5 Steps to Choosing the Career That Fits You

When it comes to thinking about your future career, you may already have ideas, or you may have no idea where to start. Either way, you know you need a career. Deciding on a career and planning for it is an important part in your life. Your decision on what you want to do can have many ramifications. To make it less scary, here are a few tips to follow:

1. Understand Yourself

In order to have any idea as to what you want to do, you need to know what you’re good at, and what you like to do. Here are some guiding questions that you should ask yourself:

1. What do you find yourself spending a lot of time on?
2. What do you wish you could spend more time on?
3. What subjects are you good at in school?
4. What subjects do you enjoy in school?
5. What are your interests?
6. What motivates you?
7. What is your personality?
8. What are your personal qualities?
9. What are your longterm financial goals? How much money do you wish to make?
10. What type of education do you have?
11. What work-life balance do you wish to have in the future?
12. How do you wish to contribute to the world?

By answering those questions, you can evaluate yourself pretty well. Knowing yourself is very important in deciding on a career. If you know what interests you and what your qualities are, then you can have better chances of actually being in the career you want to be in.

2. Identify Possible Career that Suit You

Once you know more about yourself, you can now start to identify what careers could suit you. This is where you start researching, asking for guidance, and evaluating what careers match your personality the most.

Researching

Based off of what interests you and what you are skilled at, you can start researching careers that fit you. If you love math and science, or tend to excel in those subjects at school, then you should look up math- and science-related careers. If you enjoy playing instruments, you should look up careers in music. Though the Internet is great for researching, I suggest that you have a book on different careers. One amazing book is “Careers: The Graphic Guide to Finding the Perfect Job for You” by DK Publishers.

Asking for Guidance

Deciding on a career is very important, so it could be stressful and hard. If you every find yourself stuck, or just in need of some input, then ask guidance counselors or career counselors for help. Keep in mind that you might not know everything about yourself. Your parents may have a good idea as to what you’d be good at, and they could also know your strengths and weaknesses.

If you know anyone who has a career that you are interested in, don’t hesitate to contact them. You could obtain invaluable information and tips about a career if you just ask someone who has experience. Knowing what life is like with a career can be very important to know.

Making a Short List

Once you have ideas as to what careers could suit you, make a list. You should have 3 to 5 careers that really stick out to you. Make sure you write down the pros and cons for each career, as that will be important for you to decide later on. When assessing pros and cons of a particular career, here are some factors you should consider:

• Risks
• Location
• Work hours
• Work environment
• Opportunities for promotion
• Entry qualifications

Once you have put together your list, it is now time to dig deeper.

3. Research Your Top Picks & Filter Them

This part may take a while. Now you have to do more research, updating your list as you go. Your pros and cons for each of your possible careers should also get a little longer. You should now know more aspects of the careers on your list.

Once you’ve researched to your heart’s content, you have to filter your careers down into one that you like the most. Take a look at your pros and cons list, and start marking out careers with the most unappealling cons. You may even get some input from others on which careers they don’t think you’d like. Keep in mind that you should also star the careers that have the most pros.

When you have one last career on your list, you must decide if you like it more than the others. The process of elimination may not work for you. You may wish to get a little experience in your top careers, to see which ones would really work. The process of elimination is for people who are in a rush to find a career. Maybe you aren’t; you might actually have time to test them each out.

4. Establish a Plan

Whether you know what career you want, or whether you still have a few that sound equally great, it is time to make a plan. By plan, I mean that you should have an idea of your path through college, especially if you’re in a rush to find a career. Here are some things to consider when making a plan:

• What universities/colleges would be right for you in the pursuit of your career?
• How many years of college do you expect to have to take in order to get a job in your career?
• What major(s) would be best prepare you for your career?
• Are there any minors that would be beneficial as well?
• Do you know anyone in your chosen career(s)? If so, what did they do in college that was beneficial to them?

Of course, now is as good a time as ever to get input from counselors and your parents. Career counselors and guidance counselors will help you plan out your college path, and your parents may know what would benefit you in college. Remember that you’re not alone in making this decision!

5. Get Experience

Throughout high shool and college, gaining experience will be extremely beneficial to you. Try to land internships and apprenticeships. Make sure that you network with people online (via LinkedIn or other sites). Do you best to be productive in the area of your career so that you’ll stick out to employers in the future. Want to know more about what to do next? Take a look at “7 Steps to Take Action in the Career You Want“.

Deciding on a career and taking action is a very large turning point in everyone’s lives. Remember that you don’t have to make that big decision all alone. There are plenty of people out there who are capable of helping you accomplish your goals.

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