Career choices: A guide for young people

There are many different careers to choose from. You can be a web developer, an entrepreneur, a real estate agent, an insurance salesperson, a fisherman, a blogger, and the list goes on. How do you choose a career? Find a way to do what you most enjoy and get paid for it. That is the secret formula to be successful in life.{{more}}

Begin your career exploration now. Conduct informational interviews with family, friends, alumni from your school, or even hop online and do that through LinkedIn. If you are interested in a particular field but don’t know anyone in the field, look through the phone book or get online and identify a company in that field and call their offices to request an informational interview. Feel free also to ask teachers for help. At this stage, many of the future careers have not even been invented yet. Twenty years ago, positions such as social media strategists, bloggers, online content managers, etc, were jobs that did not exist. Who knows what the next 20 years will bring? Be prepared by learning how to speak and write well, get along with people, be a quick learner, and be open to frequent changes. 

Career Choices Exercise. Answer the following questions:

Take a few moments to think about your future and write down your thoughts. Forget about what your friends may think and block out any thoughts that may suggest “I can’t do that” or “how am I going to do that?” You can achieve your dream when you work at it one small piece at a time. Let’s get started!

1. When you get older, what do you want to be?

2. Give three reasons why you want this career.

3. What are the educational requirements for this career?

4. What do you need to do now to make sure you’re on the right track?

5. What skills, characteristics and/or personality traits do you currently have that will help you in your future career?

6. List at least one action you can take every month that will help you achieve your dream career.

7. What barriers may prevent you from achieving your dream career?

8. Who can you turn to for help to break down these barriers? And what can you do on your own?

These questions are designed to help you think seriously about your career. It may take some time to make a decision and you might change your mind, but be determined because your future depends on it.

Karen Hinds is “The Workplace Success Expert.” For a FREE SPECIAL REPORT on Avoiding Career Killers in the Workplace, send an email to info@workplacesuccess.com

Visit online at : www.workplacesuccess.com