figure out how to choose a career. Draw on your own life experiences on jobs,
classes or other opportunities that you may have particularly enjoyed.
Remember, this is very personal and is all about you! Choosing a career can be
very satisfying with the right help.
Step Two -
Learn about your career options. Rarely do
you have the opportunity to take a class in college that shows you what the
work world as it actually exists. You have to take the initiative to explore it
yourself. See if your college's career office has a library of books describing
different kinds of work, the typical qualifications needed and the salary ranges
for various occupations. Your college's career counselors should be able to
help. Also, talk to people through informational interviews, and try out
careers by shadowing and taking internships or part-time jobs. The more career
planning that you can do as a student, the better prepared you will be when you
start to look for your first job.
Step Three -
A third part of how to choose a career is
to sort out your priorities for a career. After you've spent time on steps one
and two, some of your strong preferences may start to emerge. You might learn
you don't want to be in an office environment. Or you might find that your
interest in art wouldn't sustain a career, so you cross those types of jobs off
your list. Whatever it is that you learn about yourself, you're making
important discoveries that will help you choose a good career when the time
comes. This is a major component of career planning for students.
Most importantly, keep it all in
perspective: You don't have to live forever with any career decision you make
in these phases of student career planning. Most people change careers several
times during their lives, so the first job you choose right after college
probably won't be your career 15 or 20 years from now -- unless you want it to
be. So don't put too much pressure on yourself to make the perfect decision,
and always keep your eyes open, and use all available resources in your journey
to find how to choose a career.
