Yes, I know. You've also heard the “follow your passion” line since the day you were in high school. While some people may have a clear passion, many of us find ourselves confused when it comes to making career choices.
At the end of the day, the career you choose today might be something you're stuck in Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm so you don't wan't to wake up and think. "Shit, here I go again.." there's nothing romantic about that feeling trust me.
Don't worry, I am here for you. I have compiled 9 realistic questions to ask yourself before choosing a career.
Hahaha and if you find yourself don't blame me. It simply mean that you were not true to yourself. Remember this is a list of questions and YOU give the answers.
Here are 9 questions to ask yourself before choosing a career:
What are your Interests?
Remember that the career that you choose today will be your everyday lifestyle. Make sure that you choose a career that you will not want to escape from. When you choose a career that fits your interests then your job will never feel like imprisonment.
What are your values?
Values are things that are most important to us. Example of value would be traits such as money, dependability, reliability. Spend some time writing down all the things that you value and match them to possible career choices that are compatible to your values. If you value money, then apply for a career that pays you well and if you value social justice apply for a career that has fairness.
What are your personality traits?
Personality traits are distinguishing characteristics qualities that are unique in every individual. They influence our interpersonal behaviors. It is argued by Psychologists that the 5 most accepted personality traits are as follows:
+Openness
+Conscientiousness
+Extraversion
+Agreeableness
+Neuroticism
What are your interests?
You will want to create a commodity out of the skills that you currently posses.Identify things that you excel in, this will help you match your skills to your career. Think both of your learnt skills and natural skills, e.g you are naturally good with communication and networking or you have learnt the skill of fixing any electrical appliances from your father.
What are your talents and strengths?
Talents are all the attributes that you are naturally good at doing, for example dancing. Strengths are all the attributes that you have learnt to develop through practice like singing. Make a list of all your talents and strength and try to match them to all possible career choices you would like to pursue.
Are there any available jobs in the market for your skills set?
It is important to research the labor market for careers when choosing a career. In South Africa more and more graduates are jobless, therefore research the labor market both locally and globally. We recommend choose all the career choices that might interest you that are in demand. Though we are not promoting this process to be an important influence when choosing a career. Nobody wants to study hard and spend money on fees for years only to end up jobless.
What is your salary expectation?
Salary doesn’t have to be the first consideration when selecting a career but it should be one of the important factors to consider when choosing a career. Some career choices that you are interested in may only have minimum financial rewards. This will help prepare you mentally and help you make informed decisions when choosing a career.
Where do you wish to live?
Some career options might also affect your geographic location. For example if you are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture, you will probably have to relocate to the rural areas. For careers such as law and finance, it will probably be better if you live in urban area.
What is your ideal job or career?
Write down your ideal jobs or career in paper after you have asked yourself all 8 questions. On the side motivate why do you think it’s the ideal job for you. Then do research and find out what does the career entail during studies and after graduating into the real work. After you have done this self introspection process choose your career and have fun with it.
Good luck with your new career. I would like to hear if this list helped you. Comment below on on our Facebook Page: The Unspoken Monologue
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